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I understand what you're saying, but I don't agree with some of your fundamentals...
Firstly, the only type of battery I can think of that has power output issues would be a small number of conventional lithium-ion cells. Get a large number of them (like in the Tesla Roadster), and you have all the power you need. There are also chemistries that trade energy density for power density... A123 and AltairNano (and likely others I'm not thinking of) can totally discharge in 10 minutes, then recharge in another 10, thousands of times without any substantial wear. Tesla has already indicated they're using a differenct chemistry for the PHEV version of WhiteStar, and my bet it's along the lines of the above...
Given that power output doesn't have to be a problem, your gas engine only needs to be big enough to sustain highway speed, plus a little extra to charge the battery. The battery would be used for bursts of energy when hard acceleration is needed. I don't think 20HP is enough, but 70HP is probably more than necessary.
If the engine is sized correctly, the only issue the customer would then need to consider is how much electric range they're willing to pay for. People who live close to work might go with 40 miles, longer distance people would go for 80.
The other thing is that battery lifespan isn't as important for PHEVs. If you get an 80 mile pack that's down to 60 after five years... you might not be affected at all. The worst case is that your engine will fire up sooner on a long trip, maybe costing you another $5 in gas.
-Ryan
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