[elhigh]

We're finally getting closer to the original "does it make sense" question. I'm seeing lots of arguing of the merits of this vs. that, and weighing the economics.

I think we're forgetting motivations. Whether or not something makes sense depends on your motivation, on your priorities.

Humans don't make demands strictly on the basis of math and specifications. If they did, we'd all still be driving something much simpler, like five-door Metros.

Fat Charlie will likely cue in here and say something deprecating about marketing. He's right, but not right enough. Marketing works because we already make emotional decisions, even without marketing trying to skew our perception. It works because we let it. So marketing can have sinister overtones, but only because we allow it to have an effect on us. You can be purely intellectual, and then marketing is merely noise.

Obviously the hybrids make sense to the companies or they wouldn't build them. Obviously the hybrids make sense to the customers or they wouldn't buy them. The shortest answer to the original question is this:

Do hybrids make sense? Yes. Unless they don't. If not, there are other options open to you. Perhaps those will make more sense. What makes sense, however, is a completely personal finding that only the individual can define.