The hybrid tax credit takes effect for cars bought after Jan 1, 2006. My guess is that this will hurt sales late in this year. If someone planning on buying a car in Nov/Dec knows about the credit, they may postpone the purchase to save a couple thousand dollars. My hope is that in Nov. dealers may actually sell a prius or 2006 HCH a bit cheaper because of this. I'll probably need a new car by Oct/Nov.
--Walter