Hi all, We've got some exciting Prius events touring the US over the next few months and wanted you to be among the first to know. See below for a brief description of the events along with a schedule. Feel free to pass this along and hopefully some of you can catch the tour in action. Thanks Doug & Erica ----- Prius Solar Tour. Prius Solar Flowers. Prius Solar Flowers are touring the U.S.! These large flower sculptures are flanked with solar panels and provide visitors with free Wi-Fi service and charging stations for laptops and cell phones. It’s all powered with help from the sun, like the Solar Roof in the 3rd generation Prius. Prius Solar Bus Shelters. 3rd generation Prius technology is popping up in bus shelters across the country! Select public bus shelters have been retrofitted with solar panels and fans that circulate air within the shelter. This cooling experience was designed to mirror the Solar Powered Ventilation System found in the 3rd generation Prius. Embedded with available solar panels, the 2010 Prius can use solar power to ventilate the interior when parked in the sun. Prius Solar Flowers and Bus Shelters will be touring major cities across the U.S. Check out the schedule here: 1. Boston – Prudential Plaza – July 8 - July 19, 2009 2. New York – FLATIRON PLAZA – July 23 - August 2, 2009 (Solar Flowers Only) 3. Chicago – Navy Pier – August 8 - August 22, 2009 4. Seattle – Westlake Park – August 29 - September 7, 2009 (Solar Flowers Only) 5. San Francisco – Yerba Buena Gardens – September 12 - September 27, 2009 6. Los Angeles – The Americana – October 3 - October 18, 2009 Check out the Prius Facebook page later this week at www.facebook.com/prius and click on the "Solar Flower" tab for more information.
What happen to an event in the middle of the country Like DENVER. These events are a long ways away for some of us.
Hey Doug, there are about 45 other states and God knows how many cities you're missing! Geez, don't you guys ever go anywhere besides California, Chicago and NYC!? Some part of that 10% you're targeting must live somewhere besides the markets that you've already saturated. Not that I really need any sunflower bus stations anyway! Wouldn't want anyone to forget how green the Prius is though...
I'd suggest Phoenix as a stop, but w/o misters, the solar powered fans wouldn't do a whole lot of good this time of year
Quite contrare.. solar powered fan with misters should do a very nice job. When the monsoon season kicks in, the cooling effect will go away but at lease you're still moving the air. Nearly all the bus stations are open air and every little bit helps.
Brilliant!!! I love the idea!! And I'll be in Boston to take advantage. If only you could ship some cars with solar sunroofs to this region!!
Cooling down bus stops is a decent idea, but I don't think people riding the bus are planning on buying prius. Those flowers are goofy as all hell, lol.
Like them or not, they catch your eye and make you want to find out more. You don't have to be in the market right now. The message may be powerful enough to influence future purchases. Do the flowers fan the seated people? If not, I won't want to sit in the sun very long during the dog days of August in Chicago. For the record, I like the campaign.
Just a quick note to call your attention to an update in our OP...a new location for NY has been updated to Flatiron Plaza. Hope some of you can make it out to check out the fun. Best, Erica
Hey Prius Team, can the Chicago Prius Group get one of the flowers at Navy Pier for our exhibit at the Illinois Renewable Energy Fair the 8th and 9th. Wayne
Prius Team, As the solar flowers tour the country, it might be worth some more time to explain the solar roof. I have seen many posts on PC and elsewhere reflecting confusion as to what the Prius solar panels actually do. As a recent example, while reporting on the solar flowers The Boston Globe's automotive reporter wrote that the Prius solar roof panels "are supposed to power the air conditioner when the car is parked on a hot day." In the comments, the reporter clarified that by saying "the solar panels on the Prius, by default, help to power fans to ventilate the cabin, but they also help power the A/C when selected off the key fob." If true, that would be a great idea. You can read the full article at Toyota plugs solar flowers in Boston - Boston Overdrive - Boston.com While Toyota's press releases are careful to discuss solar ventilation, I'm not sure that everyone fully understands. Even the Toyota website is not clear, IMO. If I were Toyota, I would be concerned about customers buying the Prius thinking they got solar a/c and then learning they did not. My suggestion is to just explicitly say that the Prius solar panels do not power the a/c. Why not try to end the confusion?
You won't have the Globe to kick around much longer! Probably the piece was scribbled out as the automotive editor was being shown the door. Seriously, I think Toyota is very clear in their communications - it's the editors and public who are getting confused. I'm taking my new Prius to the Pru this weekend to see the Flowers - hoping there's enough sun to power them! I'll park on Boylston and give personal tours
