When I bought my first Prius in 2004, I didn’t do it for the way it looked. In fact, I thought the car was weirdly unattractive.
I got it for the green aspect.
By now — when I’m on to my second Prius, thanks to a rear-ending, and this one gets even better mileage! - I love the look. And, ooh, it just might be fashionable to boot.
Nearly eight in 10 Americans who plan to buy or lease a car in the next two years would choose a “green” car over one that is beautiful, according to a survey recently conducted by Challenge X – a national collegiate engineering competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors.
Okay, so they had a point of view to begin with. But get this:
-- Close to nine in 10 women say they’d rather chat up someone with the latest fuel-efficient car versus the latest sports car. (Men, too?)
-- Eighty percent of American car buyers would find someone with the latest model fuel-efficient car more interesting to talk to at a party than someone with the latest sports car. (Even if it’s painted red?)
-- More than four out of 10 people between 18 and 43 say it’s a fashion faux-pas to have a car that is not green or environmentally friendly. (So how come four out of ten don’t have them?)
By the way, watch for big news from the West Philly Hybrid X Team, which is competing in another green car challenge, the Progressive Auto X Prize. Ten million dollars awaits the team that best designs a “viable, clean and super-efficient car that people want to buy.”
Headquartered at West Philadelphia High School’s Academy of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering, the team of students and teachers has built and competed with alternative fuel vehicles for the last 10 years.
GreenSpace - her column about how to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life - appears every other Monday in Health & Science.
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