How Toyota's Prius went from drab to fab
You know you're getting old when you're part of a conversation lamenting the footwear choices of youngsters.
A colleague was regaling us about his son's persistence in requesting a pair of Yeezy Foam Runners. If you're not with it, those are Kanye West's pricey slippers that have become all the rage. They kind of look like a Liquorice Allsort for your feet.
Said colleague explained that he couldn't understand how something so odd could be so hip; recalling the days where kicks like Nike's Cortez, Doc Martens, or those classic white Adidas Superstars were street credibility essentials.
But even more bizzarre, my colleague bemoaned, was that his teenager included a pair of white Crocs on the shopping list. You might have noticed that Crocs, once exclusively the preserve of moms and dads in the year 2005, have somehow become part of youthful repertoire.
From being the butt of jokes, regarded as a symbol of peak un-sexiness, the moulded rubber footwear with its holey design appears to have become a deeply trendy (and ironic) fashion statement. Not many things can go from anti-cool to desirably chic in such a way.
It reminds me of the Toyota Prius. Although the first one was a pioneer of innovative hybrid technology, it was viewed by traditional lovers of the automobile (petrolheads) with pure contempt.
The Prius represented the opposite of all the ingredients that got people hot for the topic of cars. it was styled like an appliance, had a lacklustre powertrain and was favoured by Hollywood stars who wanted to look like they had an eco-conscience.
But fast-forward over two decades since the initial release: the latest Prius and what it represents is extremely on trend, finding appeal among the mainstream.
Like the Crocs concept, Prius as an institution has become very, very cool. It went from a scornful by-word for motoring at its least exciting, to sleek, wedge-shaped harbinger of all our future mobility hopes and dreams.
Of course, where my comparison does start to fall apart, is in the visual department. While the classical Crocs template still looks as hideous as it did all those years ago, the Prius has morphed into something quite delectable.
Just look at its slippery, wind-cheating shape, the volume of its proportions and the interplay between its lines. It is a pretty cohesive piece of design, managing to be both future-forward, yet safe and contemporary in a way that wouldn't alienate the average Toyota faithful.
The new Prius, which isn't confirmed for our market, marks quite a leap for the hybrid species overall. Indeed, electric mobility on the whole is the germane topic in the grand, global automotive discussion.
Even if, for us at the bottom of the African continent, matters of energy supply loom over like a dark cloud.
It used to be that big displacement engines, loud noises and aggressive styling were the stuff of motoring dreams.
Today, our motors run hot at the prospect of cleaner and more efficient ways of getting around. Just look for example at how the new expression of the Mercedes-AMG C63 shunned its V8 in favour of a hybrid four-cylinder.
So the next time you see an old Prius in the flesh, doff your hat or raise a Croc to the hybrid pioneer that pushed the agenda before it became cool.