Jun. 20, 2011 (PR Newswire) --
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --Zipcar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIP), the world's leading car sharing network, today announced the launch of its fourth annual Low-Car Diet challenge. As part of the challenge, Zipcar is calling for car owners in participating markets to pledge to give up their personally-owned vehicles for 30 days and seek alternative methods of transportation, starting July 25, 2011.
Participating markets in this year's Low-Car Diet challenge include Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington, D.C. To apply for participation, individuals can visit: http://zipcar.com/lowcardiet.
Once all applications are received, three participants per city will be selected and will form "teams" to represent their respective market. These participants will be equipped with Zipcar memberships and prize packages to make the Low-Car Diet challenge exciting, rewarding and convenient. Starting on July 25, for 30 days, participants will walk, bike, take public transit or use Zipcar to get where they need to go, leaving their personally owned vehicles parked in their driveways or garages.
Teams will chronicle their experiences with weekly video blog posts and regular social media updates. At the end of the challenge, Zipcar representatives will compile the videos taken and additional results from each team and will post the videos to Zipcar's Low-Car Diet website. Friends, family, fans and other Zipsters can visit the site and vote on the team that best embodies the Low-Car Diet lifestyle. The team that receives the most votes will receive a grand prize.
"A study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that Americans view a car as their greatest necessity -- more than a land line, cell phone, TV or even high speed Internet. What is ironic is the average U.S.