HYBRIDS: Smarter AND Cheaper

And think how much smarter and cheaper they will be when they are RECHARGEABLE:

Hybrids, Fuel-Efficient Cars Still Appeal to Americans, Even With Lower Gasoline Prices
Michelle Helias, December 18, 2006 (Fox News)
- Gasoline prices in the United States may be well below their summer highs, but that doesn't mean that Americans are abandoning new fuel-efficient cars and technologies.

- Despite an ease in gas prices, more and more U.S. consumers base auto purchase decisions on fuel economy and energy efficiency, as they did when gas prices peaked at $3.03 a gallon nationwide this past August…The evidence is in the results of this year’s auto sales.
- In the first 10 months of the year, Toyota Motor Corp. — which has led the industry with fuel efficient cars like the Prius — expanded its share of the U.S. market by 2 percentage points, to 15.2 percent, while General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Daimler Chrysler’s Chrysler unit all lost share, as buyers continued to choose smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles…

- Sales of hybrids, which combine gasoline engines with battery-powered electric motors, also continued to rise in November with 18,283 units sold, an increase of 13.5 percent over last year…
- [T]he compact crossover segment, which offers consumers SUV functionality, a car-like ride, plus good fuel economy, is one of the fastest growing in the industry…Owners in every non-luxury segment, except large vans, have been switching to compact crossovers at a greater rate in the third and fourth quarters of this year…In October and early November, more than four of every 10 compact crossover owners traded for another one, up more than 15 percentage points…