More buy environmentally friendly cars

Pennsylvania and Ohio rank 10th and 11th in hybrid car registrations.
DETROIT (AP) -- The number of Americans driving hybrid cars jumped more than 25 percent in one year, a trend that is expected to continue because of gas prices and automakers' plans for more hybrid models.
There were 43,435 U.S. registrations for hybrid vehicles last year, a 25.8 percent increase from 2002, according to figures from R.L. Polk & amp; Co., the Southfield-based firm that collects and interprets automotive information.
California had the most registrations for vehicles with environmentally friendly gasoline-electric hybrid engines with 11,425, followed by Virginia, Florida and Washington. Pennsylvania ranked 10th with 1,217 registrations, followed by Ohio with 1,211.
Reasons
"People are buying hybrids because of mileage benefits and environmental concerns," said Lonnie Miller, director of Polk's analytical solutions unit. "With the rising cost of gas, hybrid registrations will likely increase in 2004."
Since 2000, hybrid sales in the United States have grown at an average annual rate of 88.6 percent, Polk said, but they account for only a fraction of total vehicles sold. Full-year U.S. sales for 2003 were 16.7 million.
Hybrids draw power from two different energy sources, typically a gas or diesel engine combined with an electric motor. Small cars made by Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are the only versions available in the United States, but nearly every automaker is investing in hybrid technology.