It's become an American truism: Once you buy an SUV, there's no going back. And our love affair with pickups has been documented in a million country songs and TV commercials.
But a brutal spike in gasoline prices - nipping $4 nationwide for a gallon of unleaded, up from $3 when the bombs first began to fall on Iran - has some car shoppers considering energy-saving alternatives.
Tomi Mikula is the founder of Delivrd, a car-buying consultancy that's built a following through hardball negotiations with dealers on behalf of buyers. Among customers, "We've seen a big transition to hybrids especially in just the past few weeks," Mikula says. "T …