Hybrid Hysteria Hits Ikea Canada, Toyota

I swear we're not specifically looking for this stuff, but it seems like hybrid hysteria is going on everywhere you turn these days.

Ikea Canada just announced that they are starting a 'Green Parking' program that will enable owners of hybrid cars and fuel efficient vehicles to park closer to the store in designated 'green parking' spaces.

"This initiative is just one part of IKEA's overall environmental commitment to finding business solutions that have an overall positive impact on the people and areas we have stores," says Debbie McDowell, Corporate Communications Manager for IKEA Canada. "Our customers who drive hybrid and fuel efficient cars are helping us realize this approach and we are very excited to reward them for their commitment to the environment with preferred parking and a more convenient shopping experience."

The 22 spots (two at each location) will be located directly after the handicapped and family parking near the entrance of the IKEA store. Drivers will recognize the preferred spaces by the Green signage, both on the ground and at eye level. Depending on the response from customers, and as the trend towards hybrid vehicles grows, more green parking spaces may be added.

Of course, the one major hiccup in all of this is figuring out how to get that 'easy-to-assemble' bookshelf to fit into your little Prius. Good luck with that.

In more hybrid news, a Toyota VP was caught making a pretty bold statement about the future profitability and goals for hybrids as part of Toyota's overall product lineup. Masatami Takimoto who is primarily responsible for powertrain development said that by 2010 he expects Toyota to make the same profit margins on hybrids as regular gasoline-powered vehicles. But if that wasn't bold enough for you, he goes on to drop the big one...

By 2020, Takimoto said he expected hybrids to become the standard drivetrain and account for "100 percent" of Toyota's vehicles.

Whoa! 100% of Toyota cars to be hybrids by 2020? I have serious doubts about the likelihood of that statement bearing fruit, but give Toyota credit for setting lofty goals.

via: [IHT]
via: [CNW]

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Hybrid Hysteria Hits Ikea Canada, Toyota

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