From the
opening ceremonies of "No-car Day" in Brussels,
through the environmentally-progressive city of
Mendrisio, and on to the end of its journey at
Expo in Hannover, Toyota's Eco-Mission 2000 will
travel a distance of 10,000 kms in Europe over
40 days to interact with key people and projects
promoting environmentally-conscious
activities.
Follow Team ACP as they tour Europe in a Toyota
PRIUS, a hybrid car with a low impact to the environment.
The team will visit eight eco-conscious countries
to study around 20 sites featuring eco-friendly
transportation,environmental protection
schemes, recycling societies, and companies and
entrepreneurs engaged in planning and promoting
harmony with our environment.
The Mission:
Under the slogan of "progress in harmony with the environment," Toyota is sponsoring a 10,000-kilometer journey through eight countries in Europe to raise worldwide consciousness on environmental initiatives. Led by adventure/advocacy group Team ACP, who planned and devised the project, Eco-Mission 2000 will spend 40 days on the road, exchanging views with people and organizations throughout Europe. Toyota1s contribution to this mission is the new eco-friendly PRIUS, a hybrid car that uses both petrol and an electric motor.
"Our mission serves two purposes," says Team ACP leader Kiichiro Yokota, a Japanese rally driver and environmentalist known for his interest in worldwide conservation projects. He also led last year1s Eco-Mission 99, an environmental tour through North America. "When we question what we can do for the environment, we look at two things: first, how can we protect what is there, and second, how can we help what is damaged to recover? I want the mission to communicate that to people, particularly young ones, and also to let them know that they can enjoy the environment while at the same time helping it."
The Team
Team ACP is best known for last year1s Eco-Mission 99 to the United States where the members spent well over a month on tour in another Toyota PRIUS, spreading their environmental message. Kiichiro Yokota captains Team ACP. He established the adventure team in 1979 and has taken part in the Paris-Dakar Rally 12 times. A long-term advocate of ecological issues, Yokota recently lived with an ethnic group in the Himalayas and also lent his support to River Raid, an event to raise awareness between the coexistence of nature and the car. Yokota leads a team of journalists, navigators and drivers in this hands-on endeavor through Europe. To find out more about Team ACP, click here
The Car
While at first glance it may seem somewhat incongruous that a car company is supplying a vehicle to be used in an environmental mission, Toyota's PRIUS is no ordinary gas-guzzler. When the Eco-Mission 2000 launched in Brussels last month on European Car Free Day, an EU-wide initiative to create auto- and pollution-free city centers for pedestrian traffic, the PRIUS, because of its low impact on the environment, had a special exemption to drive in the restricted zones. Toyota's hybrid electric-combustion engine produces up to 50% less pollutant emissions, making the PRIUS the cleanest mass-produced vehicle in the world.
"Prius" in Latin means, "to go before," an apt name for this revolutionary vehicle. The PRIUS uses a regenerative braking system Ð when the vehicle is coasting or the brakes are applied, the motor is turned into a generator, capturing the energy that would normally be lost as heat and transforming it into electricity to recharge the car1s battery. This helps make the PRIUS an efficient, practical alternative to conventionally-powered vehicles, without loss in performance. To find out more about the Toyota PRIUS, click here.
