Hybrid cars still not a deal for state

Even as gas prices increase to record levels, hybrid cars remain a luxury purchase for the state government.

A year removed from establishing a goal of buying 100 more hybrids by 2011, the state is planning to get just 13 this year, which would bring the total to 43 out of the government's approximately 9,000-vehicle pool.

The information was relayed to the Board of Public Works yesterday by T. Eloise Foster, the secretary of the Department of Budget and Management, who said increased demand overall for hybrid cars and the difference in costs between hybrids and conventional vehicles is prohibitive.

The state could...