It would be nice if Toyota priced the base TCH the same as a base Camry I4 ICE. That's what Ford has done with the Lincoln MKZ and MKZH. I don't know if they'll continue that practice with the revamped '13 model due out this fall. But I thought it was smart to eliminate the hybrid premium. They could probably price it that way and still make money because the car is essentially a tricked-up Ford Fusion hybrid with a Lincoln name plate and you're already paying a pretty hefty premium for that.

That is contrary to the pricing of the 2008 that was in force for at least 6 (or more, can't remember) dealers. In late 2007, when I bought, the closest you could come was ~$2,100 over the gas Camry.
However, given that the option package didn't exist to equate the gas Camry and the hybrid Camry, it's a guesstimate, at best to find comparable costs.

Talking to coworkers for who a car is just transport without any attachment, the talking point for them was a target MPG. 5+ years ago the TCH mileage was only available in a hybrid, today you are getting base cars of the same size that are in the same ballpark. Look at the new Altima...

To these people they don't look at the better mileage of the hybrid, they are looking at 35+mpg and they are happy at that number.

The other part of it is that some people just can't get the mileage out of a hybrid. They say they try, but it just doesn't work for them. My wife is a perfect example. When she drives, the MDF will be in the low 30s, I can drive it for 2 days on the weekend and drag it up to high 30s and by the end of the following week she'll have it back in the low 30s again. I've ridden with her and she drives reasonably enough, just no feel for the car.

Maybe the more appropriate comparison is with the V6, since the TCH almost drives like one. In that case, a TCH XLE V6 with leather seats and a moonroof included in the base price, along with an EX display audio system, costs $2,135 more than the TCH XLE (MSRP) with the same options added on, plus the convenience package (required along with the EX audio option if you want a moonroof, or maybe it's the leather; I forget). So if you make that comparison, the break-even point (gas cost-wise) is just under 3 years.

If I'm not mistaken, the TCH had something(or somethings) that you couldn't add in as an option on the gas versions (traction or stability control???).
It is fair to compare it to the 6 cyl. as the horsepower output of the TCH (adding in battery assist) was more in line with the 6 than the 4. In any event, no one struck it rich on these cars.
At best you'll save a few hundred bucks over five years, or more, but if you wanted to save that money, again, you could just buy a less expensive car.

We keep our cars 10 years, so if break-even is about 3 years, then the savings are fairly significant. But first and foremost, I'd buy this car because I like it.

My experience has been that when gas prices are high, the dealers won't negotiate well on hybrids but will practically give away the guzzlers. When gas prices are low, owners forget that they will be high again and go for the "cooler" guzzlers.

My experience has also shown me that sales people know nothing about hybrids as they don't drive them. I stopped taking my car anywhere near the dealership when the service manager told me the car battery was 15,000 volts.

I looked at a Nissan Leaf as a second car and would buy one if only Nissan would make it easy to do so. When I asked the Leaf salesman about maintenance he said "only the usual stuff like oil changes"! AGGGGHHHH!

The other thing is that the car companies know you can get rebates for hybrids/electrics so jack up the prices so they, in fact, get them.

There are still federal tax rebates for all-electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, but none for hybrids, I believe.

People are not replacing their hybrid because they love the one they have! We will buy a new one but it's going to be awhile!

I just traded in my Super White 2009 TCH for a New Super White 2012 TCH XLE.