Just to state it bold and clear, if I had the money, I would buy a hybrid car and no other. I have a Mac, I go to the gym, I’m a vegetarian, I eat organic food, I care about the state of the world, about minorities and human rights. Which is not to say I’m a spoiled yuppie, but just that I care. And I would even pay more for a hybrid car than for a regular one. Not much more, but I do understand the purpose of the investment – for myself (hybrids use less fuel and maintenance is cheaper) and for the environment. Right now neither do I have the money to buy a car, nor do I want one, because traffic in Bucharest is insane and I don’t settle down in one country for too long.
Toyota Prius and Cristian Manafu - quite a trendsetter among Romanian bloggers – invited me today to a bloggers’ discussion about hybrid cars. Albeit, the presentation of the company’s representatives and their interaction with the public could have been more aggressive and more lively, but the meeting was not purely commercial in scope. And bloggers are not PR vehicles that you can control too easily.
What I remember best from the company’s presentation is that one Toyota Prius is worth 71 trees (funny calculus, but convincing) and that 83% of a car’s impact on the environment occurs during its exploitation as a vehicle, not during production or destruction. I remembered this because I read recently in the Daily Dish that “manufacturing the Prius’s battery is extraordinarily carbon-intensive.” So I thought this car manufacturers must be hiding some other things, too. It seems they are not. Prius seems damn sleak and reliable.
All in all however, Prius and hybrid cars in general have seduced me on their side. I don’t even find the design that repulsive, and I definitely enjoy the mere thought of polluting less.
How about you? Do you trust a hybrid? Would you be willing to spend more on getting one? Is it a whim or a necessity?
Here’s some ideas Romanian bloggers mentioned (till now, all of them seem to like the hybrid car, although I nagged with Dragos Bucurenci they would write negative stuff about the event): Adrian Ciubotaru, Sorin Tudor, Dragos Dehelean, Marius Tudor, Marius Balaci, Vlad Bogos, Anca, INConstantIN (I hope I spelled it right), Alex Rosu (the only critical entry and the only one written in English), Dan Dumitrescu (the president of the ecologist party in Romania, and the guy I voted for in the recent local elections), Filip Lepus, Dragos Bucurenci (whose organization is powered by Toyota Prius), and Cabral (who writes a broader entry on eco-Romania), and Swamp (a specialized eco blog I just discovered), and many more.
auzi, se pune ca sunt ecologic daca conduc o masina care consuma ffffff putina benzina (adica in oras ajunge pe la un 8%)? nu de alta dar toyota prius e cam mare pentru nevoile mele…
I don’t really mind the mispelling as long as the link is ok. However, if it’s not too much trouble for you, I would really appreciate a re-spelling: INconstantIN:)! Thanx!
To really care you must know first about what to care… http://megalit.ro/libria/en/2008/05/25/justin-capra/
Thanks for the vote and support,
I’m just VP in the ecologist party.
be eco
@trainspot – you at least have the decency of using the subway when you don’t really need a car
@INconstantIN – done
@Stefan – interesting article and funny automated translation in English… I might start using it for this blog, since I’m kind of tired of writing both in Romanian and English. interesting article. i agree there are maybe dozens of other inventions more eco-friendly than the Prius. however, we are talking here about mass production, feasibility, and high-scale marketing. i doubt the hybrid invented by mr iustin capra would pass this test
@Dan Dumitrescu – apologies for promoting you in the party’s hyerarchy
i really do hope the ecologist party will become stronger and start doing real professional politics in romania… after all, your potential constituency is growing, as you saw from this week’s meeting.. good luck!
Nice blog, i have added it to my favourites, greetings
Interesting article, i will come back to your blog soon, best regards
Your blog is very interresting for me, i will come back here..
<strong>Niko…</strong>
an interesting take on a fun topic….;…