By Daily Press staff
Luxury cars now protect marine wildlife. Oceana held a drawing on June 30 for the Lexus RX 400h, the new luxury hybrid SUV that was donated to the ocean conservation organization by the Toyota Motor Corp., which owns Lexus. The drawing, from among 1,644 tickets sold, raised $82,200 for Oceana’s work to protect marine wildlife and ocean habitat.
The winner was David Addis of Great Falls, VA. The drawing was held on the Santa Monica Pier, located in a region where hybrid vehicles are particularly popular. More than half the tickets were sold to Californians.
“Thanks to the generous donation by Toyota, all ticket sale proceeds will go directly to help us in our fight to protect and restore the world’s oceans,” said Dana DuBose, director of Oceana’s Southern California office.
The retail price of the luxury hybrid is about $50,000. Strong demand and anticipated waiting lists to purchase the Lexus RX 400h helped boost sales of the $50 raffle tickets during eight months of promotion, according to officials.
“It was great to be able to appeal to people on two levels: first, they were making a generous donation to help the oceans, and second, they were getting a chance to win a really cool car,” DuBose said.
Proponents have said that the RX 400h delivers greater performance, improved fuel efficiency and significantly reduced emissions while sacrificing none of its luxury or utility. The new RX 400h also has been certified as a Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV), California’s most stringent gasoline vehicle emission standard, officials say. Santa Monica Elks congratulate Parrish
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 8, 2005. Read the original PDF.