PLUG OK license plate
"Wannabe a PHEV" Bumper Stickers/License Plate Holders
Aug 21, 2007 (From the CalCars-News archive)
CalCars-News
This posting originally appeared at CalCars-News, our newsletter of breaking CalCars and plug-in hybrid news. View the original posting here.
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Here's an inspiring example of the creative energy of PHEV advocates and CalCars supporters!

It turns out that NY Times Op-Ed columnist Nicholas Kristof's comments on energy, which we pointed to yesterday, is accompanied by Kristof's blog http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com­/2007­/08­/20­/your-comments-on-energy-conservation­/ It's gotten lots of feedback. At this location, CalCars supporter Matt Mathews posted the 96th comment, helping to dispel some readers' misconceptions about electricity vs. gasoline (the old chestnuts: we'll have to build new power plants," and "it's just transferring the source of pollution from gasoline to dirtier coal").

Matt also posted the very first comment on the blog, which we reproduce below. He publicly announcesthat he has gone "into business" selling an affordable series of promotional items -- bumper stickers, oval stickers and license plate frames -- all showing cars that think or say "When I grow up, I wannabe a PHEV." In the spirit of social entrepreneurship, he's arranged for the net revenues to go to CalCars.org.

Washington State-based Matt began helping CalCars some months ago, volunteering as part of a two-part team to translate some of our pages into Japanese. Energized, he started thinking of what else to do. He knew CalCars offered one bumper sticker and a t-shirt (which we send to all donors of $25 or more) -- see http://www.calcars.org/sponsor.html . Inspird by Plug In America's large line of products http://www.cafepress.com/pluginamerica at Cafepress (a self-service online store), he proposed his Wannabe idea to both CalCars and PIA. We didn't discourage him -- but were too overloaded to help make it happen.

Matt decided not to wait. Now he has his own Cafepress store http://www.cafepress.com/pluginwannabe offering items in English, French, Japanese and Swedish, customized for several different hybrid models. And he's set up a "wiki," (a place where you can add information without having to read a manual) where you can post photos of your car, later to be replaced by a photo of the same car with the bumper sticker. Anyone in the world who sees the stickers and follows up at the URL will find links to his pick of PHEV advocacy organizations (list below).

MATT'S ANNOUNCEMENT

To promote greater knowledge on the topic, I've created some "plug-in hybrid wannabe" bumper stickers. They personify various hybrid vehicles as wanting to become PHEVs when "they grow up". The stickers also reference a wiki http://phev.wikispaces.com , where Plug-In Wannabes are invited to register and post a picture of themselves, (optionally, with their owner).

The promotional aspect, (beyond the profits which are donated to CalCars), comes with the links on the wiki site to various websites about plug-in hybrids, so those who may have become interested in the subject based on the bumper sticker may learn more about them. So please check it out, and join with me in promoting the benefits of PHEVs. http://phev.wikispaces.com --Matt

We'll be adding a link to Matt's products at http://www.calcars.org/products.html

If more of the 5,000 subscribers to CalCars-News have Matt Matthews' energy level and ability to donate his time, we'll get PHEVs on the road sooner!

And feel free to send Matt's top links to your friends:

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