Blogger Eric de Place calculates that, for a typical driver, switching from an SUV that gets 16 MPG to a car that gets just 23 MPG (difference 7 MPG) will save twice as much gas each year as if a compact car driver getting 32 MPG switches to a Prius getting 47 MPG (difference 15 MPG). This counterintuitive result is a function of the curve shown below. Note that the steepest part of the curve (where the most gas is saved) occurs in the 5-20 MPG range.

Moral of the story: Environmentalists should forget hybrids and put their efforts on getting people out of their gas-guzzling SUV's and into Camrys, or even Cadillacs.

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