"Prius politics." That sounds to me like another of these bumper-sticker type of generalizations that replace the necessity of thinking. "Let's all sneer at people who buy hybrid cars, especially Priuses!"

My friend who owns a Prius bought it (he's had it for a couple of years now—it was one of the first ones out) for a combination of reasons. First, he liked small cars because they are peppy, maneuverable, and easy to park. Second, the fuel economy appealed to him. It was the most fuel-economical car on the market that was available to him at the time, and that he could afford. And third, he is very environmentally conscious, and he liked the idea of an electrically powered car, and the Prius looked like a good compromise until someone made a fully electrical car that a) had some range to it, and b) he could afford.

He doesn't give diddly-squat about his "image," or trying to make some sort of statement to other people.

People get on Arnold Schwarzenegger's case for advocating environmental responsibility when he owns two Hummers. But—in an interview with him that I heard a week or so ago, he said that he'd had the Hummers modified. One runs on hydrogen and the other runs on bio-diesel. He considers it an experiment.

Don Firth