Nancy and I were talking about this on the drive in today, and she suggested that maybe people up there are greener. That’s possible, but aside from all the Priuses on the road, there wasn’t a lot of evidence for that. I actually suspect it’s something simpler. In Brisbane and the other major cities, a Prius is still rare enough that people notice it and talk about it – and its ‘greenness’ is one of the big selling points in that situation. However, in Cairns, they’re so common that they’re unremarkable. In some respects, the Prius is just another car up there. And that actually makes it a lot easier to buy one. You’re not making a big political or environmental statement, you’re just buying a good car that’s really fuel efficient – if it’s good enough for the cabbies, it must be good enough for regular use.

If Toyota wants to get the Prius to go from being a niche vehicle to a more broadly popular one (and I’m still not convinced that they actually want to do this yet), this is the transition they need to make in peoples’ minds. They need different examples to show people. As a niche vehicle, it’s fine to have endorsements from celebrities that are known to support environmental causes. But if you want everyone driving one, go for the cabbies and turn it into just another car.