It is my opinion that the TCH would be more popular if they made them more widely available. My bet is if they were more widely available that a good portion of these non-hybrid '07 Camry's would be hybrids.

I am sure that the dealers do not mention the hybrid to their customers since they are not in stock. They understandably want whatever sale they can make.

I think demand would snowball on an exponential scale if they were easily acquired because many people don't even know about them, and everyone I know that sees the car loves it...

Our dealership has a long waiting list for the TCH, but I bet if they had some on the ground some regular Camry buyers, especially those who are already planning for a Camry with all of the options or an XLE, might actually buy the TCH instead. That is pure speculation, of course.

I haven't seen a single ad for the TCH, probably because they can sell them all without advertising. Also, even though hybrids have been around for a while I still have people ask me if I need to plug it in. If people learned the mileage that they're capable of with better performance than the standard 4 cylinder engine they'd be lining up for them.

If the Federal Gov would eliminate the 60,000 car limit for the tax credit? What's that all about? If no one else wants to build a good hybrid and the government want us to buy them then why limit it to so many per manufacturer????

Also, if WV would reinstate their tax credit (ran out June 5th) and other states would adopt one then it's crazy not to buy one, especially if you were after a 4c for good FE anyway. My total tax credits will be $2600 FED and $3750 State. It seemed too good to be true so I jumped (AMT not an issue for me)

It is my opinion that the TCH would be more popular if they made them more widely available

I believe the current shortage is temporary. Time will tell (next year) if they can sustain a rate of 40,000 per year sales mark. Right now you have a couple of thousand "crazies" waiting for their car. When the first wave of buyers is satisfied and the next wave comes from "normal" buyers browsing the lot, Toyota will have to market these with informative salespersons to sell 40,000/year.

Also, as you look at the invoice prices of these I'm not sure Toyota is making as much with Hybrids as they are with SE's and XLE's. Granted dealers are soaking in profits from selling at MSRP, but the real cost to a consumer between a loaded SEV6 and a Hybrid is almost nothing. I don't think the incremental manufacturing costs between a 4c and a V6 are going to be anywhere near as much as adding the power splitting device, motor and battery pack. I'm guessing if you priced these seperately it would be about $6 to $7K over a V6 and automatic tranny. They have to convince mainstream america that these are dependable, efficient and an overall good value before the masses will buy them. Making them in the US will help some to for certain buyers.

That's a good point, Joe.

It has been 'only' about 10 weeks since they were intro'd. Like every product there is a ramp-up period initially.

I also read that Toyota only plans on the TCH to be about 10% of total sales. That may be just this first year. If it grows to Prius numbers then the TCH will be about 20% of total Camry sales. That's very very significant.

Joe,

The 60,000 limit is a way to avoid benefitting foreign auto builders who are years ahead of the domestic builders. It is also a potential carrot to help the domestic companies who squandered hundreds of millions of dollars of earlier government breaks to develop hybrids only to come back with a conclusion of "impractical". (They were apparently only "impractical" in eyes of the "Can't Do" managers of the Big 3. The same folks who considered it impossible to raise CAFE more than a token amount in two DECADES!)
End of rant.

B. Goodman

Toyota advertises the TCH a lot in the Tech section of MSNBC web site. Also I have seen full print ads for the TCH in Popular Science magazine. It looks like they are targeting "tech loving early adoptors" rather than the main stream consumer at this point.

In Canada, Esso (aka Exxon) is currently running an online contest where the grand prize is a TCH.

Two climate control systems, one inside and the other at the tailpipe.

2007 Camry Hybrid (in service June 2006)
FE: 6.67L/100km or 35.3 mpg (6.11L/100km or 38.5 mpg in summer)

If it grows to Prius numbers then the TCH will be about 20% of total Camry sales.

How many Prii (or Prius's?) do they make a year (for the USA)? I expected the TCH to be around 10% of 400,000+, or 40,000 cars / yr

Prius for 2007 model year has 170,000 as a USA target, according to a Toyota Fleet source with whom I e-mailed back and forth with last week. That's what they expect to be able to produce for the USA market, if plans go well.