My dealer said he attended a meeting of other dealers where it was strongly suggested they all raise prices well above MSRP. The only problem is, most if not all of the 2004 production run is heading for potential buyers who placed their orders months ago. Any dealer who tries to raise the price beyond anything agreed upon when the order was placed will find hostile customers and potential lawsuits. So far, I haven't heard from anyone who recently began the process of ordering a Hybrid for next year.

Ford readily admits they are losing money on the Escape Hybrid, but they say it's a short-term loss due to start-up costs which will be overcome as the technology migrates to other models.