On Saturday, September 29, the last Toyota hybrid with a Federal tax credit will be sold. Except for the "YES!" from the buyer and sales critter "Made quota!", there won't be hardly a peep elsewhere.

The hybrid skeptics will be hoping "Oh PLEASE let there be a dip in October sales!" because the tax credit is one of their last justifications for hybrid sales. Of course Toyota squashed that by opening the production lines as the tax credits ramped down. I suspect the subsequent sales surprised even Toyota and certainly put a stop to hybrid skeptics claims in this area.

Supporting fuel efficient vehicles makes good sense and I'm not terribly worried about how. But I don't regret loss of the new car, tax credit especially if we could replace them with operational efficiency policies. That is to say, policies that would reward those who achieve higher efficiency.


Bob Wilson

 

W/O the tax credit this will hurt sales.

 

I don't think the tax credit will matter - gas prices will soon provide all the necessary incentive.

 

Then there's the "clean concience trend" as well . . .
Then again, anyone with a clean concience has a memory loss problem ;P

 

could be why they're offering 2k off "for the first time ever"

 

I dont think most people were able to use the so call tax credit, I know I could not.

 

I thought Sept. 30th was the last day.

That's when I got my car!

 

Sales - month
12,494 - September 2007
13,158 - October 2007

Last day of Toyota's Federal Tax Credit, September 30, 2007.

Guess those Federal Tax subsidies were . . . dealer mark-up.

Bob Wilson

 

Now that's a discouraging thought. But I suppose it's possible.

 

That's how I called it all along.

Sustained high gas prices have provided the "sustainable" incentive, not the subsidies.