Many in the faith community have been saying that the day of the clean, efficient hybrid automobile is here, and the market is beginning to agree.  Honda says it will add a hybrid gas-electric version of its top-selling Accord model to its fleet of hybrid cars this fall, on the heels of  Motor Trend's 2004 Car of the Year award to Toyota's hybrid Prius.

The new Accord and a hybrid model of the Acura will join the Honda Civic, the Prius, and new Toyota hybrid versions of the Lexus RX and Highlander SUV  within the year.  Ford also plans to introduce the first U.S. hybrid, an Escape SUV.  

Popular Science, in its December issue, also honored the Prius as its Grand Award Winner for automobiles, saying "...hybrid technology has arrived, its benefits are profound, and its drawbacks almost nil." 

American-built hybrids have been slow to develop, in part because the U.S. Congress has refused to encourage the technology with the tax incentives granted to gas-guzzling traditional SUVs, but the marketplace is slowly setting favorable trends for hybrids anyway.  Read more in Motor Trend, Popular Science.