Stigmata
I think the statement is accurate. I'm a gas guzzling Ford Expedition driver and have been since 1997. I love that truck. It does anything I ask it to do. I don't think about whether I have the air on or not when I shut it off. I don't worry if I'm accellerating too hard--the difference b/w 12mpg and 12.5mpg just isn't worth the bother.
But, I'm not a complete idiot. For 3 of the past 6 years I lived in Alaska and needed the power/4-WD/reliability in snow, etc. For the most recent past 3 years I'm in a more suburban area with a daily commute to work that costs me 2 gallons of gas to get from home to work and back. Getting a Prius or other fuel efficient commuter vehicle makes sense.
My main concern was (and, to a degree still is) whether I'll be able to drive this car and still get the reliability and efficiency I want. I would guess that for a few months I'll play the "how many miles can I get out of a tank" and stealth mode games I read about here. But knowing my own personality and driving habits I'm going to be doing jack-rabbit starts, flooring the pedal to maintain speed up the steep ozark hills, passing traffic going less than 10mph over the speed limit, etc. If this car can't hang with that style and still get OK milage (I won't expect 55mph, but probably 42-45 out of the '04), then I'll probably be looking for something with a bit more 'umph'.
There clearly is still a stigmata, most people look at hybrids as something from the Jetsons. And, to a degree, that is deserved. I think/hope that the '04 and then the RX330 will start to make this vehicle much more mainstream and we won't give it a second thought whether the vehicle is hybrid or not. But for the time being there are a lot of us still in the 'wait and see' mode; having seen various passing fancies go to the wayside in the past.
BTW, the Expedition will stay as a back-up/winter/Colorado ski trip vehicle--I love that truck (just would love it more if it got 30mpg)!