By: Erin Miller

I often find myself torn between the eco-friendly cars that preserve our environment, and the toys and muscle cars with the speed and power of yesteryear. Finally, Honda put together a new hybrid concept called the Mugen CR-Z RR that not only gives you fantastic eco-friendly fuel mileage (50 mpg in eco-mode) and emissions, but provides that get-up-and-go with 197 bhp and 158 lb ft torque. Then…they took it away. But not before announcing to the world, making us all excited, and even having a lot of automotive marketing buzz about it, thanks to the internet.

No longer in line for production, the CR-Z RR could have started a whole new trend in the hybrid and electric car market. My first vehicle, the first I made payments on at least, was a Nissan Sentra Se-R Spec-V 6-speed stick shift with almost 200 bhp and was so much fun to drive. While it got good gas mileage, it didn’t get anywhere near 50 mpg like the CR-Z RR, and it was not considered an eco-friendly car. The CR-Z RR was a model that has an ability to blend the foreign toy cars with the continually changing green market. Not to mention creating some major changes in the auto marketing world, as this type of car would create a fun and exciting marketing campaign for anyone to design.

Many of the hybrid and electric cars share the trade off of power, speed, and overall performance for cleaner emissions, better gas mileage, or even no gas at all. The CR-Z RR was a beautiful blend of these features all wrapped into one odd looking but speedy little package. Many young adults and first time car buyers are looking to get into an eco-friendly car, but some of that group want something stylish that doesn’t force them to drive like their grandparents. Plus, the marketing strategy to go with this car would be fresh and new, utilizing search engine marketing, mobile marketing, and the newest fad, QR codes. The Mugen CR-Z RR was the answer to this gap in the hybrid/eco-friendly market, but alas for reasons unknown, we will never see it.

Never say never though. It is only a matter of time before manufacturer’s bring this idea back to the table. As technology and our understanding of how vehicles can be made to work with the environment instead of against it, there will be more changes ahead, increasing the variety and abilities of these hybrid and electric vehicles and expanding the limits of the automotive marketing industry. With that said, Honda may have dropped the ball by deciding to not continue with the CR-Z RR concept, because if they don’t put out a car like that, someone else will. It will be interesting to see over the next few years how the eco-friendly car market changes and the new choices that will be brought to the buying public and showcased in automotive marketing. I for one cannot wait until the day comes where not only can I get a fun-to-drive, super speedy car, but can also feel like I am doing my part to make the environment better.

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