www.freep.com/money/autonews/attackads24e_20051024.htm
PRINTER-FRIENDLY FORMAT Ad attacks Toyota's record Environmental group questions efficiency October 24, 2005 BY SARAH A WEBSTER FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER "Is Toyota a wolf in sheep's clothing?" Th e ad is to run in Mother Jones online today and be printed soon in full- page ads in the New York Times and other publications. Created by the Bluewater Network, a nonprofit organization that fights fo r clean air and water, the ads against Toyota are thought to be the firs t ever to attack a Japanese automaker on its environmental record in the United States. Bluewater says Toyota's hybrids aren't as efficient as their non-hybrid v ersions and questions why the automaker is fighting tougher standards on fuel economy and emissions. They also note that while Toyota's overall fuel economy is the best in the industry, it is worse than it was 20 yea rs ago, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Toyota spokeswoman Nancy Hubbell said the automaker is disappointed by th e campaign. "Toyota is definitely the environmental leader, and we're extremely surpr ised," she said. Bluewater is the same environmental group that launched a personal ad cam paign against Ford Motor Co. last year, portraying Ford Chairman and Chi ef Executive Officer Bill Ford as Pinocchio and challenging the automake r's record on environmental issues. Those ads, according to Bluewater, were largely a consequence of Ford por traying himself as an environmentalist, making promises and not keeping them. "We don't enjoy playing the truth squad," Danielle Fugere, director of cl imate change at Bluewater, said. "But when the auto industry misleads th e public, whether intentionally or not, someone's got to set the record straight." The ads against Toyota are likely to be heralded by Detroit automakers, w hich have been crying foul for years now over Toyota's seemingly bulletp roof image with consumers as the environmentally friendly automaker. Toyota makes one-third of the hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles sold in t he United States and has consequently benefited from Earth-friendly buzz -- even getting A-list celebrities to arrive at the Academy Awards in h ybrid Prius compact cars as an environmentally conscious fashion stateme nt. But Bluewater's ads, which were obtained by the Free Press last week, sho w Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe in the foreground and a man wearing a wol f head in the background. Foremost, the group questions why Toyota's newest hybrids don't get much better fuel economy than their non-hybrid versions. The EPA rating shows the vehicle gets 33 mpg city/28 mpg highway in federal tests. The non-hybrid Highlande r, meanwhile, was rated 19 mpg city/25 mpg highway by the EPA -- m uch closer to the actual results in the hybrid. Other journalists have found similar results, Bluewater notes in its ad, calling the Highlander and Lexus RX 400h "gas guzzlers with no better fu el economy than their non-hybrid versions." "If this is the precedent for Toyota's future hybrids, that will be bad n ews for global warming and our dependence on foreign oil," the ad says. Hubbell of Toyota defended the company's hybrid vehicles, saying they are more efficient than their gasoline counterparts. What's more, she said they are 80% cleaner in emissions. Bluewater also asks why Toyota is working with other automakers to resist federal efforts to raise national fuel mileage standards and suing to b lock California's proposed regulations to reduce smog and greenhouse gas pollution. Hubbell said Toyota is lobbying for regulations that are "rational and na tional," to avoid a patchwork system of standards "that would be a night mare" to comply with for manufacturers. The ads also note that the average fuel mileage of Toyota vehicles is wor se today than it was 20 years ago, according to the US Environmental P rotection Agency's 2005 Fuel Economy Trends report. While Toyota has a stable of fuel-efficient cars, including the hybrid Pr ius, it also makes the Land Cruiser SUV (17 mpg on the highway); Those vehicles have helped lower Toyota's overall fuel economy. "Toyota has a lot of explaining to do," Bluewater's ads say. Is this the same company that br ought us the hybrid Prius, claiming to be an environmental leader?" The ads provide Toyota's telephone number and encourage consumers to call and ask Toyota to "build more fuel-efficient cars and end Toyota's oppo sition to critical US environmental policies."
|
http://csua.com/feed/