What happens when a bunch of car enthusiasts get together in Wisconsin in July? They talk green.
Really. The first hybrid fest was held in Wisconsin a few years ago and it has come a long way since its (relatively) modest beginnings. The web site for the hybrid fest coming up (http://www.hybridfest.com/) features the Dane County Fair, the 2008 MPG Challenge where drivers in the eight hybrid divisions compete for the title of Most Fuel-Efficient Driver in the World, its own PR unit, and some photos of the 2007 hybrid fest (http://www.hybridfest.com/2007Photos.htm ). It may not look like a typical car enthusiasts’ get-together but it is a major car event.
And, as far as I can tell, it’s not being popularized by the mainstream press. The hybrid fest seems to have achieved prominence thanks to the power of the blogosphere.
Blogs on Hybrid Fests
“Green” drivers’ blogs popularized this eco-friendly auto gathering. Not only did they tell the world about it (eventually getting the hybrid fest mentioned in the media) but they regularly give helpful advice to would-be eco-racers and drivers of all vehicles on how to do more miles per gallon.
The Eco-Modder, for example, advises you to make your car more aero dynamic (http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/5th-generation-civic-hatchback-improving-aerodynamics-312.html ) and gives some tips on how to drive using less gas (http://ecomodder.com/forum/EM-hypermiling-driving-tips-ecodriving.php ). Both tips are, of course quite useful in general but if you are serious about getting crowned the Most Fuel-Efficient Driver in the World, they’re crucial.
Green Technology, the Blog, and the Auto Industry
But then hybrid owners are famous for proselytizing their cars and the environment at the same time. Indeed, they are probably the main reason Toyota and Honda have spent so little money marketing their vehicles. It is therefore not a surprise that the blog (a private web site that is easy and relatively cheap to run and maintain) should be the primary way of getting the word out about hybrid fests.
But the emergence of the blog as the main vehicle (pun intended) through which news of the hybrid fest were spread may represent something else as well. During the 2008 US election, many mainstream media outlets have voiced the opinion that while blogs were fine for proselytizing and raising cash, they were not actually institutions. (The implication being that they didn’t really matter.)
But with blogs beginning to have an impact on the auto industry--for surely the car shows and car races are at least as much a part of the car culture and thus the auto industry as Detroit—that too may be changing.
