Are hybrids the new status symbols? Until recently, I had been feeling a little frustrated that those wanting luxury items were usually lured into acting inconsistent with alternative energy or preserving the environment--e.g. driving a Hummer (unless of course, you are Arnold Schwarzenegger and have one run on hydrogen). Yet, after reading about the new Lexus 600l h sedan, I was excited that this concept of luxury may be changing. The new Lexus is over $100,000.00 and is a hybrid vehicle. It has all of the luxury features that the elite buyers will want, yet gets good gas mileage due to its hybrid nature. The price tag alone means that few people will be able to buy it. At first, that sounds like a negative, because not all that many will be sold. Yet, in the end, isn't this the best thing that could happen to the hybrid? The wealthy will make the product have a certain cache, which will turn the middle class onto the notion that hybrids are desirable and something to aspire to have--e.g. how plasma televisions were not too long ago. Perhaps then saving the planet and avoiding fossil fuel use will become more in vogue as a whole.