Looks like they're planning on cashing in on hybrid demand. Pricing is a few hundred dollars above even the highest estimate I'd seen previously.

Link to press release

The price is high,but $22000 isn't too bad for an side-side curtain airbag equipped Hybrid.It is a little less than the MSRP of a Prius equipped with side-side curtain airbags.Unfortunately the dealer will ask for and get more than that.I would guess maybe $2000-$4000 over MSRP for many months-maybe until the H Altima,and H Camry come out.We might be able to get a decnt price on a used,or new Prius or Civic than.A fair number of folks will like the Hybrids,but will have decided they want a bigger more comfortable car.They will trade 5-10 mpg for that.A H Camry-4 cyl- should be good for 80% of Prius EPA numbers-.
It will be worth the wait,if $$ are a primary motivation.-50 mpg vs 25 mpg $3gal-10,000 miles a year is about $600/yr.Really tough to make up the MSRP+ dealer will charge for the next 2 years at that rate.In 2-3 years a Prius will sell for maybe MSRP-$1500.
There will be a 4cyl HH down the road also.It should be worth 2- mpg on the current V-6.The current HH is one heck of a SUV of course-4 cyl Accord city mpg with SUV interior room,and rocket ship acceleration!!I like everything about it but the $36000 it would cost for a base model($38000 with TTL).Give me a stripped version-no 3rd row-no sunroof-just side side curtains and a power drivers seat.Prior to Katrina the HH was in a sales slump(kinda).Carmax was selling them for $2000 off MSRP$31,995-we can forget about that price for a while-unless we get $2/gal gas-very unlikely since the oil companies know we will pay $3 with no drop in consumption.Thanks.Charlie
PS Maybe Honda will make a Pilot MDX hybrid-if they can improve the city mpg by 20% it would be a winner.The V-6 Accord hybrid only managed 18 mpg-vs 15 mpg in CR's city loop-not so great-but a 20% increase in distance per gallon.The Pilot is a city pig,but great on the HY-23-24 at 70+ miles per hour with a heavy load-1000 lbs-AC blasting.

Charlie, I need to Disagree on your comment of $2k - $4K over MSRP. I have visited 4 dealers and all but have provided me written quotes of MSRP + $0. One quoted MSRP +$1000.

Larry
'06 Magnetic Pearl HCH #7264

Its way to high for a car with a junk audio system, no rear disk brakes and a Im going to fail CVT. Im sooo glad my heart dosent beat for one anymore.

But I truly wish all best of luck with them.

ikewin,well that is good news-a little surprising,but good.Of course,maybe since gas prices have held steady-AT $3!- the demand isn't quite as high.I bet the dealers wish they had them on the lots 5 weeks ago.I expect they will sell pretty well.They are roughly the equivalent of the Prius now-in accel and mpg(the new Civic H is supposed to have improved in both respects-so about the same price seems right.I've noticed that dealers want full MSRP for the 2006 "normal" Civic,so I'm surprised that they don't want a bit more for the HCH .Thanks.Charlie

The Prius and HCH are much more similar in specs now, but I think the Prius is capable of much better mileage (i.e. marathon event). Irregardless of that though, for the general public it will be good competition for the Prius. (I am anxious to see what Toyota's next redesign will be.)

I am a little worried about this continued trend of increasing the pricing. I realize that manufacturers are adding more features, but shouldn't the price be going down as more are produced and the production infrastructure is complete? I don't feel like the Prius was too expensive, but I think the price does need to go down. I dunno, maybe it is the same percentage of increase that we see in conventional cars.

The prices are a long way from cheap.I would guess that the "cheapest" car that can get an honest 22-25 mpg city(not EPA,but not CR either) would be a Ford Focus,or the Chevy Aveo.I think the cheapest Focus-$13000 Aveo -$11000or so now.All cars with good EPA numbers are in demand.
This is just like 1979-There are only a very few Big Three vehicles that get decent mpg(for their class).The only real"bargain" I see is the 4 cyl Malibu.It matches the 4 cyl Accord in CR numbers.The Aveo doesn't get very good numbers-less than Civic Corolla despite being a Echo sized car.Ford has the Focus-and it gets decent mpg thanks to the Mazda(I think Mazda ) 4 cyl.
I can't think of and Dodge that gets decent numbers-maybe the neon replacement will be better.You would think that MB could produce some decent spark and diesel motors.Dodge can certainly produce an efficient motor-USA engineers are very good-the "bosses" and acct. just have to give the go ahead to spend some $$ to produce a good-mpg-motor.No CS cost cutting(like Fords new 5.4 3 valve F-150 motor).The F-150 is very good in all respects but one-the motor is a dog thanks to Ford cheaping out on the motor-trans.The Titan has a much better motor trans-probably cost about $150 more to build,but worth every penny!
I am really pulling for the Big 3,despite only having 1 big 3 vehicle-Chevy Prizm(which is a rebadged Corolla).The Pilot and Titan are made in Canada-Mississippi,but they aren't Big 3.Shame GM has been mis managed-quarterly stock price managed- into the dirt.
Oh well.If I could buy a Malibu-with airbag pk-for a couple of grand less than an Accord 4-I would do it.Thanks.Charlie PS Unfortunately the Big 3 don't try to sell safety-they sell price and BS options-

Hi Phoebeisis:

___You have to look at resale as well as the whole package when speaking about anything in the domestic ranks as being the cheapest. Once you do, the $/mile is not only “Not the cheapest” but is relatively expensive when considering some of the other automobiles you may have been pointing to.

___I listed the below in order of least expense/mile according to Edmunds TCO (True Cost to Own) …

Subcompacts/Compacts

2005 Honda Civic LX = $0.38/mile

2006 Toyota Corolla LE = $0.39/mile

2006 Chevrolet Aveo LT = $0.39/mile

2006 Ford Focus ZX4 SE = $0.42/mile

2005 Dodge Neon SE = $0.43/mile

Midsize

2005 Honda Accord LX = $0.42/mile

2006 Chevrolet Malibu LS = $0.44/mile

2006 Toyota Camry LE = $0.45/mile

2005 Toyota Prius II = $0.46/mile (midsize because of the hatch)

___Would you purchase the mini - Chevrolet Aveo, Neon, Focus, Corolla or the class leading Civic given the above? Next would you purchase the Prius II, Camry, Malibu or class leading Accord LX in terms of $’s spent over 5 years and 75,000 miles?

___Those that are 05’s were listed as such because the 06 TCO specs are not yet available … The individual options lead to good comparisons although with actual out the door prices and option packages, there is leeway in the initial purchase by any of the above automobiles. Depreciation can be argued until the cows come home but trading in an 04 Prius II at a Toyota, Ford, or Honda dealership will not net you negative depreciation no matter what has been posted around the web. You have to think 5 years out and 75,000 mile later for this comparison …

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Wayne,everytime I consider a Corolla,Prius,Malibu,Civic ,Aamrywhatever the problem is always the 4 cyl AccordLX or even VP if I'm feeling especially frugal.
Why buy a Civic when you can get a safer,bigger,faster,more comfortable Accord for close to the same $$.The problem VS the Malibu is -is the $1000 less for the Malibu worth the Chevy QC gamble.I like the Malibu-it is the QC that is suspect.Thanks for the numbers.We had a 1995 Accord-it was a winner-same story with the Pilot-great travel vehicle-23.5 mpg on the 3200 mile trip-AC blasting 72 miles per hour-1000 lb load.Charlie