Colette Brooks is just about as “green” as they come.
The perky 49-year-old started her own marketing firm that represents environmentally friendly clients and she was instrumental in making the Toyota Prius a Hollywood staple. She also is a member of the L.A. Biodiesel Co-op, which is promoting the clean-burning fuel across the county.
Even her license plates read “Offoil” and “Bioritz.”
But perhaps the pursuit most turning heads is Biobling, a company started two years ago. The Internet-based business Brooks and her husband, Eric Cadora, run from their Malibu home helps customers find biodiesel-fueled vehicles and then, if they choose, customize their rides with decals, paint and other unique accents.
“Biobling fills that need for people who are looking for eco-conscious transportation but don’t really have the resources to find it on their own,” she said, adding the business perfectly melds her two main passions: the environment and cars.
“I’ve had this bizarre fascination since I was a little girl with big badass muscle cars,” she said. “This has satisfied my fancy for big land yachts and allowed me to demonstrate what is possible in the alternative fuel and alternative transportation market.”
The company is the fruit of 20 years of work for Brooks.
In 1987, she launched Big Imagination Group, a Culver City-based marketing firm. The company started doing work with hospitals and moved gradually into the field of wellness products. It was a relatively simple transition, then, when the firm began primarily representing green clients after Brooks bought a hybrid Prius in 2002.
The company helped bring the Prius to Hollywood in 2003 through what Brooks called “engagement marketing” with Toyota. Big Imagination Group arranged for celebrities including Cameron Diaz to be chauffeured via Prius to the Academy Awards.
Brooks soon learned that traditional diesel-fueled vehicles can run on biodiesel with little or no modification. Biodiesel is derived from biological sources, including vegetable oil or soy. It is biodegradable and results in significantly fewer vehicle tailpipe emissions compared to petroleum-based diesel. Biodiesel is slightly more expensive, but supporters are willing to pay the premium.
Brooks started Biobling in 2005 and now she and her husband scour the Internet and their extensive contact lists to find the perfect vehicle for each customer. The couple gets a 10 percent finder’s fee every time they connect a customer with their new ride.
At first, the company sputtered along, but as word spread of her unusual Web site with the funny name, business accelerated. She now gets between 10 and 20 inquiries per day and has found about 30 vehicles for customers.
“The demand for Biobling has grown,” she said. “The inquiries are no longer coming from those die-hard treehuggers. We’re getting people from either end of the political spectrum.”
Warren Wagner, an architect with Venice-based W3 Architects Inc., ditched his Audi after Brooks and her husband helped him find a 1980 Mercedes that runs on biodiesel.
“I’m thrilled. My car is an ambassador for biodiesel,” he said. “I get a lot of attention because I have added the word ‘bio’ in front of the word ‘diesel’ on the back.”
