Hmm, lots of uninformed opinions around here. We have both a Crossfire and a 2005 Prius and I love them both. Our Prius gets about 45 mpg in day to day suburban traffic and that's a number directly from the fuel consumption gauge. On long highway trips at ~65 mph, we get about 50 mpg. It's got a lot of techno gadgets too, which is cool because I like that sort of thing. Also, the batteries don't need to be replaced "every few years". Our service manager told us just last Saturday that they have yet to replace one on any Prius.

Is it (or the current state of hybrid technology) perfect? No. It's a step in the right direction and the most innovative car to be mass produced in decades.

We bought it not because we thought we'd save in gas money, it was more because we like the idea of hybrid and alternate fuel cars. If you don't want one, don't buy one. Simple as that. I'm not going to tell anyone how to spend their money unless they ask for my opinion.