I'm not convinced the hybrid is any cleaner. What of the toxic waste that the battery becomes when it needs replacement.
For me, if I'm looking to reduce motoring costs, I look at the biggest cost first, the vehicle, and not at a much small cost, such as the fuel.
Since a 30MPG vehicle at $2/gallon makes the cost for fuel to operate the vehicle about $0.067/mile and a $20k vehicle costs $0.20/mile if it has a 100K lifespan just to buy the vehicle, reducing the cost to acquire the vehicle is the probably the most effective way to reduce driving costs.
FWIW,
TB
