"The Prius is a fashion statement," said Art Spinella, a consultant with CNW Marketing Research who surveys car-buying trends. "It looks different. Other people know the driver is driving a hybrid vehicle. It clearly makes a bigger statement about the person than does the Civic, which basically looks like a Civic."

The Prius has set itself apart with a geek-chic look — a thick, curved body, high back end and glittering computer displays on the dashboard. It's the car of choice for image-conscious

Hollywood celebrities — Larry David, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz among the faithful — and the favorite of the Sierra Club, with its EPA-rated 60 miles per gallon in city driving. Google Inc. founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have burnished their hip anti-tycoon images by driving Priuses.

The auto industry is scrambling to milk the trend by making more hybrids, with Ford Motor Co. debuting the first U.S.-produced version and Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. expanding their offerings.

But the Prius' trouncing of the Civic calls into question the depth of the hybrid phenomenon, suggesting that what seems like a new consumer appetite for clean technology could be more hunger for one cool car.

"The basic reason I liked the Prius above the Honda is I just thought it was a much cooler-looking car," said Jeff Kash, 47, a West Hills, Calif., middle-school teacher who created a Web site to celebrate his 2004 Prius. "The Honda Civic Hybrid is a nice car, but it's boring."

Hybrid buyers in focus groups gravitate to the Prius "because of its unique design, and will candidly admit they expect to receive some acclaim from friends, relatives, co-workers for their concern about the environment and/or fuel efficiency," Spinella said.

That's classic car-buying behavior, said Michael Marsden, dean of academic affairs at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin and an expert on popular culture. "Automobile culture has always been about status. The whole industry is based on symbols," he said.

"With the Prius, you're bringing attention to yourself ... saying, 'I bought something upscale, something people will talk about.' It is a conversation piece, an attention-getter."

It's getting a lot of attention from consumers. Last month, a record 5,230 Priuses sold in the United States, and the car is on track to sell some 45,000 this year. Toyota recently announced plans to increase production to help alleviate a backlog. The company believes it could sell twice as many if only they were available, said Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. spokesman Irv Miller.

The Prius has been the fastest-selling car in the country for 10 straight months, meaning it spends the least time on the car lot of any vehicle before being sold, according to the Power Information Network. The Honda Civic Hybrid isn't in the top 10.

While dealers are offering discounts on the Civic Hybrid — one dealer advertises about $1,500 off retail of about $21,000, for instance — the Prius sells for full price of roughly $22,000, no haggling. What's more, even a used Prius can command huge premiums at auctions such as the online eBay, because new ones are so hard to come by.

Howard Weaver, inventory manager for Koons Tysons Toyota, said one of his used-car managers recently lost out on a used 2004 Prius on eBay to someone bidding more than $34,000. A recent survey of the site showed several new Priuses in mid-auction with bids topping $27,000.

Toyota remains bullish that the Prius is more than the automotive equivalent of disco or pet rocks. The company has roughly 7,500 paid orders in hand for the Lexus RX 400h SUV hybrid, which debuts later this year, said spokeswoman Martha Voss. Some 50,000 people have expressed interest in the Toyota Highlander hybrid SUV, which debuts next year, she added.