I’m always excited when eco-prizes are handed out on Those Reality TV Shows That I Totally Do Not Watch. But Sunday night on The Amazing Race, I was surprised to hear that the first-place pit-stop finishers were awarded electric vehicles, and then confused by the way the prize was never fully explained and seemed veiled in mystery.
From EW.com’s recap:
… [I]t was Christina and Ronald who finished first, earning themselves the weirdest prize ever: "an electric vehicle that seats four." And more oddly, this prize was clearly dubbed in later. Not only did [Amazing Race host] Phil’s voice sound different, but we never even saw his mouth move. In the one shot of him talking about this vague "electric vehicle," his head was entirely blocked by Ronald’s. I found this completely mysterious, especially because he not only refused to specify a brand of car, but he didn’t even specify what kind of vehicle it was. Don’t ask questions: It’s a vehicle, and it has a plug. Now get off my mat. I think Ronald and Christina are getting a toaster with four wheels nailed on.
Ha. But seriously, I tried to do some research on this mystery machine and came up with nothing. Even the Amazing Race website is still vague about it, calling the prize "an electric vehicle that seats four, is environmentally safe and is perfect for getting around town." I wonder what the story is: Did a deal fall through with the Chevy Volt? Did CBS realize there aren’t a whole lot of electric cars out there? Did Ron and Chris refuse the prize once they realized it was a golf cart/scooter/toaster-with-wheels? We may never know.
