Where the hybrid pickup truck has some promise, IMO, is when it is
running empty or without a trailer. How many people settle for a 10-12
mpg pickup truck simply because they need to tow a boat or haul a load
of construction materials a dozen times every summer? Sure, the truck
may get only 6-8 mpg while towing, hybrid or not. But if during the 90-
some percent of the time most people operate without a trailer and are
running empty the truck can realize 16 mpg instead of 12 that
represents a significant savings. Multiply that by 20 or 30 million
vehicles and pretty soon we can tell the Arabian Oil Sheiks to shove
it. :-)

EXACTLY.