Tom Del Rosso wrote:

> Besides higher mileage I suspect there must be hidden costs or else there
> would be hybrids on dealers' floors. Is there a significant cost due to
> replacing batteries or something? Or are they just not ready for primetime?

The cost of batteries is unclear. The cost of NiMH rechargeable
batteries is going down, so the replacement costs could be lower
in the future. Right now they're for the early adopters. I
wouldn't say "not ready for primetime" but rather "a work in
progress". They seem to be fine vehicles, but the cost of
ownership is high compared to comparable size/performance gasoline
powered cars. You've got to really want one.

Certainly many of the electrics in recent years were sold at a net
loss. Remember the GM EV1, Toyota RAV4 Electric, or the Honda EV
Plus? GM claimed there was no demand for the EV1 (a lie). The
real reason was because it was costing them $80,000 each to make
them

It's believed that the Toyota Prius is turning a profit now.