Friendly

If more than one hippopotamus is called a hippopotami and more than one cactus is called cacti, then surely it follows that if you own more than one Lexus, then you own Lexi?

Lexus are forerunners in the bid to reduce emissions and save our planet with their range of hybrid vehicles and many people, particularly throughout the US, have been keen to give them a try. In the US, the public transport system is not quite as efficient as in Europe. People are spread out across the land mass and all are wanting to get somewhere as quickly as they can, whether it be the school run, gong to work, shopping for out for a super large McDonalds takeaway.

The Americans like their vehicles to be luxurious, comfortable and reliable, pretty much like the rest of us, which is why they have taken so well to the Lexus. In fact, they have taken to it much better than the Japanese who actually make the car and the Europeans who are not keen on paying so much for a method of getting from A to B when they have a pretty efficient transport system in place already.

One such American who wishes to reduce his carbon footprint by using a hybrid vehicle is Grateful Dead founder and front man, Bob Weir, who owns a 2007 Hybrid Lexus GS 450h. Environmentalist Weir purchased the car for its eco friendly qualities and ranks the car an eight out of ten. Although it is worth a full ten, Weir lives on a mountain side so doesn’t feel the full benefit of the car’s economical aspects but fully appreciates the sound system. Apparently, the driver is cocooned in silence whilst driving allowing the vehicles superb sound system to completely envelope the driver.

Another celebrity eco-warrior is Sir Paul McCartney. His tireless campaign for anything environmentally friendly has been rewarded by the gift of a Hybrid Lexus Limousine. This was in recognition of the fact that he does all he can to enlighten the public to the need for ‘green’ cars. However, Sir Paul was not best pleased when he found out that the car was flown from Japan to Britain by jet. The carbon footprint for a jet is one hundred times that of a standard method of shipping and kind of defeats the object of a ‘green’ car.

The market for hybrid cars has been slow to take off. People want to do their bit for the environment but not many people can afford the price tag that comes with it. This is something that the government should be able to tackle. Maybe if they were to subsidise it then we could all afford to do our bit.

They also do not provide the same sort of power that drivers have been used to with standard fuel cars. Technology is improving all the time in a bid to find a means of transport that not only is not harmful to the planet but that also gets us around at the speed we are used to and is accompanied by sleek, good looks. Until recently, many electric or hybrid cars looked plain silly. Tiny vehicles that were painted in lurid colours may have been good for the environment but few people are willing to drive around looking and feeling silly.

All the top car manufacturers are working on eco-friendly cars and the results are getting better by the day. Hopefully, in time, this will result in the right car, with the right look, at the right price.

Tagged as: Cars, Friendly, more, Moves

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