Stadium Toyota Helps Hillsborough County Appraiser ‘Go Green’

Outstanding Appraisal

Hillsborough County (Fla.) Property Appraiser Bob Henriquez checks out one of the 22 Priuses leased from Stadium Toyota.

Going the extra mile—or miles in this case—helped Stadium Toyota in Tampa, Fla., win a contract this summer to lease 22 Prius hybrids to the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser ‘s office.
 

When it came time to update the fleet used by his employees, Property Appraiser Bob Henriquez thought it was a good opportunity to replace the combustion engine-powered vehicles with hybrids as a way to save money on fuel and help the environment.
 

Officials visited Toyota dealers across the county during the bidding process, but sales associate Steven Blank said Stadium Toyota was able to provide additional services that he believes helped win the contract.

One of those is that fact that Blank has driven Pirus hybrids for nine years, and knows how to get maximum fuel economy from the car.
 

“I did step-by-step instructions with all of the people who work for the property appraiser when they first came here,” said Blank. “I did an extensive test drive and showed them how to utilize the hybrid components to get that fuel efficiency, and how to do it both on the highway and in the neighborhood communities.”
 

Blank said Stadium Toyota was also able to offer a maintenance agreement as part of the lease, and came back with the most competitive price.
 

“It’s good for us because it’s got our name out there that we’re in partnership with our local government trying to get them the best deal possible,” Blank said.
 

Blank also lauded the work of Stadium Toyota dealer inventory manager Sam Fagnoni in finding all 22 of the cars in Sea Glass Pearl. The appraiser’s office had hoped to get at least 15 of the cars in the distinctive color so they would stand out as part of the initiative to go green.