Ford announced yesterday that it was offering five-year, interest-free loans on its Escape Hybrid after seeing a double-digit sales jump in a month-long trial run of the deal in Washington, D.C. and California.

While the 36-mpg-averaging Escape Hybrid is no Prius, Ford's willingness to forego a chunk of profit (financing is one of Ford's major revenue sources) and Americans' interest in jumping on the hybrid bandwagon are promising signs: 1,441 Escape Hybrids were sold in March alone.