First, it’s a Volkswagen, which gives hippy-era baby-boomers bouts of nostalgia for Love Bugs and Microbuses. Second, it’s a Jetta, a car so ubiquitous in the pre-Bubble ’90s that any Silicon Valley entrepreneur with an idea and a pulse got one as standard issue. And finally, it’s a hybrid. Consider that California buys more Toyota Prius hybrids than every state in the nation combined, and the gas-electric Jetta seems a no-brainer for Golden State greenies.

However, from a purely cost-to-savings calculation, it’s a tough sell. At a base price of $24,995, the 2013 Jetta Hybrid commands a $6,000 premium over a comparatively equipped (and traditionally powered) Jetta SE, which still gets a laudable 23 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway.