hey all...so far i've been in contact with three dealers in the area. they are:
+ libertyville toyota (libertyville)
+ arlington toyota (buffalo grove)
+ classic toyota (waukegan)

tried to arrange a test drive at arlington toyota, but a pre-driven '05 they were expecting to have in for a test drive came in late. so i went to libertyville toyota today and was extremely impressed by that dealership. very professional staff (zack was very helpful), large, clean...good stuff. got to test drive a prius this morning, and got what i wanted out of it. it was a bit buzzier than i expected...i wasn't necessarily put off by that, i just thought it would be a little quieter. then again, i was gunning it as much as possible to get an idea of it's passing power, so probably not fair. overall, it met my expectations (which are high, so that's good).

only problem now is getting one. i'm hoping for a black, package #7. availability wise, libertyville toyota said they order everything from the factory, and it's a 4-5 month wait. arlington toyota, off the cuff, said about 2 months previously, but not sure if that was an order or just to locate one that is already here and to trade. i like at least that libertyville toyota didn't string me along and say it would be here in a month, but not really be here for 5.

got a call from classic toyota, so need to find out what the deal is there. that's the update for now, hopefully someone in the suburbs finds this info somewhat handy.