Spend some time in Los Angeles and you’ll spot a seemingly endless stream of Ferraris, Maseratis and other exotic sports cars. But Tinseltown drivers also love their Teslas, and Toyota Prius hybrids, making L.A. the country’s fifth largest markets for green-minded car shoppers.
Just in time for Earth Day, the folks at Cars.com probed their search data to see which cities have the most eco-friendly buyers. At the top of the list is the San Francisco-Oakland megaplex, where eco-consciousness has become more than just a cult. The same could be said in the relatively pastoral Monterey Peninsula which ranks second. Northern California’s pastoral Eureka and mid-state Santa-Barbara and surrounds come in next on the list, followed by Los Angeles.
If there’s any place where fuel costs are even higher than L.A., it’s our 50th state, Hawaii. And with few places to drive, Honolulu may be ideally suited to accept the relatively short range of most of today’s battery cars. It’s sixth on the list, followed by:
- The high-tech hub of Seattle-Tacoma;
- California capital Sacramento;
- Booming San Diego; and
- The hipster epicenter of Portland.
While green car sales have slipped lately, impacted by low gas prices, Cars.com Executive Editor Joe Wiesenfelder suggests, “There may be no better time to buy a fuel-efficient car than now, because low gas prices have reduced demand for hybrids and electrics, resulting in special incentives from many automakers.”
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-- Paul A. Eisenstein