These days, hybrid cars are commonplace. Nearly everybody knows somebody who drives a hybrid. How quickly things have changed. Just a few years ago, only environmentalists, techno-geeks, and celebrities drove them (at least, according to many media reports). A March 2002 article on Salon.com called hybrids, “the elite feel-good toys of the limousine liberal set.†The article poked fun at Prius-driving Cameron Diaz, who explained hybrid technology on the Tonight Show. “It, like, shuts down and then all of a sudden you just step on the gas and you’re going. It’s unbelieve—I’m thrilled. I’m so excited, ‘cause it’s, like, our future. That’s our future.†Well, the hybrid future is quickly becoming the hybrid present. Along the way, gas-electric auto technology shed its elite image, appealing to an ever-growing number of regular folk interested in saving money at the pumps or doing their small part to reduce our dependency on oil. Then what do we make of the emergence of hybrid limousine services? Full Article
