Hybrid harbinger
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Engineering first
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 5,613
From: Huntsville, AL
Hybrid harbinger
"Hybrid harbinger
By Jon Newberry
Post staff reporter Just as Toyota is starting to sell hybrid versions of its popular Camry sedan, U.S. sales trends of Toyota's groundbreaking Prius hybrid are slowing for the first time since consumer demand surged more than two years ago.
The timing isn't mere coincidence, nor is the cause a shortage of willing buyers for Toyota Motor Co.'s gasoline-and-electric-powered Prius, according to company officials. Rather, the problem is that there are even fewer Priuses available than there were last year, when waiting lists often stretched to six months. . . ."
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs....345/1010/RSS01
What a nice problem to have . . . a car you can't make fast enough.
Bob Wilson
By Jon Newberry
Post staff reporter Just as Toyota is starting to sell hybrid versions of its popular Camry sedan, U.S. sales trends of Toyota's groundbreaking Prius hybrid are slowing for the first time since consumer demand surged more than two years ago.
The timing isn't mere coincidence, nor is the cause a shortage of willing buyers for Toyota Motor Co.'s gasoline-and-electric-powered Prius, according to company officials. Rather, the problem is that there are even fewer Priuses available than there were last year, when waiting lists often stretched to six months. . . ."
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs....345/1010/RSS01
What a nice problem to have . . . a car you can't make fast enough.
Bob Wilson
Pretty Darn Active Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 441
Re: Hybrid harbinger
Nice for Toyota, anyway. And it's a good sign that folks are buying up the little efficiency machines, indicating a positive shift in attitude. But it makes me wonder, how many would-be Prius drivers are out there who couldn't accept the long wait and ended up with something less fuel efficient? I'm sure some went over to the HCH instead, which is quite a machine as well. But I wonder if a measureable quantity of fuel has been "wasted" due to the inability to procure an efficient hybrid vehicle within an acceptable time frame? Then there's the issue of cost. This wouldn't be fantastic for Toyota, but it would be nicer for us if the supply/demand balance tipped a little more in our direction so as to ease the price premium. Oh, well. Everything will improve somewhat once the KY plant gets rolling with those Camrys.
Thread Starter
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Engineering first
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 5,613
From: Huntsville, AL
Re: Hybrid harbinger
Originally Posted by brick
Nice for Toyota, anyway. And it's a good sign that folks are buying up the little efficiency machines, indicating a positive shift in attitude. But it makes me wonder, how many would-be Prius drivers are out there who couldn't accept the long wait and ended up with something less fuel efficient? I'm sure some went over to the HCH instead, which is quite a machine as well. But I wonder if a measureable quantity of fuel has been "wasted" due to the inability to procure an efficient hybrid vehicle within an acceptable time frame? Then there's the issue of cost. This wouldn't be fantastic for Toyota, but it would be nicer for us if the supply/demand balance tipped a little more in our direction so as to ease the price premium. Oh, well. Everything will improve somewhat once the KY plant gets rolling with those Camrys.
Best of all, this demand sends a clear and unambigous message to the non-hybrid vendors and hybrid skeptics. It is whacking them with a 'clue by four' in the only language they apparently understand, the market place.
Bob Wilson
Hybrid True Believer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 881
From: Baltimore, MD
Re: Hybrid harbinger
The Prius shortage (which has been a problem for YEARS) is how I ended up with my HCH. And, as someone else pointed out, the HCH is a very fine machine. I'm happy every time I drive it. The thrill never ends!
But maybe in 2008 or 2009, I would by a Prius if I COULD. Otherwise, maybe the hybrid Honda FIT will be out by then. . .
But maybe in 2008 or 2009, I would by a Prius if I COULD. Otherwise, maybe the hybrid Honda FIT will be out by then. . .
