Lots of plugins on the lot ...

I was at toyota sunnyvale for 5k service a month ago and they had a sign showing that they had 45 plug-ins in stock...

 

Price. (For what we get in the way of EV.)

 

toyota has already admitted that they misjudged the market. this concerns me because some of us were the ones who kept asking for this vehicle to be built. and now they might be thinking that listening to primary users might not be the best way to do market research.

 

I made contact with a local dealer who has Plug in Prius in stock to see what type of deal I might get with my 2011 as a trade in. It would have to be a killer deal to get me to jump. Dealer came back with a very NON killer deal. Must not want to really move the plug in inventory yet.

 

It'd be interesting to hear Dianne chime in on this. Economy's a horrible mess for many people. How many really have the money for a new car? And from that group, how many might want a hybrid. Then how many in that sub-group really want to pay an $10K extra for 12 EV miles? We're talking about a very small number here.

 

I bought into the PiP market. I am a Honda Civic Hybrid convert.

 

but new cars are selling like hotcakes and hybrids are enjoying phenominal growth. pip. leaf and volt are the only ones really suffering.

 

Now there is $2000 plus 0% for 60 or $3150 in lease cash on these to help them along. The price difference is what is stopping people. Same thing with other mfg offering hybrid models of existing cars, you never get your money back at the pump. The current lease deal for a PHV is $60 less per month than a Prius 3.

 

At the beginning of the year the price difference could be justified with almost 3 years of HOV access (in California) - that will get much harder as we get into 2013 and HOV stickers expiring at the end of 2014.

 

Up here in WNY, we don't have HOV, in fact, I wonder why the guy gets on the radio to talk about traffic becasue there really isn't any.

 

Some of the issue is the higher price but I really think a large part of it is people being wary of new technology. Even though it is a Prius, many potential buys are going to be slow on the uptake and will want to wait several years and watch how things work out for the early plugin adopters.

 

Yeah I agree...LOL, where abouts are you?

I think it has to do mostly with the cost of these PHV, EVs.....Everytime i tell people what the cost of my BASE model was they cringe. But then I tell them How much I save each month in fuel, and add it up, then they quickly realize their ICE vehicles cost them more with their payments plus fuel.

Dan

 

Penn Yan to Syracuse. I was trying to commute in a wrangler. Yikes on that fuel bill. My pmt and insurance more than covers the fuel savings.

 

I seriously thought about purchasing a PIP instead of a Prius. But, my problem is that I am renting housing and just doesn't make sense. I am not able to pull an extension cord the street where I park my car. Even if so, I might not be able to park in front of the house all the time. With the deals that are being currently offered I would have purchased a PIP instead of a Prius if I lived in a more permanent situation.

 

People just don't get it. They don't realize what is possible in a Prius with a bigger battery.
I do a 96 mile r/t commute to work and get a solid 70 MPG tank average. that's with less than 20% EV.
During my vacation months, when doing 5o% EV ratios, I get 95 MPG tanks. It's awesome.
I am about ready to buy a second one, but I hope they'll increase the EV range soon. 20 miles would be perfect IMHO.

 

20 would be sweet! and i think, by the time winter's over (not in georgia) we'll wish we had 25.

 

Are you staying even if I don't plug it in I will get a better MPG since it has a bigger battery and can drive on electric longer than a regular Prius? I wonder what can be done with a PIP if somebody doesn't plug it in if that is the case.

 

several people have tested it here, it adds 5-10% to your mpg's. don't forget, it's not just a larger battery, it's also li-on.

 

Ahhh, no, I wasn't really saying that. If I couldn't take advantage of plugging it in, I don't think I would buy it.
Although, the Pip will get slightly better HV mileage, uncharged, as stated above.