[OAC_Sparky]

Hybrids have been proven to be not as effective as people are led to believe. Toyota got nailed exaggerating Prius mileage claims by nearly 25%, real world results nowhere matched the advertised mileage. On top of that, it has been shown that hybrids are on average less environmentally friendly than gasoline cars; some actually emit more pollutants in their exhaust, and then add to that the environmental damage caused in battery production. etc.

Until hybrid technology drops in price (by a lot), you can buy a lot of extra gas for the difference in price between a hybrid and its non-hybrid counterpart. Which is the primary motivation to buy a hybrid -- cost. Why spend $2000-$4000 more for a car to only save $1500 in gas over the life of the car?