The summer heat in Los Angeles hasn't been normal. My parents live in Tarzana, on the Woodland Hills border. By now, people who live in LA all know about Woodland Hills because this sleepy pricey West San Fernando Valley suburb has been the center of heat like never before. Last Saturday, Woodland Hills hit 119 degrees, an official record for LA County. It's the hottest temperature ever recorded in the County since they began keeping records over 130 years ago. Yuck.

What does this have to do with cars? Well, it has people thinking about their cars and how well their air conditioning systems work. Yesterday, I was talking to a friend about the top features he was looking for in a new car. As background, he is driving a 1997 Saab 900 two-door hatchback. His Saab has over 100,000 miles on it and no one can get that nagging "check engine" light to go off. His top criteria for a new car are:

• Air conditioning that is substantially more effective. The Saab's current system can't keep pace with the heat we've had lately. It's hell.
• A decent-sized trunk as he is a professional photographer who carries expensive equipment to shoots.
• A car with high gas mileage, preferably with "green" creds. Most of his driving is in-town between his home in Santa Monica and posh areas east of the Great 405 Divide*. Occasionally he braves the 405 south to Orange County.

(*For those living outside Los Angeles, the 405 Freeway is one of the most congested north-south freeways in the LA area. Any major east-west street that goes under the 405 is essentially jammed either direction at the 405. It's like a roadblock. No one from either side wants to cross that barrier as it can easily take 45 minutes to one hour to drive from Beverly Hills to the Beach in Santa Monica, which is around a 10 mile drive.)

I assured my friend that it was definitely time for his Saab to retire. I'm surprised it doesn't spend more time in the shop than it already does. He's learned what a pain in the ass it is to constantly have a car in the shop leaving you stranded without a car -- for even one day -- in Los Angeles. Naturally, the car has been out of warranty for many years and any loss of time costs him both the price and hassle of a rental car or downtime at home with only a cell phone, laptop computer and high-speed internet to carry on business.

But lately, this Santa Monica resident has been thinking about how bad the AC is in his Saab. And he's not alone. Many LA drivers are seriously questioning the ability of their cars to keep up with 16 or 17 days straight of temperatures above 100 degrees coupled with uncharacteristic humidity. Even smokers, who usually leave their window down to allow the smoke and ash outside, have shut their windows and cut down on in-car smoking during this heat wave.

Of course, this is LA, so the common thought is that this heat wave is due to global warming. And what can stop global warming more than a hybrid vehicle? We've discussed the fact that hybrids aren't going to make much of a dent in global warming or in California air quality. In LA, a hybrid allows you to show your green credentials and gives you bragging rights in the entertainment community. In SF, it's an angry political statement against the evil of Detroit and the monster trucks and SUVs that are deliberately aimed at destroying our environment.

There is good news for most new car buyers. Air conditioning is standard on almost every car sold in the US. And while some have better systems than others, most units are sufficiently efficient that they will keep you cool even when you're in Woodland Hills or Palm Springs (although it may take longer to cool a car that has been baking in the sun). It's also good news that modern cars aren't prone to the overheating that was common in older cars.

One good idea is to leave your sunroof slightly open or crack the front windows a bit when you have to park in oven-like conditions without the benefit of a parking structure or shade. When I was in Palm Springs a couple weeks ago, you could probably have cooked a loaf of bread inside my Audi. Fortunately, the climate control system was able to quickly dispel the heat and keep the inside temperature at a comfy 72 degrees for my drive back to LA.

Now back to the Saab story. I assured my friend that a new Saab 9-3 sedan has a good climate control system. Another friend of mine had one for three years and just least an identical 9-3 for another three years. It was trouble-free (!) and the AC was very strong.

Here's a dose of reality for the Detroit bubble: This Saab customer doesn't want another Saab because, in his opinion, they no longer have any style. And this non-car guy in LA, living in the Peoples Republic of Santa Monica, is very concerned about the environment. He has gone to see "Who Killed the Electric Car" and "An Inconvenient Truth" so he thinks his next choice for a car should be as clean and green as possible. In fact, he has looked closely at the Toyota Prius and he really likes it; but it doesn't have enough room in the hatch area for all his equipment nor does it have the ability to hide it all from view.

So what does my friend like about the Prius? He sees the Prius as a "people's car"; one that eliminates social status, class or wealth. In LA, very rich movie stars and just about anyone who can afford a $30,000 car (which is a lot of people) can drive a Prius and benefit from the terrific Toyota marketing machine that has crowned itself as the greenest car company on the planet, savior of Earth and maker of the best hybrid technology. I didn't make this up, this is what real-world, non-car people are thinking.

In LA, a Prius has status at The Ivy on Robertson on par with any Mercedes, BMW or Porsche. In fact, when cars are lined up in front of an expensive restaurant, the valets often throw a Prius in the mix alongside a Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes SL55 AMG and a Porsche 911 Turbo. Other hybrids on the market don't make the cut as they aren't instantly recognizable as a hybrid like the Prius.

What many current Prius buyers didn't know is that the technology used by Toyota (and others) to kill the gasoline engine while the car is stopped at idle or operating at slower speeds in electric-only mode also shut down the climate control system to conserve batteries! In fact, the engine-kill technology is being used outside the US to save gasoline while a car is stopped. The technology was not brought to the US market yet because shutting down the climate control system at a stop would be unacceptable in our market, particularly in hot climates. It's a good thing. Those "green" people would be seeing red if they lost AC while stopped in traffic!

My advice to any car buyer is to check out all the systems in your target car. And not just how well the climate control system works, it's many other things that will annoy you later like the placement of power window switches, seat adjustment, visibility, etc. I also believe you should drive the car at night so see how that works for you and how the car lights up at night. If you're out test-driving new cars in the summer heat, insist on getting in the test car before the sales associate has had a chance to start the car and get it cooled down before you get inside. And for those lucky enough to be able to afford a car with dual-zone climate control make sure you check out the performance of the system with different temperatures on each side. If your husband/wife/significant other is going to be in the car with you frequently, make sure the system works for both of you before you buy or lease that car!