The big question would be does demand get created by media campaigns or does it merely complement a trend that was already present. I would say that the latter was true with the rise of the SUV - soccer moms and dads started to made the larger boats popular - soon thereafter the law of keeping-up-with-the-Joneses took off. Ford and GM eventually caught on and started retargeting their marketing and creature comforts for those vehicles accordingly.

In any event, I take it that the answer to the original question is that FEH and friends are safe for now even if there does not appear to be a major marketing push for hybrid vehicles by Ford.

 

Responding to the original poster:

http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/09/Auto..._hybrid_plans/

So no, the downsizing and cutbacks will not affect hybrid plans.