Look, over there, a shiny object!

Mmmmm, Pretty.....

And so it goes with this nation's ability to keep focused on what's important.

Yes, gasoline prices are down. So, obviously, they will stay down forever, never to rise again.

Yes, and monkeys will fly out of my butt.

With the drop in gasoline prices, Americans and their famously long-sighted view of the world and the events to come, are dropping hybrid cars just as fast.

As this Los Angeles Times article notes, sales of hybrid vehicles are about as hot as my salsa dancing moves on "Overweight Clumsy Bald Guy Night" on Dancing with the Stars.

Not that I thought I would ever write these words, but I feel sorry for executives in Detroit.

After years of insisting that Americans only want big, gas-guzzling cars, we prove them right with something as simple and transitory as low gas prices, just as the government is forcing them to come out with more fuel efficient vehicles.

Why is saving money on gas only popular when it's wildly overpriced? Are we really that stupid?

Wait! Don't answer that. Your answer will depress me.

It seems we really are that fickle and short-sighted. Now granted, so few people are buying ANY kind of new car these days that hybrids shouldn't feel slighted.

In fact recent articles have suggested that buying a new car is a better deal than buying a used one, because so many people worried about the economy think they can't afford a new car and thus, are driving up prices in the used car market.

But the poor hybrids are suffering out of proportion to their share of the overall market it seems.

"In July, U.S. Toyota dealers didn't have enough Prius models in stock to last two days, and many were charging thousands of dollars above sticker price for the few they had.Today there are about 80 days' worth on hand, and dealers are working much harder -- even with the help of $500 factory rebates -- to move the egg-shaped gas-savers off lots," the L.A. Times reported.

Not that my beloved Hondas are doing any better: "This month, Honda is offering $2,000 in cash, financing and leasing incentives to buyers of the formerly sold-out Civic hybrid," the Times reports.

"The automakers are in the situation of needing to pacify politicians that are in the position to bail them out with expensive fuel-efficient cars," said Rebecca Lindland, auto analyst with IHS Global Insight. "But shouldn't it be more about satisfying the needs of the American consumer?"

Well yes, that would be true if the American consumer were not such an IDIOT!

Let's remember the American consumer once stood in line to buy pet rocks.

The more important thing to remember here is we need to wean ourselves off foreign oil in the same way the junkie needs to break his heroin habit. The fact that the dealer lowers the price when you're in rehab is no reason to pick up the habit again.

But some of those consumers are smart.

Consider the case of Chad Gallagher.

A lawyer in Berkeley, Chad "took advantage of a Presidents Day promotion, plus a healthy measure of dealer desperation, to buy a fully loaded Prius last month for $5,000 under sticker price.'We got the touring package, leather seats, navigation, Bluetooth, everything,' Gallagher said. 'I think they were just happy to sell the thing.'

Did you know that if you buy a hybrid vehicle, you can get a $500 rebate from the State of Pennsylvania?

State Rep. Bob Mensch (R-147th) wants to make sure you know and so, he sent me a press release to that effect.

Although flexible fuel and diesel fuel vehicles are not eligible (even though they should be), a list of specific vehicles that are is maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

To be classified as a hybrid, they hace to have a combined MPG of more than 55 and they cannot emit more than seven tons per year of carbon dioxide.

The rebates are offered on a first-come, first-served basis until the money runs out.

I'm not sure how much is in there, but I know I got a check more than a year ago when I bought my Honda Civic hybrid.

To get your hands on the cash, you have to lease or purchase the vehicle new and complete a rebate form available on the DEP Web site.

For more information, or to view the full list, you can visit Mensch's Web site and click on "Hybrid Tax Credit."