Now here's a smart marketing campaign. In an effort to raise awareness / interest in its 2010
Prius, Toyota planted five 18-foot tall "solar flowers" in Boston's Prudential Plaza and provided free Wi-Fi and electricity that was "partially powered" by the solar panels attached to the petals and stem. The so-called "Harmony Between Man, Nature and Machine" just disappeared from Boston but will next germinate in New York, followed by Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. We're not exactly in the market for a car right now, but we promise to think about it while we lovingly enjoy the free laptop charge and internet access.
[Via
PhysOrg]
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posted July 21st 2009 1:47AM
The guy in middle- the light on his shirt makes it look like he lighting up a bong at first glance. I had to look at it a few times.
Nice gimic. Might be even useful for that .1% of the population.
Great design for solar collectors. One problem: since the solar panels are attached to the back of the petals, shouldn't the flowers be turned so the back of the petal is facing south *toward the sun*? Kinda silly to have them sideways where little sunlight is directed on the panels. details...
Ah, as is usually the case with things like this they skip out on the south in general. No Atlanta, no Miami, no Houston....
What's amazing is the area photographed has one of the highest concentration of hot/cute girls in Boston, and this photo manages to capture a fat mom, a cop and some dudes. How's that possible?
Unless, the fat mom, the cop and the dudes are the best looking girls in Boston, ewwwww.....
I saw those in front of the Prudential Building in Boston (where this photo was taken) and was curious as to what the hell it was. I should have known it was a silly marketing ploy.
To be honest, not sure if we need WiFi outside of a multi-use building (the Prudential has a mall on the ground floor, offices up stairs, a restaurant, an observation floor), especially given that the major carriers in the US have excellent 3G coverage there.
Speaking from Texas, I always look with envy on stories that have to do with people doing outdoor activities during summer. I exercise outside daily, but only before dawn, due to the heat. If I used these stations during the day in normal clothes I'd sweat through them in minutes. I guess that's why Toyota didn't deploy them in the South.
very good point. also projects like these get tight operating budgets....as you can see this is a pretty much staightline from the east coast to the west...with a stopover in chi town. A swing down south would add up. Oh well, back to the beach.
I think I see a blawger with his MacBewk.
sounds pretty cool, Boston needs some atmosphere anyway
I think the citizens should have a say on whether or not these ugly ass flowers start sprouting up. What an eye sore. Like we live in in Oz with the munchkins or something.
Pretty useless for using a laptop outside. Even the matte screen notebooks are impossible to see in the sun.
If I *could* use a laptop outside at one of these giant flowers, I'd use it to research clean diesel cars :)
looks like BIG BROTHER'S mind control system in sheeps cothing.
tomo