Daily Archives: March 24, 2008

Now that’s progressive.

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Progressive Insurance is sponsoring the Automotive XPrize which will award 10 million dollars to teams that develop a car that exceed 100 miles per gallon. It is a multi-year competition that seeks to spur lots of global design teams to develop fuel-efficient, low emission, commercially viable cars. It’s the kind of thing capitalists can dream up but governments can’t.
 
An X prize competition was established in 1996 to create a “private race to space” and a $10 million prize generated $100 million in contestant investment in the technology. This is the goal of Progressive Automotive’s efforts. 
 
 
What does Geico stands for? Certainly car insurance. 15 minutes saves you 15%. Geckos. Neanderthals.  Fill in the blank. But now I know what Progressive stands for. They are progressive.  Their website says Progressive has a “proven tradition of innovative thinking” and “long history of industry firsts,” but that’s all marketing palaver. This contest is real proof or progressiveness.  It’s believable proof. 
 
If given the opportunity to spend my hard-earned with a marketing juggernaut or a progressive company — prices being equal — I’ll opt for the latter every time.