No Hybrids in Showroom?

i have been to 5 or 6 showrooms over the last 6 years and have never seen one in the showroom. for most of that time, you had to order one. now, they probably don't know what to do since the waiting list disappeared.

 

Never seen one in the showroom but my dealer has at least five or six on the lot. That is interesting what you brought up about not having them on the showroom floor.

 

Here in California you will see 4 or 5 parked out in front in almost every dealer. With 10 or more hidden out back. I would say that demand went way down after the brake recall. With gas now over $3.39 a gallon I expect that will change soon.

 

I see you are in Pittsburgh. I lived in Dormont from 06 til last october.

Anyway when my fiancee and I were looking at a Prius they had one in the Prestige Toyota Showroom.

Even the other competitor dealer, Rockland toyota, has the Prius in their showroom.

I think it is a management decision of the franchise owner. Not a corporate decision by Toyota.

I think the people in NY/NJ are more self conscience of the "environment" and that the Prius is a "popular" vehicle for status.

I hate to say it but Prius' are sort of a waste of money. and we own one. i dont tell my fiancee this cause she likes her Prius.

In my mind, practicality is supreme. Gas mileage savings will not pay for itself when compared to my 2007 Hond Fit. I get 32 mpg, If i push my hypermiling skills I can get 40mpg.

My car is 1/2 the cost of our prius. I dont see $17K in gas savings in the near nor distant future.

However the features and accessories are what make up the difference. Plus you cant put a price on what someone just likes.


Anyway rant mode off,

Dont assume that toyota dealers dont have the Prius in showrooms. There are a LOT of dealers out there. your experiences are jsut different and the Dealers have their own agendas.

Probably simple numbers dictate what goes in the showroom. Past history of sales probably will show that the Prius is not a strong seller, so why bother putting it in a showroom taking up space if more people want to see something else?

 

My dealer only has a small showroom with only just enough room inside for one of every model including the Prius. The Auris model in the showroom is the hybrid version.

Weird considering hybrids are not as popular over here as they are in the States. Maybe you're on the right lines, maybe the dealer is a truck or SUV lover and doesn't want them pesky upstart hybrids in his showroom? Perhaps it's upto the regional Toyota office to go check that their dealers are playing ball!

Sounds like BS about their insurance not covering the batteries - esp considering the highly flamable liquid held in the fuel tanks of all the other cars. A fire caused by a short in the HV battery is just as likely as a fire caused by a short in normal vehicle electrics.

 

I've seen them in showrooms in Georgia.

 

Yep, I've seen them too, Team Toyota had a Silver V and Marietta Toyota had a Blizzard White V on their showroom... Two for two when I was looking!

 

When I bought my white series II the dealer had a red series III on the showroom floor. East Central Illinois

 

off topic, but there is no way a comparably equipped fit and prius are $17,000. apart.

 

Lia Toyota has a V on their showroom floor in Schenectady, NY. Toyota dictates how the dealers build the buildings, I'm surprised that they would not dictate what cars are on display.

 

I haven't been in a showroom in 18 months, but there had been no shortage of Priui (2009s at that time) on local show floors during my shopping process.

 

From my little experience in Israel all dealers have a Prius in the showroom

 

Well i dont know what to say, but in Quebec every single dealer have one Prius at least in the showroom, but now at this time of the year they dont have many left in stock, mostly like mine........Touring edition wish is rare and not very popular!

 

We bought our Prius because we saw one in the showroom with the hatch open. When we realized how much space it has we gave it a closer look and added it to the list of cars we were considering. The Prius became the car that all others were compared to. The other cars lost!

 

My Jacksonville Florida dealership never really promotes Prius in their showroom floor but they did have about 8 on the lot in the back. Every time I go there for service (because it's free for now) do I count how many they have in the lot. They seem more interested in scion and tundra models for big display.

 

My dealer didn't have any Prius's in the showroom, but there were 6 of them as the closest new cars to the showroom.

 

Makes sense to me - not keeping a Prius in-doors. Just look at all the hundreds of news stories of hybrid cars blowing up due to spontaneous combustion...

On the other hand, other Toyota vehicles probably have a much higher profit margin than the Prius, so why not put them in the showroom.

Keith

 

Pretty much most Bay Area dealers keep Prius in showroom.

SF Bay Area ... Prius' everywhere.

Last time I went to Toyota Sunnyvale, they had like 140 Prius' available - 100 on the ground, 40 in transit.

Many dealers have 40 units all lined up.

And I see 3rd gen Prius' all the time, they're not just sitting on lots.

I see a lot of 3rd gen's missing a hubcap or two. It seems they get knocked off fairly easily. If I got a 3rd gen, I'd really prefer to have a nice bare alloy, but I don't like the 15's bare. That's a problem, 'cause the wheels aren't going to magically change, I wouldn't want to shelve stock wheels, and I just wouldn't see springing for a V. This is the case just to do nothing but wait.

Still see many more 2nd gen Pri's though. 3rd gen Prius will sell better as gas goes up and job market strengthens. It's a great car every time I've tried it.