You Ask, We Answer: What's the Point of the Eco Rally?

In our recent look at Honda's digital marketing for the just-released 2011 CR-Z, we mentioned Honda UK's collaboration with Future Shorts to offer a grant to an up-and-coming director.

The resulting short film, by winning director Tom Haines, profiled Future Shorts founder Fabien Riggall's participation in the Brighton-to-London Eco Rally. Riggall drove Honda's new CR-Z hybrid in the event; he's also a "cultural engineer" in Honda's Dream Factory project to promote the CR-Z, which is Honda's first hybrid vehicle.

A comment posted by @creativefeed wanted to know more: "What was the point of the rally? How do people qualify to win? Is it just point A to B? Is fuel efficiency a factor in the winner? If this video is attempting to capture a niche audience (hybrid sports-car buyers), I feel like they could have made the video more about the car and performance and fuel consumption, and not just one giant montage and time-lapse rally race."

Artistic considerations aside, here's what we found out.

The Eco Rally is a UN-recognized annual event inspired by World Environment Day, and not so much a race as a showcase of sustainable transport, so both a performance test and public awareness exercise for low-emission vehicles.

More than 30 green vehicles participated in this year's rally, which was sponsored by Bridgestone. Taking place on July 7th, it included a variety of British celebrities driving green vehicles including a Ford Fusion hybrid, a Ford Focus ECOnetic, a Tata Vista electric car, a MINI E, and a Ginetta G50 EV.

Despite Riggall's "we won" quip in the video above, the winning driver was Mulberry creator Roger Saul in a THINK City Racer, who explains in the video above how Eco Rally is one part of an international green car circuit.

As part of the EV Cup, next month Saul will co-host the Eco Car Spectacular on Sept. 12 in London. That event is sponsored by an initiative of Prince Charles and the Prince's Trust: Start, a UK-based initiative to inspire people to lead more sustainable lives. With Honda and Toyota vying for political support for their green cars, an endorsement from eco-champion Prince Charles could help spur the eco car movement, at least in the UK.

Hope this helps, @creativefeed!