Aug 19 Bowater Toyota and the Toyota Prius a green hit at EcoFest

Bowater Toyota Salesman Toby Bowden chats to another interested EcoFest goer about the benefits of the Toyota Prius V and hybrid technology in general.

This weekend’s Ecofest Expo was another hit with locals keen on soaking up knowledge and ideas on better living, and glancing into the exciting future of motoring.

Approximately 4000 people hit the Trafalgar Centre over Saturday and Sunday to get practical, do-it-yourself advice on how to save money, stretch their dollar further and live better for less – all the while being kind to our planet, and our future generations.

Over 100 stallholders were at Ecofest, including Bowater Toyota, in the long running event sponsored by Nelson City and Tasman District Councils.
Stands, seminars and workshops included how to heat your home efficiently and cost-effectively, advice on building eco-homes and passive solar design; designing productive gardens; saving money on car running costs; and healthy school lunches.

The interest in the Toyota Prius was as always high, with a lot more people seemingly up to speed with hybrid technology and the benefits driving a hybrid can have, both on your wallet and on the environment as well. There seems to have been a tippng point change in the conversation about the Toyota Prius range over the last year in Nelson, perhaps in part due to the 2 new models in the line up, the very affordable Prius C (from $31,280) and the larger, 7 seater Prius V (from $51,280).

 
The Toyota Prius V and the Bowater Toyota main stand at EcoFest 2013.

Spokesperson Councillor Gail Collingwood said: “Both Nelson and Tasman Councils recognise the value for the region from such an event, where the many questions about sustainable living can be answered in one venue.”

The seminars and workshops were a real highlight – people were queuing up to learn about how to make their homes healthier, cheaper and warmer to run.

Cr Collingwood said people were really enthusiastic to get new ideas and resources on how to live more sustainably. “Ecofest is a fantastic venue for connecting people with knowledge and resources across the region.

The conversations we had at this years EcoFest demonstrated that things had changed a lot locally, with a vast increase in the number of people we spoke to at ecofest really keen to make their next vehicle a hybrid. The thirst for knowledge was quite surprising, with a great number of those we talked to having a comprehensive grasp on how hybrids worked, and the overall benefits that could be gained by owning one. The new levels of affordability are now also a greater incentive as hybrids become more mainstream, and therefore cheaper. Many were surprised to discover that a brand new Toyota Prius C was cheaper than a new Toyota Corolla, and our EcoFest Special priced Prius V at $41,990 certainly got some attention!

Also getting attention was the Sunrise Orange ex demonstrator Toyota Prius C which was parked down by the children's area, along with our "Toyota Corolla Driver" display. It is amazing just how popular this display is at events - you put a big piece of art up with a hole in it and you can be guaranteed a whole bunch of kids will stick their faces in it!

The Bowater Toyota sponsored Alternative Powered Toy Cars.

EcoFest is as much about innovation as it is about sustainable living.
The last two years Bowater Toyota has donated the prize money for the schools to help create the Alternative Powered Toy Cars section. The schools that participate spend a considerable amount of time learning about alternative energies and how these forms of energy can be used to propell objects, in this case little cars that are designed to race along a track. They make solar powered cars, rubberband powered cars, and the real speed racers, the CO2 powered cars.

The kids love learning about it, it fosters a wonderful sense of discovery and innovation and is a little bit of fun at the same time!

This year we had Waimea Intermediate, Nelson Intermediate, Mapua School and Brightwater School all competing in the Toy Car Races at Ecofest - and a great number of kids all learning to think outside the square and come up with fresh ways to solve age old questions of how to move objects from point A to point B.

Chris Bowen from Waimea Intermediate gives the thumbs up as the next round of CO2 powered race cars gets ready and is launched.

The future of motoring and how it effects you.

Each year Ecofest is a timely reminder for all of us just how fast technology is progressing and how our choices can have either positive or negative impacts on the world around us. The development of hybrid motoring technology is moving at a very fast pace, with Toyota leading the charge with the commecially robust Prius range, and the all electric vehicle varients of the RAV4 and the Prius now also available in the USA and some parts of Europe. We live in exciting times in regard to the development of greener motoring options. Keep heading back to our website to check up on progress, we are following it closely as we see it as a large part of our future too!