[Kamog]

When you look at the price of a hybrid vehicle compared to the price on an equivalent conventional vehicle, it still may not make good economical sense to buy the hybrid. You save on gas, but for the average driver, it will take many years for those savings to add up to make the hybrid worthwhile. By the time the extra cost of the hybrid pays for itself, the battery may wear out. Like all batteries, there's a limited number of recharge / discharge cycles that it is good for before it degrades and need to be replaced. It will probably be expensive to replace the battery if it fails after the warranty expires. But if gas prices keep going up like they have been recently, hybrids will become increasingly attractive.