What's common to Cameron Diaz, Leo and Wyatt Earp?
The best selling car in the hybrid (gas/electric) category is the Toyota Prius (currently 39,000 in the US, with a goal of 300,000/year in five years) which is attracting a range of customers that would not be as obvious, everyone who wants to make the US less dependent on foreign oil, those who care about the environment et al. according to this New York Times story (registration required):
Prius owners, predictably enough, include Hollywood celebrities who wear their environmentalist sentiments on their sleeves — actors like Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ted Danson. More surprisingly, the car is being bought by county sheriffs and bank executives intent on doing their part, as tensions escalate in the Mideast, to reduce American oil imports.
...The Prius is not cheap. Prices start at $20,500, which is $4,500 more than a similar size Toyota Corolla, though buyers qualify for a $2,000 tax deduction intended to encourage sales of fuel-efficient vehicles. Until recently, the Prius was the only four-door hybrid sold in the United States, but Honda — which has sold its two-door Insight since 1999 — recently began offering a hybrid Civic, starting at $19,550.