This from a story Toyota hopes to cut hybrid premium in half as reported in USA Today:

"The mind-set has changed. Used to be somebody would pay $2,000, $3,000 more for a big V-8 and the macho and muscle and squealing tires that went with it," said Jim Press, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA. "Now, at least in some places, people pay the premium for the (hybrid’s) image of being concerned about a clean environment, contributing to their children’s future health and depending less on foreign oil."

It continues to baffle me why our domestic auto manufacturers continue to extrapolate the demand by some for big mondo cars to everyone in the market.  I still think our industry is on it’s way toward another clock-cleaning ala Japanese imports in the 1970s.  Toyota considering how to double their Prius sales points this way.

My previous hybrid posts: Prius-buzz; 1397 miles, one tank - must be a hybrid.