What? Nobody else wants to play?
Oh well, I'll keep it goin.
As I'm sure other Hybrid drivers have noticed the amount of charging that takes place as well as the amount of energy that's released or used with the electric motor is directly related to the charge left in the battery. It seems to be linear and by that I mean with a low battery charge of only one or two bars you'll only see one or two bars representing energy going to the assist motor. Likewise the amount of regenerative charging that takes place is directly related to how much charging is needed. Regenerative braking will even cease completely if you have a full charge which makes braking different, since you're relying on the discs and drums.
So what's the trick then? If you're cruising up a lot of hills on the interstate or any road trip you can save what charge is available to you by holding Acel on the cruise control instead of mashing the gas. It's not an exact thing but I've found the cruise control is a Lot less likely to use the electric motor in accelerating, although it will use up to three bars at times especially at low speeds with plenty of charge left.
This trick is really for long rides up a lot of hills like the ones I saw in Wyoming. It's extreme hills like these, that start at about two or three-thousand feet and peak at near seven-thousand. You have to assume Honda never thought people would use the Hybrid to climb hills like that very often which is why their claim that the battery is completely self sufficient isn't 100% accurate.