What a surprise: With gasoline costs dropping from $3.50 a gallon to $2.25 (and as low as $2 in places like Portland, Oregon), fewer people are dying to buy hybrid cars. The Toyota Prius still commands a waiting list, and the Honda Civic Hybrid is also popular. But thing are different at Ford, which enlisted Kermit the Frog for the "it is easy being green" marketing campaign for Ford SUVs, the Ford Escape Hybrid, and the up-market Mercury Mariner Hybrid. Kermit and Ford incentives of $500 to $1,000 are helping, and most Ford and Mercury buyers qualify for the 2006 hybrid-vehicle tax credit, which is available until the maker produces 60,000 hybrids.

Ford's goal is relatively modest, about 20,000 hybrid sales this year. In comparison, Toyota sold 107,897 Priuses, so not all of them will qualify for a government handout. These range from about $500 to $3,000, depending on factors such as how much the hybrid improves mileage compared with a similar car from 2002. The "hybrid penalty" is about $3,000, meaning the same car with a hybrid engine costs buyers about $3,000 extra, and it takes about six years of driving to make back the premium, give or take the cash you get back from Ford and the government.