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Toyota Drives Home the Green Point

Catching flak for opposing tighter fuel standards, car giant polishes eco-cred

By Sam Gale Rosen, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 29, 2007 10:05 PM CST

(Newser) – Toyota is rolling out a big PR campaign that stresses its green credentials—under attack now that the car giant has teamed up with Detroit to fight tighter fuel standards. A new ad shows a Prius being built out of sticks in a meadow, and the company crows over its eco-cred in promotional materials printed in soy ink on recycled paper, MSNBC reports.

Meanwhile, environmentalists are increasingly unhappy with Toyota, thanks to the company's resistance to mileage standards as well as its continued reliance on big trucks and SUVs. Toyota "has gone from the darling child of environmentalists to the bad guy for environmentalists fairly rapidly,” says an automotive analyst. Waiting in the eco-wings? Honda, says the analyst.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Corp's U.S. division, talks about his company and its prospects at the Los Angeles Auto Show Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (Associated Press)

Francois Choquette, left, and Nile Malloy, with the Rainforest Action Network, protest against Toyota Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007, outside the Los Angeles Auto Show. Toyota touts itself to be an eco-friendly... (Associated Press)

The second-generation Toyota Sequoia full-size sport utility vehicle scales an incline during its introduction at the Los Angeles Auto Show Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (Associated Press)

In this handout file photo provided by the Toyota Motor Corp., a 2007 Toyota Prius is shown in a Sept. 2006 photo. A decade after the first Prius went on sale, Toyota's global sales of hybrid vehicles... (Associated Press)

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Toyota Drives Home the Green Point