http://abcnews.go.com/Business/WNT/s...2869432&page=1

 

Very sad to hear. Tons wanted better mileage to equal lower gas $$ but most seem not to care about the environment.

 

I agree. It isn't all about the gas prices, though for a majority of Americans it is. Maybe this will actually help get Hybrids more mainstream, if a person can get a deal on a Prius, they may actually look at it. One of our friends went looking for a new car and only drove and then bought a 2007 Prius because a salesman had told them about it. They didn't know anything about the car. Now they love it.

 

I bought a Prius because I could finally see one in person, on a dealer's lot, and I had a selection to choose from.

I wouldn't have spent that much money on a car without having test-ridden one, through the process of ordering one for delivery some months away, as people used to have to do with Prii.

Harry

 

We bought our TCH because we were looking at the new Camry XLE and then heard a hybrid was coming out soon. We wanted to do something for the environment with our next car purchase. We waited until someone had one on the lot to drive which just happened to be when gas was getting really high. I resented having to pay full price because other people were only buying because of gas prices. Now I wish we had waited, since we got $0 tax credit and could have gotten a better deal now. We are happy with the low gas prices since it is cheaper to get 37 MPG at $2.00 a gallon than at $3.00, but I wouldn't mind it going back up to get people buying better mileage vehicles. I just don't want to pay a premiuim when they are out there shopping. LOL. Won't be getting another car for five more years (to replace my Neon) so I hope that three wheel "car" is available then. Would be perfect for around here. LL

 

Keep lowering the price of gas and I'll start using loose change to pay for it, serious. He, he, he. And I'll be sure to leave a clean air heritage for future generation to breathe. BTW, how long can you live without clean air?

 

It's funny to see this now- when it looks to me like gas prices are going back up a bit. It's been a little over $2 lately, maybe $2.17- for a while, a few months I think; but today I couldn't find it cheaper than $2.26 and it's over $2.35 most places on my way to work. Maybe it's not the biggest jump, but a jump nevertheless. So to log on today and see a story like this one- it feels a bit strange.

Anyway, buying into the idea that lower gas prices mean less demand for the Prius (or perhaps for hybrids generally) isn't such a stretch. A certain proportion of the market for hybrids is very interested in the gas savings and spends a lot of time with a calculator and considering gas price projections before taking the plunge with a hybrid. Many of us have other reasons, or multiple reasons, but it's impossible to ignore that the other view is out there. Any drop in gas prices, however, temporary, is going to have an impact on the margin of the hybrid market.

If the supply is finally catching up with the out-of-control demand (those waiting lists were not sustainable, so this is something I think most of us have been rooting for now for a while) and it happens just at a time when we're hitting a dip in demand because of the falloff of those marginal buyers, it's not a tragedy and it's not a shock. Personally I think it's temporary. I just hope the people who design at the car manufacturers and are looking long term continue to think so, too.

 

The first car I bought in 1971 was a 1966 VW MicroBus that gave me 28-30 MPH with a terrific amount of interior space. I was paying $.28-$.30 per gallon and even then, fuel efficiency was my first concern. My modifications, exhaust headers and centrifical advance ignition, were there to improve efficiency. The interior modifications made it into a camper and I did a lot of miles in that old van.

I'm not planning to sell my Prius for a long, long time. In fact, we're in the market for a van-style, hybrid electric and I continue to toy with the idea of a Prius drive transplant into a Scion xB body. So seeing the price of new and used Prius come down to something more reasonable is perfectly fine by me.

From what I can tell, Toyota has a commitment to hybrid vehicles that extends over their whole product line. Also, their commitment is not driven by today's relatively low price of gas. After all, Toyota sells to a world market and though the USA is important, it is not their only source of revenue.

To me, it looks like the buyers are getting a little respite and that is good. Soon enough, the next gas crisis will come along and it will flip the other way. Anyone who thinks the energy shortage is over is wrong and a sucker for tomorrows hit.

Bob Wilson

 

Don't look now, but gas prices are going up. And since we are still deep in winter, this does not bode well for cheap gasoline this summer.

$3 gasoline is just 2 or 3 months away.

It's $2.43 /gal here right now.

Harry

 

Very true- I had that comment from an acquaintance just this week- I mentioned I had a hybrid and all of a sudden, he was talking about how gas prices have gone up and I must have been so smart. Yet another reason I think that this buzz over the death of the popularity of hybrids is a little premature and a lot of fuss about nothing.