Toyota has announced ten finalists in its Facebook contest to become the face of the “10 Years of Prius” anniversary celebration—and the hometown host of a big catered birthday party for the hybrid model .
Contestants were asked to submit stories, video clips and photos about their Prius Passion to the profile page between July 28 and August 13. Submission s had to be entered through the Prius Facebook application, which could be accessed after liking the Prius Facebook page.
Shortly after the entry phase ended, Toyota’s panel of judges selected the 10 finalist submissions and put them up for public view on the profile page. Visitors can now vote for their favorite once day until end of day Aug 27.
The winner of the popular vote will get a chance to host the official 10th anniversary celebration for Prius in his or her hometown or nearby location, with 10 tickets to the event to hand out to friends and family.
In keeping with Prius’ “green” branding, for that party—wherever it may be held—Toyota has announced partnerships with a number of eco-friendly groups to provide sustainable food and beverage and entertainment and to reduce the environmental impact of the celebration. The car maker has signed with mobile restaurant Outstanding in the Field to provide outdoor meals gathered from locally grown produce and prepared by regional chefs.
The manufacturer will also work with environmental consciousness groups such as www.SHFT.com and www.Reverb.org to underline the ecological message behind the festivities in video and music.
Toyota has announced that a new Prius Plug-in Hybrid model—the first to make use of electric power stored while the car is at rest, in addition to power created while in motion—will be available to dealerships by 2012.