I'm generally a "late adopter" with most technology--probably one of the last Americans to get a microwave oven and got my first cell phone barely 6 months ago--but I've driven a hybrid Prius for a year now and love it. It drives like a Mercedes as far as I'm concerned (speaking, of course, as someone who's only driven a Mercedes once). Ask any Prius owner (especially 2004 or later) if they like their car and see what a smile you get. A buddy of mine asked one lately, and the response was: "My other car is a Porsche, and my wife and I fight over who gets to drive the Prius". The demand for hybrids is strong and building. Many people have told me "I want to get one of those for my next car."

I haven't seen much on who produces the batteries for hybrid cars, but most are produced under licensed technology from ENER (at least, according to ENER's CEO).

http://www.ovonic.com/PDFs/twst_stempel/ecd_twst_rcs_interview_092704.pdf

ENER has been around for a long time with many great "stories" that haven't been turned into profits, but maybe they're really onto something finally and worth a look. They also have a solid hydrogen storage technology, looking forward to cars being potentially powered by hydrogen.