Before I get to the test questions – a short digression. I really do believe a picture is often worth lots of words. Case in point: my first car from Chapman Tucson. Truth be told, Chapman has been my biggest sponsor since Mrs. Green was merely a twinkle in my Irish eye. Why? Because among their Chapman Honda and Chapman Tucson dealerships, they sold at least five of the top 10 most fuel-efficient cars on the market. Fast forward: Mrs. Green gets her first car.
Is this adorable or what?
Adorable ? Yes! Green? Not very. Chapman’s GM called me one day to inform me that we had to make a switch; he supports me 100% when it comes to walking the walk. So, it was good-bye, VW Bug. Hello, Honda Insight.
So question #1: Does your car dealership REALLY sell fuel-efficient and/or clean burning cars? Do your research. Honda & VW still make the grade. Check it out: http://cars.about.com/od/toppicks/ss/Ten-Most-Fuel-Efficient-Cars_12.htm
Gosh, I love happy endings. My current car is a VW Jetta TDI from Chapman VW. It gets AMAZING gas mileage; it’s zippy and it’s one of the cleanest fuel-burning cars on the road today. Case in point for “saving green?” We drove from the middle of Tucson, Arizona to downtown San Diego last summer and it cost us $37 — there were stretches when we were getting 54 mpg. What do you think of Mrs. Green’s current VERY cleaning burning wheels?
The Mrs. Green Mobile
Question #2 – Does your car dealer care about giving back to the community? It’s called sustainability. Since I am committed to writing shorter blogs, I can’t list everything Chapman has done for the community the last five years we’ve been partners. But supporting the FC Champion Soccer League is right up there with meaningful community support. Community Food Bank? Yes. The Humane Society of Southern Arizona? Yes. In fact, Mrs. Green will be attending Chapman Honda’s Pick a Pet Day this coming Saturday. Chapman provides the venue, covers the adoption fees and offers refreshments to anyone who stops by. And the list goes on…
Chapman’s Community Food Bank Drive
Question #3 – Does your car dealership care about being green from the inside out? I am going to write another blog about the Chapman Going Green Team accomplishments. To date, they put recycling bins under desks in their two largest dealerships, are providing customers with reusable water bottles and working VERY hard to change the habits of the sales force to get THEM to use reusable bottles instead of plastic. This one is a work in progress but it’s clearly moving forward. Here’s just a little “insider” snapshot from one of our Going Green Team meetings. FYI, both the VW & Honda managers attend the team meetings and help make things happen.
Chapman Going Green Team
How can you take green living to another level ( if you haven’t already)? Make sure your next car is fuel-efficient, clean burning, and as part of the buying process, be sure to quiz your car dealership about their sustainability practices – do they walk the walk? If we don’t ask, things won’t change – I pretty much believe it’s time they have to change.
Make it an intentionally great green day.