Hybrid Horrors!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 8:43PM No, I am not talking about runaway Toyotas here. I am talking about runaway marketing managers. Why in the world do so many car manufacturers feel the need to plaster gigantic, tacky graphics over their cars proclaiming them as hybrids? I am all for green initiatives, local organic apple pie and motherhood, but what ever happened to tasteful restraint?? Luxury and performance hybrids are a bad enough joke as it is, but can't they keep the joke to themselves?
It seems the worst offenders are the SUVs. Both the GM and Porsche SUV Hybrids have massive "Hybrid" markings down the rocker panels as if to say "Please don't key my massive, hideous truck. It gets marginally better mileage than the one I drove until last year!" Pathetic. If you need to drive one of those absurd luxury barges, you should have the balls to carry it off without having to beg everyone's forgiveness, or dare I say praise.
Sports cars are also getting in on the fad for cheesy graphics. In the old days, a supercar may have had the word "Turbo" emblazoned across it in order to advertise the fact that the car was faster than yours. But now, even supercars are getting "greener than thou," and this really turns my stomach. Perhaps the worst offender is the new Lotus Evora Hybrid. Not only does it have bad graphics on the side, but there is a rear window sticker on the clear engine cover that evokes circuit boards. Can you get any more sophomoric? And Ferrari showed off its new eco-friendly technology in Geneva by painting their show car...wait for it...GREEN! And in case you were too dumb to catch that subtle metaphor, they slapped on a tacky windshield graphic just to top it off.
I'll end here by just saying that this has to stop. Now. Please. Last time I checked, the Tesla Roadster silently zips along producing zero emissions, and no one has to know about it but the driver and whoever can identify one on the street. Now that's earth-friendly and eye-friendly.
Reader Comments (2)
yeah I'm with you there Automobiliac. As a proud owner of a non-malfunctioning Prius (well, knock-on-wood, I have had to have a couple switches replaced to deal with a hinky cruise-control system in the 3rd year of the 4 I've owned it) I couldn't be more pleased with the way the "2nd Gen" Prius looks from the outside. It has "Hybrid" on it but in a nice and subtle chrome logo innocuously mounted above the front tire in line with the door handles. (This is not mine, but it illustrates my point: http://john1701a.com/prius/owners/patrick-lisa_Prius-Gia.jpg, no flash - but lots of balance). I wonder if you'd be able to comment in a future post about Toyota's current issues, though. Do you think that their problem is indeed their corporate culture? Could it be that their "outsourcing" of a lot of their production to (GASP!) American parts manufacturers is part of why they've been having trouble controlling the quality (and SPEEEEEEEEEEED!!!!) of their end products?
Etanq -
Toyota's troubles are mainly a product of their obsession to overtake GM as the world's biggest automaker. In the process of expanding their reach, they took their eye off their core values - "The Toyota Way" - and paid a huge price for it. You can't really blame US suppliers because the parts are still designed by Toyota to their spec, and no other companies are having the same exact problems. So the fault lies with Toyota. I could write a lot on this topic, but I am trying to keep this blog light and entertaining!