I saw a service station selling regular gas for $2.10 yesterday and thought, “wow, prices have really dropped!” The oil industry, no doubt, hopes that we think “wow, that’s really cheap!” But we all know it isn’t … no matter how hard big oil pushes our price/pain reset buttons. So when I read today that the first bright yellow hybrid taxi cabs have hit the street in New York City, I sat back and laughed …

What would Kramer say?

The power is slowly but surely shifting away from the oil producers to the automakers.

With a mere 6 Ford SUV Escape Hybrids on the streets so far, NYC hybrid cab fleet may be small in numbers, but they’re not compact in size.

Cabbies driving Ford Escape Hybrids? This my friends, is a very good thing.

At 36 miles per gallon (MPG) the Escape Hybrid reportedly delivers twice the city MPG rating of the NYC taxi fleet stalwart Ford Crown Victoria.

Beset by losses, Ford needs to raise its profile, refocus its strategy, and pull in some profits. With conventional SUV sales depressed, Ford just might see its fortunes change for the better. Ford is the only domestic automobile manufacturer with a SUV hybrid (well, two of them to be exact: the Ford Escape Hybrid and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid).

New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission is authorizing a good number of hybrid-electric vehicle models for “hack-up” and use as medallion taxicabs. In addition to the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner Hybrids, the commission will allow the 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, 2006 Toyota Highlander, 2006 Toyota Prius, 2006 Honda Civic hybrid, 2006 Honda Accord hybrid, and 2006 Lexus RX 400H.

Related: High (30+) MPG Cars