The answer to the question from a cost perspective depends on how many highway trips and short hops the owner makes. For example, if the owner makes 20 trips under 3 miles per week and only takes trips longer than 1 hour once a year, then the highway cruiser does not make economic sense - it is probably less expensive to rent a larger car for a week than to own it for a year. On the other side of the spectrum, if the owner spends most of the time on the highway and takes 2 or 3 short trips a week, then the highway cruiser makes more sense.
Besides cost, there are other things to consider when purchasing a vehicle, like comfort, safety, people and cargo capacity, poor-weather capability, and personal driving preferences.