HybridCenter calls for the Toyota Estima to be brought stateside - sign the petition
Wish you could have a minivan and a hybrid, too? The combination has been available in the Toyota Estima in Japan for six years, and the Union of Concerned Scientists and HybridCenter.org think it's high time this vehicle is available stateside. As part of an Earth Day push, the two organizations have set up an online petition calling on Toyota to make the Estima hybrid available for sale here.
It's called the "Earth Day Challenge," and it's available here. If you don't get around to adding your name by Sunday, no worries. The campaign continues until May 28th. If you truly believe the Estima would be a nice addition to US highways, then get your friends to sign, too. The Better World Club and HybridCenter.org will offer prizes to some of the people who get five friends to add their name to the list.
Related:
[Source: Scott Nathanson / Union of Concerned Scientists and HybridCenter.org]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Algys Autos 8:07AM (6/28/2008)
Toyota Estima hybrid prices are now affordable in Japan and therefore translate to a good UK price. High fuel and road tax prices makes then a sensible option. see www.algysautos.com and then read the import scheme http://www.algysautos.com/Import_Scheme.html the car will cost you cost price OTR UK + £350. See a few cars here: http://www.algysautos.com/mpv.html
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Alex Nunez 7:44PM (4/20/2007)
I can see Toyota hybridizing the Sienna before they ever bring the Estima Hybrid over, which, I suppose, would accomplish the same goal. The thing is, the Estima is a LOT better looking than the tediously vanilla Sienna.
Bring the Estima!
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UncleOxidant 2:45AM (4/21/2007)
The thing is that most of the high mpg cars I see here on this blog aren't making it to the US. It's actually kind of frustrating looking at this blog sometimes as I see what the rest of the world is getting. Where can I sign a petition get bring over various turbo diesels, for example, that get 60MPG and are forsale in Europe and Asia?
I don't want anything fancy. Even if it only has two seats and room for a couple of grocery bags in back. My 80's car is getting old and I don't want to buy a replacement until I can buy something that gets 60MPG and won't break the bank. Are there other petitions out there for those of us who don't want a mini-van?
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Der Alte 4:36AM (4/21/2007)
Minivans are pretty ugh...until you have kids, then your perspective changes. Trouble is most minivans stick you with a V6 that makes you long for better mileage. There is a huge market for minivans that can get decent fuel mileage. Wouldn't it be nice to have options such as Honda Odyssey diesel or a Toyota Estima hybrid? I too find the Sienna to be too plain jane. The Estima looks like something I may actually want to buy (or at least not feel so bad buying if one is forced to go the minivan route). If I had lots of dollars, I'd go for a Mercedes R320 Bluetec....but if I could afford that then I probably wouldn't be so concerned of fuel economy.
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Lithous 10:41AM (4/21/2007)
I guess it is a lot easier to just beg Toyota to bring something over than to build it themselves. Don't these concerned scientist work for a living? If so, why don't they ask their company to build something fuel efficient to sell? Why don't they set up a place on their Website for these scientist to get together to build a company that sells all these things the UCS wants or thinks is so good?
Some other company than Chevy built the Volt already: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330111854115 isn't this what the Volt is? An electric vehicle with a generator?
Gee, looks like one company didn't beg GM or Toyota, they built one. Even if from a current vehicle. They did something other than beg and wait.
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UncleOxidant 5:26PM (4/21/2007)
Der Alte: Somehow my parents managed to raise two kids in the 70's (my sister and myself) without a minivan. We had small cars like VW Beetles and Datsuns. What's happened in the interim that now requires so much space for a kid or two?
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starlightmica 9:26PM (4/21/2007)
The Estima is the size of the recently axed, slow-selling Mazda MPV. Not sure how big the market is for something that size, yet would cost over 30k.
More likely, the next Sienna due in a few years will have a hybrid variant.
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Phil L. 11:59AM (4/23/2007)
>>> Somehow my parents managed to raise two kids in the 70's (my sister and myself) without a minivan. We had small cars like VW Beetles and Datsuns. What's happened in the interim that now requires so much space for a kid or two?
What happened? Car seats. I grew up as one of 3 kids; we piled in the back of whatever car my parents had at the time. Now I have 3 kids in car seats. The third kid pushed us into a minivan; I had 3 small kids in LATCH car seats: At that time there was only *ONE* vehicle on the market that had at least 3 LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) positions in it. Even today, your choices are pretty limited in this area.
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suvicha 6:25AM (5/13/2007)
We just bought a new 2007 Estima Hybrid from grey dealer. The car was imported from japan and thereis no English User Manual. Who know where can I down load a user manual for estima hybrid in Engliah versaion?
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prius_lover 2:49AM (6/05/2007)
We're considering bringing into the US a 2007 Estima Hybrid, and would love to hear from anyone who has, to know what is the set of conversions required by DOT/EPA, and whether you had any problems getting the car serviced at a Toyota dealership.
As far as manuals, you can get an English translation of the user manual for the 2nd generation Estima Hybrid from
http://www.car-handbooks.com/Estima.htm.
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