Lexus: The hybrid debate blog

Imagine your car is the only one on the road with a conventional petrol engine. Everyone else is driving hybrids, or cars based on cleaner technology. How do you suppose other road-users, and especially pedestrians, feel about your behaviour? Probably, they’re offended. This is a future in which the public is highly aware of how traditional cars contribute to local pollution and global climate change. And in which living "unsustainably" has become socially unacceptable. When you buy your next car, peer-pressure may be a significant factor.

If you think this scenario sounds far-fetched then you’re not alone. Today, most people still find it perfectly acceptable to spew out exhaust fumes wherever they go. Then again, most people found it perfectly acceptable to smoke in restaurants until very recently. Now, in some developed countries, most people would regard such behaviour as impolite - at least a faux pas and at most a disgusting act of selfishness.

What’s changed is that the general public has become better informed about the dangers of smoking. And, thanks largely to government campaigns, the traditional view of cigarettes as a cool lifestyle accessory has been overturned. The downfall of smoking has now become self-reinforcing: as this article goes to press, pub landlords in England are reporting that their patrons are policing the recent smoking ban for themselves; while in Scotland, a similar ban imposed in March 2006 is reported to have led to a 17% drop in the number of people admitted to hospital with heart attacks.

So could car technology reach a similar "tipping point"? Certainly, a growing number of people are looking for easy ways to build environmental friendliness into their everyday lives. Just by driving a hybrid, people feel they’re achieving something for the environment without having to make any major life adjustments.

People are also keen to be acknowledged for their efforts. Owning and driving a hybrid is a very tangible statement of your commitment to looking after the planet. You’re seen out and about in it, and it’s saying something about you even while it’s parked in front of your house. The implication of hybrid ownership is that you’re a person who cares, and who’s probably doing all sorts of other things to help the environment (although this isn’t necessarily true!).

Or, at least, it is for now. The most popular hybrid car to date, the Toyota Prius, has a very distinctive look. So when one drives past, you can be reasonably sure the driver is environmentally sympathetic. But an increasing number of hybrids look no different from traditional petrol-engine cars, except for some kind of badge. Recognition may therefore have to be factored into car design, if the tipping point is to be reached.

People often tell me they want to put a wind turbine or a solar panel on the roof of their house. I generally have to tell them it would make much more sense to improve their home’s efficiency first. But that’s not what they want to hear. Insulating your loft, turning your heating down or forfeiting a long-haul plane trip may have a more significant impact on trimming your carbon footprint than more overt gestures such as driving a hybrid car. But these measures seem like hard work, and they’re definitely not sexy. They’re unlikely to be seen by the neighbours, and the effort they involve may go unrecognised.

Having said all this, there are signs the tipping point might be approaching. Consider, for example, the recent picketing of 4x4 vehicles - so-called "Chelsea Tractors" - during school runs in south-west London. In this context, the implication of not driving a hybrid is that you don’t care about the planet. Indeed, friends with 4x4s tell me they’re ashamed of their gas-guzzling cars. Similarly, in December 2006, the Sunday Times published the following quote from an employee of Goldman Sachs, the investment bank: "Buying a Ferrari is not cool at Goldman. You’d get more brownie-points for turning up in a second-hand Toyota Prius."