Reply #4: GM was both right and wrong...

[SlipperySlope]

If you look at small hybrids from an engineering, economic, or environmental point of view, they really don't make much sense. There are less expensive, more effective ways of conserving fuel.

But if you look at them from a political point of view, they make a lot of sense. They are subsidized by the US government through tax incentives, and give people who drive them an opportunity to show they are "doing something" by their choice of vehicles.

I think GM approached this purely from a engineering point of view, and didn't consider the people factor.

In the long run, gas-electric hybrids might not have a long market life. They seem like an interim solution until we can effectively make all electric or alternative fueled vehicles.