Larry David tools around in one on his HBO series. Cameron Diaz drives one in Los Angeles. So do Leonardo DiCaprio and Rob Reiner. Here in the state capital, top elected officials, including the state treasurer and the leader of the Senate, consider them a must-have environmental credential.
In car and image-obsessed California, the Toyota Prius, a hybrid gas-electric car that costs a fraction of the luxury vehicles normally associated with the state's freeways, has now managed to win the affection of even Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger does not drive the Prius, still preferring his signature Hummer. But he is poised to do something equally unthinkable -- and calamitous, some detractors in the American automobile industry insist, because their vehicles do not compete with the fuel efficiency of the Prius.
Aides to the governor, a Republican, say he will sign legislation approved on Thursday that could allow up to 75,000 hybrid drivers, mainly those behind the wheel of a gas-sipping Prius, to use car pool lanes even when taking to the road alone. The governor hopes the perk will encourage more people to buy the cleaner-burning cars, but by doing so, he will give the Japanese-made Prius vaunted status in a state where nearly 30 million registered vehicles compete for every inch of open asphalt.
Since becoming governor, Schwarzenegger has pared down his fleet of Hummers from seven to three, one of which is the subject of an experiment with General Motors to make it more fuel-efficient, said a spokeswoman, Terri Carbaugh. The same philosophy, she said, is driving his support for the new car pool law.
"This is an effective way for providing consumers incentives to purchase low-emission automobiles, which reduce air pollution," Carbaugh said.
But Schwarzenegger might as well promote a "buy Japanese" campaign, William Ford Jr., chairman of the Ford Motor Co, complained in a letter to the governor. An official with the United Auto Workers at Ford also wrote to Schwarzenegger, urging him to veto the legislation because no American-built vehicle would qualify. The combined offensive nearly killed the bill in the legislature; it passed the 80-member Assembly with the minimum 41 votes.
"Ford would not consider asking the California Legislature to support a `Buy American' law," Ford wrote. "This special-interest measure is intended for almost exclusive use by Toyota Prius drivers."
Car pool lanes in California, officially known as high-occupancy vehicle lanes, are the equivalent of a VIP pass to Yankee Stadium. Though some of the lanes are horribly congested, they are often a commuter's only hope for getting to a destination on time. They consist of nearly 1,931km of roadways -- the state accounts for about 40 percent of car pool miles nationwide -- and are, with a few exceptions, open only to vehicles with multiple occupants. (Another bill approved this week by the legislature would open several underused car pool lanes to solo drivers who pay a toll).
Access to some car pool lanes is so prized that drivers have been known to transport mannequins and life-size dolls in hopes of circumventing the restrictions. In one episode of his sitcom, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," David's character hires a prostitute as a car pool passenger in Los Angeles so that he does not miss a Dodgers game because of traffic.
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