Pledge Shmedge

Congratulations to Ford Motor Company. Forbes magazine reports that the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV made the list of the top-ten most fuel efficient vehicles for 2006, based on the latest data from the EPA. It was the only SUV to make the cut. Too bad Ford, Detroit's only representative on the list, has since shifted its emphasis away from hybrids to flex fuel vehicles, abandoning an earlier pledge to produce 250,000 hybrids per year by 2010.

The perennially chart-topping Honda Insight occupies the number 1 spot, followed by the Toyota Prius. Also on the list are a two new subcompacts with conventional engines, the Toyota Yaris and the Honda Fit. Both models are selling briskly, in partly due to smart marketing, and partly because they're cool. According to Forbes: "These cars aren't just a way to survive an oil crisis; they are actually stylish." See, small really can be beautiful.