Whenever I leave Detroit, I take special note of the vehicles people drive. It’s my informal survey of the current automotive market. I’ve sat outside of LAX and observed all the vehicles dropping off loved ones — not a GM, Ford or Chrysler in the bunch. Foreign cars rule.

So imagine my surprise when I pulled behind a 2009 Cadillac Escalade hybrid while driving around Los Angeles. It was big and black and intimidating from the seat of a midsize sedan. As I drove through a few neighborhoods, I saw another Escalade hybrid parked in a driveway. And then another. And another.

What’s going on? I thought big sport utility vehicles had died. Victims of their own gluttony, they had become political curse words and parking lot pariahs.

But not when the word “hybrid” is scrawled across the front, back and sides of this big SUV. It creates a moral dilemma. Can an American have a vehicle with room for eight but be environmentally sensitive? Apparently so.

With this behemoth of a machine, you get a luxurious SUV that can silently creep around parking lots without emitting one ounce of carbon dioxide. This hybrid can get 20 miles per gallon in city driving; that’s 8 miles more than the gas-only Escalade.

The heart of the hybrid Escalade beats with GM’s modified 6-liter V-8 and two electric motors tied to a 300-volt battery pack. The motors can drive the car at low speeds on electric power only, but don’t expect this to happen for long periods. The Escalade weighs 7,300 pounds. Most of the time, the 332-horsepower V-8 kicks in at even the mildest acceleration.

But this engine is no normal hunk of cast aluminum. It uses GM’s Active Fuel Management, which can turn off four cylinders when power is not needed.

Another big fuel saver is the automatic engine shut off. If the Escalade is stopped, the engine is off. The electric motors kick on the engine whenever it’s needed without a rumble or a bump inside the cabin.

But it gets up and goes. Acceleration is quick and smooth. When you need power, it’s there. When you don’t need it, such as stop-and-go rush hour, the Escalade hides it.

And the Escalade hybrid maintains its over-the-top good looks with the distinctive, powerful grille, the giant wheels and the sharp chiseled lines along the body.

All of that luxury does come with a price: roughly $70,000. But I think most people buying this particular Escalade aren’t worried about the price tag.

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