Ted B. wrote:
Most hybrid owners seem to be ecstatically
happy with their vehicles, for now. That will change fast when the hybrids
are old enough to need their batteries replaced, though. And if we are
talking about a vehicle to drive for ~20 years or longer, then multiple
rounds of battery replacements WILL be an issue for hybrid owners.

What evidence, or analysis, do you have supporting your position that
hybrids will need multiple battery replacements? Do you actually know
anything about this, or did you just make it up?

Andrew Grant used a 2001 Prius as a taxi and put 200,000 miles on it
without needing a battery replacement. See
http://www.hybridcars.com/blogs/taxi/batteries. This is evidence of
more than adequate battery life in a hybrid, so the balls in your court
to provide some evidence that hybrid's have battery replacement issues.

Here is what Toyota has to say about Prius battery life:

"We have lab data showing the equivalent of 180,000 miles with no
deterioration and expect it to last the life of the vehicle. We also
expect battery technology to continue to improve: the second-generation
model battery is 15% smaller, 25% lighter, and has 35% more specific
power than the first. This is true of price as well. Between the 2003
and 2004 models, service battery costs came down 36% and we expect them
to continue to drop so that by the time replacements may be needed it
won't be a much of an issue. Since the car went on sale in 2000, Toyota
has not replaced a single battery for wear and tear."

Andy