Actually, the HCH-II (a parallel hybrid) compares very favorable to the Prius (a parallel/series hybrid). There's only a 2-3 MPG difference, and the HCH costs a little less.

GM's 2Mode is also a combination parallel/series hybrid, since the battery pushes the truck unassisted at low speeds but aids the engine at high speeds. The difference in this system is that the EV components go offline when towing heavy things.

If there are any conspiracies going on, it's in the Far Right's anti-hybrid whisper campaigns (aka "you don't make your premium back in gas savings" crap) and the way that gasoline just dropped by a dollar a gallon right before an election in which the Far Right is about to have it's read-end handed to them.

I'd like to see a fully developed series hybrid. Toyota will probably develop one first while GM develops a "special edition" Hummer that runs solely on burned $100 bills.

But to get a series hybrid mainstream one (and only one) thing has to happen: the development of a large, inexpensive, high-density, baton-shaped lithium-ion cell that doesn't explode when charged. Getting the "not exploding" part is a bit of a challenge, as is the "inexpensive" part.

Welcome to the forum, by the way!