Tommi Kaira Prius: All Show, Still No Go

Proof That It's Okay to Be A Hypocrite
(Image Credits: Autocar Magazine Online)

Fans of Gran Turismo will have heard of Japanese tuning outfit Tommi Kaira. While TK earned digital fame for its mental versions of the Skyline GT-R and Mitsubishi Lancer, it seems that the erstwhile wrenchmen wanted to do something a little more, how shall we put it, green. Enter the Tommi Kaira Prius. This is a very important car. Before you laugh that one off, let me explain why. There have been a whole raft of so-called "hybrids" out there; the Escalade, Silverado, and rumored Ferrari V12 hybrid come to mind. These are little other than normal gas-guzzlers with large hybrids. Think of them as thirsty beasts wearing a cuddly, Earth-friendly badge. Tommi Kaira have unwittingly produced the exact antithesis of these cars: a hybrid dressed up like a sports car! Wow! Like Andre Agassi said back in his Canon days, image is everything. The question I'm left with is, what image exactly is TK going for? It is a niche car, that is for sure. But how large can the niche be for people that want a sporty-looking, though not altogether sporty driving hybrid car? It's the sort of people who want to wear outdoor performance clothing, but don't want to have to go through the hassle of actually going outdoors. Hey, maybe TK is on to something...

A New CFC Problem

Look! It's One of the Smaller, More Fuel-Efficient Vehicles the Government Intended People to Purhcase
(Image Credits: General Motors)

Unintended consequences; history is full of them. One need look no further than chlorofluorocarbons to see how something that was hailed as a brilliant, world-changing discovery with the course of time threatened the very existence of humanity. CFCs were in everything from aerosols to air conditioners. By the late-1980s they were outlawed to try and stave off the growing hole in the ozone layer. Or take plastics, DDT, antibiotics, or any other invention that has had some effect or result that its inventor could not envision. Because science and engineering are practiced by imperfect, temporally-limited human beings, we will never be able to fully predict which successes are worthy of laud today, yet will be questioned mightily by future generations as if it should have been obvious to us.
There is a new CFC problem threatening the United States. This one is called the 'cash-for-clunkers' scheme. And, it too, so it would seem, has just as many problems as the original CFCs.
This AP story details how some people are taking advantage of the CFC rebate scheme to purchase luxury SUVs such as the Cadillac SRX, Lincoln MKX, and BMW X3. As the story details, these car dealers and interested buyers are merely taking advantage of a loophole in the agreement. It is not as if the money is being misappropriated; these vehicles actually qualify for government subsidy. It is a classic case of unforeseen consequences. The spirit of the program is that people will trade down from gas-guzzling SUVs to smaller, more efficient cars. The trouble is that if people wanted smaller, more-efficient cars they would have bought them in the first place. Instead--as is always the case with any law--the involved parties (the government included!) are doing the minimum possible.
The cars available for sale in the US have appallingly low fuel economy, so the MPG bar can only be set so high; otherwise the plan would be a catastrophic flop for the government since no one would take advantage of it. Consumers are not interested in buying smaller, more-efficient cars, otherwise they would have done so in the first place. Car dealers are interested in selling cars with the maximum amount of incentive; hence, they are unlikely to refuse to sell an SUV to someone under the CFC scheme because it 'doesn't fit the intended spirit.' Like any 'successful' government instituted plan, everyone gets to say they win, but realy, no one does.