Hybrid cars 24 March 2010
Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Harrison Ford all own one. So what's so special about the hybrid car?
Driving a greener car saves fuel and money. It is also less polluting - so the more people who use them the bigger the contribution to cutting dangerous emissions.
We went on the road with designer, Wayne Hemingway in his hybrid, Toyota Prius.
I don't have to pay congestion charge, and I pay cheaper road tax.
Wayne Hemingway
Why do you drive a green car?
I'm conscious of carbon dioxide emissions.
If I can I will always get public transport but in my kind of business it's impossible for me to do without a car.
This way, I can drive around London and rarely use petrol.
How does it work?
It works just like a normal car but under 30 MPH it's powered by battery - anything over that, it switches to petrol - and you don't notice the difference.
If the battery runs down, the petrol engine kicks in and the battery charges on its own - I don't do anything.
You don't have to plug it in at night and it drives more than fast enough.
Wayne Hemingway
Does it save you money?
Yes it does. I get between two or three times more to the gallon than I used to. Plus I don't have to pay congestion charge, and I pay cheaper road tax.
What about the design?
It's not making a big statement about design, green values, or even the future - it just gets on with being a car. And that's clever because if it was seen as a car of the future - no-one would drive it now.
What can the government and car manufacturers do next?
The Prius costs about £18,000, so they need to be cheaper.
It's the biggest green car on the market, but for our family of six you can't even fit in the mother in law!
Manufacturers need to design a bigger green car.
The government should be really taxing gas-guzzlers.
Wayne Hemingway
And finally - do you support The Big Ask?
The Big Ask campaign is common sense. We've got to start thinking like the Romans, whose aim was to leave this world a better place for those who follow.
© Flat33 / Friends of the Earth
