Gas prices plummeting, and so are hybrid sales

Chicago takes great pride of having one of the highest gas prices in the U.S. Save for a rainy day is a phrase you seldom hear nowadays. Most people just can not stand to have a penny in their pockets. Good luck with your knee Lester.

 

The government determines size by interior volume not by the size of the sheet metal.

 

The only reason this sub-topic constantly interrupts threads is that Prius drivers have this Napoleonic complex thing going on.
Interestingly enough, it's never really a thorn in the paws of the C-type drivers, who already know that they drive a "small" car and accept it.

If Hybrid sales really are plummeting (and I don't think that they are in particular) then there are always going to be a small number of people (pun almost unintended) that are going to take advantage of the smaller hybrid premium and stick one in their driveway for the day that we all know is going to come when gas goes back up.
Personally?
I don't think that $2.65 is all that "small" a price to pay for a gallon of fuel, but I can understand why the some of greenies out there wish that it were more expensive.

I'm a convert.
I've got 75,000 miles in type (company car) and if the Prius were a little better at towing and had a slightly higher ground clearance, then I would probably consider buying one.
If my commute suddenly goes up, I might anyway.
Even if gas is a dollar a gallon, it makes sense not to waste money by buying a bigger, more powerful or comfortable car just to get to work and back.

My prediction is that Toyota will sell every Prius that they make this year.
That means that their sales figure will approach 100-percent....and I'd be willing to bet that the folks who make cars will build more hybrids next year than they did this year.
That's as much as 'hybrids' need to sell.

 

For clarification. $4/gallon is way to high!

 

Agree.
It would be hard/impossible for me to shift back to a less efficient car--in my mind I would always be comparing.

 

N=2 on this:
My brother just purchased a Prius, started trying to drive gently to maximize mpg, and reports that his girlfriend Mary was very happy with his changed driving habits.

 

Happy to hear you will keep your girlfriend along with your pickup truck!

 

I'll echo that. I like driving fast, but traffic here makes that kind of pointless because all you do is get to the next traffic light quicker. Now that I've lived with the Prius for a few months, my habits have changed and wish I could drive my Dakota the way I do the Prius. Unfortunately, it has a more touchy accelerator and no regen braking.

 

One of the most satisfying things about driving my Prius around surface streets where I live is knowing that when I sit at stop lights I'm using zero gas. I think our other car uses half it's gas idling while stopped, or so it seems. Nice not to do that anymore (since my wife considers the 2003 CR-V as "her" car and the Prius as my car)

 

i feel the same way, ten years later. especially when stuck in thanksgiving traffic (coming soon) on the highway to plymouth.

 

Haha, I drove my nephew's honda civic ex for a bit yesterday. Nice car, especially that right turn camera, but ugh, that idling engine at red lights. I don't think I can ever go back to owning a regular gas guzzler car anymore, and as start-stop technology gets adopted into gas cars to help them save on fuel, I think the idling engine at a stop will become a thing of the past.

 

It's usually the other way around.

 

I doubt that. Electric power from the mains is expensive and it takes too long to charge batteries.

Toyota just unveiled a hydrogen fuel cell car. I guess they see that as the future. No infrastructure for fueling yet, but it has a long driving range and you can fuel up and go without waiting hours to charge.

 

Let's hope the next gen hybrid system (coming in 4th gen Prius) weighs less as current Toyota hybrids are a bit porky. Prius, Camry hybrid feel bit lethargic from a stop, climbing hills.

 

I'm going to try and take advantage of the dropping fuel prices and hopefully get a better discount!

 

good luck, i think you will!

 

We have a station here in town that just posted up gas for $1.89/gal!

 

I bought my Prius on Black Friday. Back then gas prices were $2.39 in Tulsa. Now we're catching up with you guys, most stations are $1.99.

I'm loving this cheap gas, but at $60/bbl I do worry about a lot of our OK companies and families.