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I think the point about how the car got to the top of the hill is valid. (I mean, if you get there on the back of a tow truck, or pushed it up with your friends, then the potential energy didn't come from your gasoline...)
I've heard a variation of this debate about hybrids. After all, some of them can drive on electric power for a mile or two, so should that count? Of course it should, since all the energy stored in a hybrid's battery ultimately came from burning gasoline. Except possibly for the very first charge when the battery left the production line.
I don't really think it's much of a debate.
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