SUVs have never been so much vehicles as statements on wheels. Statements about affluence, “family values”, rugged individualism (ironic given the herd buying) and so on. Research, amplified by Malcolm Gladwell in his article Big is Bad, shows SUVs aren’t even safer than smaller cars, questioning their family friendly status. But today the New York Times has a story about the new desirability of the Toyota Prius. The Prius, it argues, is gaining sales because, not in spite of the fact, it looks a bit different. Its the “new SUV”. People want to make a statement about green values, less reliance on fossil fuels and so on. Its easy to dismiss such behaviour as faddism, or just another ticklist item for the painless green lifestyle. But Greenmonk would like to be a lot more generous. Whatever works, basically. If we’re thinking green, even if its for appearance sake, that’s a good thing. Will car companies compete on the basis of looking more green? If it leads to smaller, lighter, more fuel efficient vehicles then I certainly hope so. I can only hope the Highlander is a massive flop though. What do you think?
Well – Eco simply is “in” again. Two years ago, Volkswagen stopped selling the “3L Lupo” (with less than 100g CO2/km) because demand was not there. Today they offer a Polo “Blue Motion” (3.9l/100km Diesel, roughly the same CO2 footprint than the Prius) and they are selling like hotcakes.
BMW is marketing “Efficient Dynamics” – and took everybody by surprise when both their new Diesel and Otto engines consume up to 20% less fuel while having more power (using some very clever engineering)
Bottom line: If Eco is in, people pay for the Eco Brand. But it’s not a lifestyle statement for abdication: We still want our BMWs to to give us the secure feeling of two tons of steel and speed up to 250km/h – while consuming only 6 liters of Diesel (when going 100km/h, but that’s another story…)