Interest grows in plug-in hybrid cars.

WASHINGTON - A year ago, Austin Mayor Will Wynn launched a program to get the nation's 50 largest cities to buy plug-in hybrid vehicles to show automakers there was a market for the environmentally friendly cars. As a crammed hearing with Republicans and Democrats showed Tuesday, Wynn's timing couldn't have been better. Growing concern about global warming and dependence on foreign oil has lawmakers hungry for ideas they can support, and the campaign has the benefit of appealing to both automakers and environmentalists.