New Lexus/Toyota Models Will Help you Find Vegan Food
Select Toyota and Lexus vehicles will use Destination Assist to help vegans locate plant-based food options.
Seeking Plants
People buy vehicles for a variety of reasons, from the way they look to the comfiness of the interior to its cargo and people carrying capacity. Now, it seems like select Toyota and Lexus models might appeal just a little bit more to vegans, thanks to a new feature in the automakers' Destination Assist that allows drivers to locate vegan food options near them.
Photo: HappyCow
Smooth Integration
Destination Assist on new model year Toyota and Lexus vehicles features HappyCow integration - a web-based vegan food locater - to provide this service. To find nearby options, drivers simply search for terms like "vegan" or "vegetarian," after which they'll be contacted by a live agent who can send over directions via Destination Assist.
Photos: Lexus
Simple Process
"It's sort of a live experience where you don't have to use your phone, you can actually just talk to your car, and then the navigation coordinates are sent to your navigator in your car, and then you're on your way," said Ken Spector, HappyCow's principal.
Photos: Lexus
Rapid Growth
Spector says that currently, HappyCow helps roughly two million people locate vegan and vegetarian food options each month. He expects that this new partnership with Toyota Motor Corporation to grow that number exponentially - up to roughly two million people in the U.S. each year.
Photos: Lexus
Versatile Feature
Currently, Toyota is offering a free trial of Destination Assist for the first year on new purchases or leases. Meanwhile, Lexus provides a three-year trial of the feature on its new vehicles. Drivers will be able to choose the options closest to them or search by specific cuisines, though the feature is only available in the U.S. for now.
Photos: Lexus
Useful Service
With more and more people choosing to become vegans and vegetarians, this service seems like it could be a boon for quite a few folks. While there are a growing number of restaurants that cater to this type of diet, they're still not always terribly easy to find. Thus, kudos to Toyota and Lexus for providing a useful service to a slice of their customers.
Photos: Lexus
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