Comments on: Despite record gas prices, Prius sales down 25%

By: mdt

mdt — Wed, 03 May 2006 20:39:29 +0000

Real-world driving style results in crappy fuel economy. If you know how to drive a car to optimize for fuel economy, you can easily equal or exceed the EPA numbers. Folks who floor it at a green light, race up to red lights, and go 75+ mph on the freeway won’t get the good fuel economy. They’re idiots if they blame the car. -mt

By: Jamie Pruden

Jamie Pruden — Wed, 03 May 2006 16:18:30 +0000

Actually, I think that there may be a little softness in the Prius market because other manufacturers are coming out with more compelling hybrids… witness the new Civic hybrid and the Camry hybrid.

If you’re reading this website daily, I be willing to bet that you’d rather drive nails under your eyelids than drive a Prius every day.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 May 2006 15:34:42 +0000

#10 is right: the early adoptors adopted. The small “I am Green” crowd have spoken, the rest of you dream of 500hp Camaros or V10 pick ups. ….’till it hit $4-5gal.

j i m

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 May 2006 12:58:46 +0000

No, it doesn’t get the EPA 60 mpg, but it does get between 40 and 50, which is far better than anything else out there right now save the civic hybrid and the honda insight. so maybe you should think outside the box, and maybe the point of having a hybrid is not to save money on gas, maybe its not to get 60 mpg, maybe its about driving a SULEV (super ultra low emissions vehicle) and actually trying to do something about the thinning ozone layer and the reliance on fossil fuels. the greenhouse effect is real, global warming is occuring as we speak, and even the small things, like driving hybrid cars, make a difference. I read that the sales from the 2001-2003 first generation prius, and keep in mind this generation didn’t sell as well as the second has, helped save millions of tons of noxious chemicals from being released into the atmosphere. think about that before you start whining about it not getting as many mpg as the epa says it will. NO car gets as many mpg as the EPA claims it will.

By: TW

TW — Wed, 03 May 2006 12:27:37 +0000

American’s are finally realizing that the EPA rated gas mileage in the Prius isn’t anywhere near what you actually get.
And American’s don’t like being lied to.
So there is the drop in sales.
Comment by DC

DC. People are not being “lied” to. I have seen several reports that the manner in which the EPA “tests” for mileage are set up do not reflect the real world nor really how hybrids operate. From what I understand the tests for all vehicles are being revamped.

By: John

John — Wed, 03 May 2006 08:09:22 +0000

#14 Peter:
Let’s see, audi TT 1.8L Turbo is $35k, and Prius is only $22k, and carries 4 passengers? Plus a 350Z is a better choice these days, until the markup on the new gen TT comes down.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 May 2006 05:11:20 +0000

its because there is such a high markup on these vehicles…lowest ive seen is 4K over msrp…i wouldnt mind getting one if it was over 25K.

By: Niels

Niels — Wed, 03 May 2006 03:56:41 +0000

I’m so glad. My 1973 Mustang gets 25 MPG, and this sucker gets less than 60, as proven by institutions. You’d think Toyota would ytry and make the car look good, but they have no experience at that whatsoever.

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 03 May 2006 02:44:40 +0000

My audi TT 1.8L Turbo Gets 40+ mpg so whats th epoint of buying a slow hybrid

By: VDub

VDub — Wed, 03 May 2006 02:40:41 +0000

hybrids are the leading cause of smug!

By: manny

manny — Wed, 03 May 2006 02:38:15 +0000

now when do we get to hear about diesel and ethanol sales going up? or do the idiot greenies at CARB have something to say about that?

By: DC

DC — Wed, 03 May 2006 02:29:02 +0000

American’s are finally realizing that the EPA rated gas mileage in the Prius isn’t anywhere near what you actually get.

And American’s don’t like being lied to.

So there is the drop in sales.

By: Thom

Thom — Wed, 03 May 2006 02:25:45 +0000

My sister-in-law has a Prius. I find it small. They are always calling me (twice a month) to drive to their house with my truck and go to Home Depot for them. They live 45 minutes away. Saving gas my ass! I get paid gas money that they “save” while driving a hybrid.

Anyway, my point is as others have said, the more hybrids on the market had effected sales. If a larger SUV comes to market with a hybrid engine, i would buy it. I have a large family (still growing) and need seating for 6. Can’t do that in a Prius.

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 03 May 2006 02:24:02 +0000

It stopped selling cause everyone who wanted one got one already! They’re boring cars, don’t get one. My TSX kicks the Prius’ ass, I have good emissions, pretty good mileage, and almost triple the horsepower, plus a 6sp manual transmission.

By: WHUT

WHUT — Wed, 03 May 2006 01:16:55 +0000

oops, Automotive…

By: WHUT

WHUT — Wed, 03 May 2006 01:16:14 +0000

No problem, it’s on Reuters and Automitive News.

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 03 May 2006 01:12:44 +0000

Thanks for the correct percentage….

By: WHUT

WHUT — Wed, 03 May 2006 01:08:39 +0000

It was up 50%…girly prius…lol

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 03 May 2006 01:02:10 +0000

I don’t think it has anything to do with the rising gas prices… There are more options when it comes to hybrid cars out there. Didn’t I also just read either on this site, or another that Ford’s Escape hybrid sales were up 150%? Americans are obsessed with the bigger the better complex and if you can buy a hybrid SUV or a very un-masculine and shall we say girly Prius, what would you pick?

By: John

John — Wed, 03 May 2006 00:24:54 +0000

People complain about gas prices to save money, just like people complain about anything else.

But that money saved is the difference of a $1000/yr gas bill, or $2000/yr gas bill. That’s at most paying $1000/yr more for a gas guzzler. We’d like to keep that $1000 in our pockets each year, but it’s not going to kill us.

On another note, from #1 Pete’s comment, perhaps sales are down because the waiting list queue is full. Ex: people are willing to wait 3 months for delivery of their Prius, but people aren’t willing to keep stand in line and be the person that has to wait 4 months. So sales have been consistently outnumbering production thus far.

By: Voteswagon

Voteswagon — Tue, 02 May 2006 23:30:30 +0000

Gas And Oil Prices Are Boiler Room Tactics

Gas prices amazingly dropped the past week because there was mention of involvement by government officials as well as investigations into the oil companies and the commodities traders. This small drop in gas prices apparently appeased the masses tempo…

By: gsh

gsh — Tue, 02 May 2006 23:26:58 +0000

finally, proof that americans are all talk but no show. “oh my god gas is so expensive! let me go buy the tahoe”…i remember some guy on his sailboat saying how it used to cost him 6 bucks to goto catalina from marina del rey. now it costs him 20 bucks and he hesitates to take out the boat. YOU MORON, USE THE SAILS…in car terms, dont buy a damn gas drinking SUV if youre complaining about gas…

By: Pete

Pete — Tue, 02 May 2006 23:25:41 +0000

In FL, I had attempted to look at a Prius but I was told there was a 3 month waiting period -and- I had to put down a deposit to test-drive one (otherwise they arrived “pre-sold”). No thank you. Not a reflection on Toyota so much as the local Toyota dealers and vehicle supply/demand. If I was in the market for something european/exotic, I might understand – but I’m not, and I don’t, and now I couldn’t care less about the Prius with a Toyota Camry Hybrid and a Nissan Altima Hybrid in the near future (based on the same Hybrid Synergy Drive technology).