Toyota’s managing director calmly responded by saying: "Consumers value fuel economy. They place an ethical and moral value on emissions reduction. But they are not prepared to pay for it, because they believe that, between government and manufacturers, we have a responsibility to deliver cleaner vehicles. Period. And it’s not something that a consumer is prepared to pay for. That’s something they expect the manufacturer or the regulator to deliver. The fuel economy is money in their pocket; consumers put a value on that. For the last ten years, I have been talking about emissions. But every time the conversation ultimately comes around to: 'what’s the payback period in terms of fuel saved?'"
Matthew Stevens, spokesman for CrossChasm Technologies, expressed similar sentiments at the conference: "Customers value price right now. Emissions control is a moral imperative but doesn’t guide decision very closely."
Meanwhile, Bob Oliver of Pollution Probe, a Canadian environmental organization that presses for practical solutions through advocacy, ended the discussion with a real-life case that perfectly illustrates this paradox: "An ex-military officer who actually conducted a comprehensive economic payback calculation on a whole range of models, identified what was the optimal choice for him from the fuel-savings perspective and then went out and bought a convertible Mustang, because that’s what he actually wanted!"
Bottom line: new technologies are extremely tough to implement because, even though they help protect the environment, the consumer’s emotions generally prevail over reason.
photo:Toyota
Matthew Stevens, spokesman for CrossChasm Technologies, expressed similar sentiments at the conference: "Customers value price right now. Emissions control is a moral imperative but doesn’t guide decision very closely."
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| Toyota Prius Plug-in Concept |
Meanwhile, Bob Oliver of Pollution Probe, a Canadian environmental organization that presses for practical solutions through advocacy, ended the discussion with a real-life case that perfectly illustrates this paradox: "An ex-military officer who actually conducted a comprehensive economic payback calculation on a whole range of models, identified what was the optimal choice for him from the fuel-savings perspective and then went out and bought a convertible Mustang, because that’s what he actually wanted!"
Bottom line: new technologies are extremely tough to implement because, even though they help protect the environment, the consumer’s emotions generally prevail over reason.
photo:Toyota