I thought you had to be wrong until I read the article. If people found solar panels garish, unsightly, this would sell like hotcakes. But just the oposite: people will put panels towards the street even when that's not the best angle or side. Like buying Prius over Honda's hybrid because the Toyota is distinctive, people want to flaunt their green.
Being conservative has nothing to do with it. The area of NY I live in right now is extremely conservative and there are dozens of solar panel installations from Apex Solar on homes and businesses.