From Betsy's article:

"_ I prefer big, heavy and safe _ "

I don't think that her problem is lack of motivation to do fact checking.
My guess is that she drives a big, gas guzzling SUV (soccer mom???), and feels somewhat bad or ashamed about it, and one way to correct this - for some people - is to put those down who make you feel ashamed. Of course I don't know if that's what's behind Betsy's rant, but I really wonder whether this feeling of shame about driving a Socially Unacceptable Vehicle is not behind a good portion of the anti-hybrid rants, and even "reviews" by supposedly reputable sources.