The Truth about Toyota’s “Green” Image | Call to Action for Prius Drivers
Toyota’s joined GM and Ford in opposing a law that would require more efficient vehicles. The Union of Concerned Scientists, Tom Friedman and Others are asking why…and whether Toyota still deserves it’s Green Image.
What? You say you own a Prius? Time for you to get out there and demand change from your Toyota dealer. Believe me, they’ll listen to you a lot more than a bunch of geeky scientists and hippies. You know where you bought your car. Read the article, then pick up the phone and make some demands. Let me know what they say, please.
(Photo: Tommy Chong’s lowrider Prius . . . with members from the Orange County Prius Club)
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[...] I came across this post - The Truth about Toyota’s “<b>Green</b>†Image | Call to Action for Prius <b>…</b> - and thought it was worth sharing. I hope you find it interesting too and take the time to read some of the other articles on their site. The Union of Concerned Scientists, Tom Friedman and Others are asking why…and whether Toyota still deserves it’s Green Image. What? You say you own a Prius? Time for you to get out there and demand change from your Toyota dealer. … [...]
I don’t even know where to start with this.
First and foremost… CAFE is a friggin’ joke. It’s an average. So, if I have a truck that is selling well, but gets awful MPG, then all I have to do is pump up the production of a truck that gets better MPG and offer some discounts for people to buy it. The profit that I’ve made from the bad MPG truck will easily offset the discount I’ve offered on the good MPG truck. So instead of selling a few inefficient trucks, now I’ll sell a few inefficient trucks and a whole bunch of better (but still somewhat inefficient) trucks. ??? why doesn’t anybody see how bad this behavior is?
Two: Toyota is a car company…how were they ever considered green in the first place? As far as lesser of evils go, GM is much better in the truck market. Our engines are way more efficient than theirs. Our plant is even more efficient overall than theirs (Harbor Report). And more importantly, their health and safety record is piss-poor by any measure (UAW is good for something in that respect).
Three: Customers are SHAREHOLDERS, everybody else is a consumer. There is a difference. Only customers can make a change and they can ignore consumers if they want. Especially if they are making a nice profit. I mean, what does a consumer know? They buy whatever the TV tells them to; right?
(boy, I sound bitter)
What I love about this the most has little to do with the legislation involved - most people, legislators and green agitators alike, have no idea how to legislate their way to an effective battle against the effects of a changing climate. What I really enjoy is how bothered people are that Toyota is, like you say Kirk, acting like a car company and not a global savior. Some folks really bought into the line that by purchasing a Prius they were purchasing a ‘get out of guilt free’ card. Now that Toyota is acting like a car company again (not that it ever wasn’t), it’s like a splash of cold water.