Sales of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist petrol electric hybrid cars have rocketed past the 50,000 mark in under five years - and they are projected to grow even stronger during the next five years.

Newly released data from R.L. Polk reveals that in the USA the Civic Hybrid alone accounted for half of all hybrid sales during 2003, with sales increased by 26 percent versus the previous year.

View entire article here.

A bit biased? Not really. You could call it "misleading" if the article stated that more people WANTED to buy a Honda than a Prius, but it doesn't. It simply states the facts: more Civic Hybrids than Prius are sold. That's a number, and it's not being twisted to say anything more than it says. It doesn't claim to explain why, or cast aspersions on any vehicle. It's just a fact.

There are even fewer Insights manufactured than Toyota Prius. You can hardly find them on the lots, either. If people didn't want to buy the Civic Hybrid, they wouldn't. If no one wanted the car, it wouldn't sell, and the numbers would be lower. Doesn't appear to be the case, though... :-)

I disagree. Bias does not mean "misleading" at all. Take the liberal TV media and the conservative radio media. Are they lying? Well, forgetting the dogmatic politicians, no. Rather, they show predilections for certain things, often omitting some facts and reporting others. That's the case here.

Hi Jason:

___I think you already know my stance as to the reasons for the 04 Prius’ limited supply … With that, I don’t believe the article you linked was biased at all? The data is already old news however. What are the month to month numbers as of February, March, and April of this year is what I am interested in. The recent fast rise in fuel prices and the 2004 MT’s Car of the Year - Prius has probably helped sell a ton of HCH’s I am sure.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

I don't think it was bias either, just stated numbers. I think the waiting period for the Prius has helped honda more then anything else. America is a land of right now. If toyota had better managed their roduction and met demand so far, i think they would be a lot closer. It's one thing for 100,000 people to want a car, but if you are not delivering to the demand, it won't show in the numbers.

The Civic Hybrids seem to be selling fast here in Southern California with gas prices at $2.27 for regular and constantly going up. I test drove the HCH a month ago and that dealership had to wait 3 weeks before they had one available to test drive. Two weeks ago when I bought the HCH, the first dealership I went to was sold out and had no idea when they'd get another one. The second dealership had one left which we promptly bought. Not my color of choice, but it would have been a minimum 3 month wait for the color I wanted. :unsure: Not that big of a wait compared to the Prius, but I just couldn't wait 3 months. Sales aside, they really do need to prep these sales guys with info on the car. None of them at the three different dealerships really could tell me anything about the HCH. Thankfully for me, my bf knew more than enough and taught them a thing or two about what they were selling! :P

iwishfor:
My salesman couldn't even tell me what the Econ button does!

I don't think the article is biased either.
I think it's always MY car is the best depending on who you are.
Thanks

Fine, fine, fine. Removed the "biased" note. I still disagree, though!

I for one bought the HCH only due to the fact that the Prius was a 6 month wait, I am not unhappy with my purchase, the option would have been nice tho

The Prius is now the 10th most popular car in Japan:
1 Corolla Toyota 14,275
2 Fit Honda 9,642
3 Wish Toyota 9,032
4 Crown Toyota 8,897
5 Cube Nissan 8,444
6 March Nissan 6,919
7 ist Toyota 6,702
8 Alphard Toyota 6,062
9 Odyssey Honda 5,944
10 Prius Toyota 5,806
http://www.fxstreet.com/nou/noticies/afx/n...-9e32d306-04561
Not many foreign cars on that top ten list! :huh: