The organization for transit information in the San Francisco Bay area, 511.org, places a banner on Treasure Island above the westbound Bay Bridge. The most recent banner has a side view of a Prius, the back half. The banner simply advertises the availability of information for commuters. I found it interesting that the Prius should be the car on that banner. Its design is, in my brother's words, "so iconic".
I take it as a subtle sign that our state's official hardline policy on global warming includes the promotion of hybrid vehicles, including the Prius. I like it. That same area on Treasure Island often pushes BART or Spare the Air days as well.
I sure am seeing a lot of them here now. Seems like in just a month, there are so many more Prii about. My son started counting them for fun. He counted 8 on the way home today. The drive home is 7.5 miles.
Around Sacramento it seems like 1 in 20 cars is a Prius. I doubt it's that high, but they're everywhere.
I'm beginning to see more of them on Long Island, too. Yesterday during my commute to/from work, I counted 11 of them (Round trip mileage is ~30). I'll be interested to see which car is the vehicle of choice for the Hamptons crowd on eastern Long Island. Each year, the "rich & famous" seem to have a car that they all own. Last year, it was the Hummer. In the summer of 2006, it was huge BMW's. Could they possibly opt for the Prius this year?