For years, the production of alternative energy vehicles faced skepticism from consumers. Some thought that the production costs would be too much for the economy to handle, while others declared certain energy sources too difficult to maintain. Today, Americans are finally warming up to energy-efficient cars. According to surveys conducted by Capital One Auto Finance, more and more people are thinking about owning a hybrid.

While 96% of Americans still don’t own alternative energy vehicles, 76% have tried driving one, and 78% of the participants believe that these vehicles are here to stay. This is a pretty impressive number for a technology that can turn lifestyles around completely. Apparently, less than 30% of the American population is unwilling to let go of their fuel-run cars.

To boot, 23% of respondents believe that hybrid or alternative vehicles will contribute more than half of automotive sales in the next ten years. This is more optimism than expected from most Americans, and it gives us more confidence that it’s possible for Japan to make half of its vehicles alternative-fuel-dependent.

Recently, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) dished out goals and policies for the production of hybrid vehicles in Japan. For most economy experts, the numbers sounded ridiculous. However, METI believed that it was necessary to make these policies to realize Japan’s environmentally-centered goals.

Things are certainly looking up for car manufacturers out there, trying to make cars “greener”. While there are still skeptics attempting to topple the cause, these surveys just show how much faith even Americans have on alternative energy vehicles.