Toyota's finally -- at least in my region - started to respond to the needs of the dealers with better communication and estimates of what volume of cars are expected for the end of this model year production. There was a memo posted to us all with production/expected units... of course, this also included the "fleet" units that were dropped for certain counties, cities, and cars for employees of Toyota and company fleet purchases as well. That is why their # of units distributed (listed below) will not match my posting as to what's been brought to SoCal for you as buyers (April and May are absolutely out of whack for certain)... you have all gotten the cars that are slated for retail. The only problem here with this memo is that is leaves off the 2005 production estimates, so those of us with more than 25 or 30 people on their lists are still clueless as to tell anyone after that! And, those smaller stores who get 1, 2 per allocation will not know what to tell people after #9 or 10 on their list. And, sadly, we still are unaware of any package combo changes to expect so anyone with a name and number with me (or anyone else) who wanted package 8 or some other unusual package and is awaiting news to see if that package gets added to regional production will still have to sit tight and pray that with increased production, we finally see packages like 7 and 8... and that said, here's the "gist" of the memo for Southern CA dealers... keep in mind that there are now 75 dealerships in Southern CA region so do the math here! (I have to snicker here at this line: **Please make every attempt to prioritize these customers and minimize the number of these customers receiving a ModelYear05 Prius.** because it seems as if I have a choice here, like I am gonna get 200 cars to make sure they are not out 300 bucks a car for 2005 models, LOL!!! That was pretty nutty to say there --- I am one of many with a list that's a year-long wait at least. Anyway.....it's at least nice to know that they are responding to the upcry of us all being unable to even estimate when they will get a car, or where they are on any list. It's all still a crapshoot but anyone who's in the first 40 on my dealership's wait list will be in good hands thru September, depending on what they are waiting for. I still think strongly that they need to go back to internet ordering for this car. The "bringing the Prius mainstream" is a failed experiment now. It is a great car -- and no one expected fuel prices to swing to the incredible highs that they have. That's pretty much sealed the fate of this whole experiment. If they are unable to bring the Prius back to internet order only, let's all pray they do not make the same mistake with the Highlander hybrids. ____________________________________________________ Since the launch of the new generation Prius in October 2003, the Los Angeles Region has sold over 3,000 units. The vehicle has been a tremendous success and sales this year are up almost 400% compared to the previous generation vehicle. Thank you for the successful launch of Prius. We also appreciate the effective communication you have provided to customers on your wait lists. To assist you in your communication efforts, in February 2004 we communicated to you what Prius availability would be like through May 2004. Although production has improved slightly, your wait lists have continued to grow. While Prius availability will continue to improve, we also expect that demand will continue to exceed supply. To assist you in your efforts to communicate with your customers and staff, below is our estimated Prius availability for the next four months. Based on your current allocation sales share, you can estimate your monthly earnings and continue to communicate availability estimates to your customers. Prius Availability (last 4 months - actual) February - 445 March - 479 April - 562 May - 508 (next 4 months - estimate) June - 650 July - 600 August - 600 Sep (ModelYear 2005) - 700 I also wanted to remind you of the ModelYear04 build-out timing. ModelYear04 production will end in late August, and ModelYear05 production will begin in September 2004. Because of the price increase earlier this year, customers that were entered into the Prius CIRS system by March 9, 2004 and take delivery of a ModelYear04 Prius will receive a $300 credit from TMS. Please make every attempt to prioritize these customers and minimize the number of these customers receiving a ModelYear05 Prius. We appreciate your continued support in making the all-new Prius such a fabulous success. We look forward to continued success that positions all of us for improved customer satisfaction and the Toyota brand-image, as well as the long-term success of Prius and future Toyota hybrid models.
thanks as always, dianne. we appreciate the efforts you have gone through to inform the prius-hungry community!
I get my tailfeathers fried often for my personal opinions but ya know what? It's gone too far, frankly. I've lost my temper, my patience, and my faith too many times in regards to this particular issue. Dianne
I disagree. There are fleet companies, dealerships who want TRAC cars and rental car companies who will have been put off for months that they they have been telling No to for too long at that time. Do not count on that. And, if a dealership's track record earns them 1.5 % on average of an allocation (there are 75 dealerships in SoCal, so that is actually slightly over the average) then they will receive 7-10 cars a month assuming there are a true 700 cars in 2005 coming. Assuming they continue to refuse fleet orders and fill TRAC car requests and fleet car rental companies and cities and counties the cars they have ordered. FYI -- I am trying to put this into perspective for you all. They ship us 2200-3000 Camrys a month to SoCal... sometimes, more! That should put that 400-5000 Prius in perspective for you. They need to do something crazy and magnificent like ship 2000 cars all at once. That will help clear the decks!
Dianne, I appreciate your telling us what you know about what is going on. I am not getting much from my dealer. :x Even though I am in a different area, the increased allocations are an encouragement if it really happens. With my luck, I know when I will get my Prius...The day after I pay for fixing the transmission on my wife's 24 year old Corona because we can't stay a one car family for long. As I told the shop, "If I had the Prius I ordered a couple of months ago I would just have just called Pull A Part."
Dianne, Why should the Prius, and Highlander for that matter, be "internet order only"? Should people who are not internet savy, or prefer a face to face order process, or would actually like to see and drive a vehicle first be excluded? Or maybe I just don't understand what "internet order only" means.
I think one of the benefits of the internet orders. (correct me if I'm wrong) is the fact that it would be a bit easier to list people in the order that they have been waiting as opposed to region. It migh also help Toyota by building more closely to customer demand (although probabbly not perfect for some less common option packages.
There's nothing to prevent the car salesperson from placing the internet order for the customer right there at the dealership. Internet ordering doesn't eliminate the dealerships at all, just gives the customer the option to order from home to have the car sent to a specific dealership and negotiate the deal with that same dealer.
Thanks for the info Dianne. It looks like you've been hard at work trying to get cars. We missed you at this past Sunday's San Diego PriusClub meeting. Maybe you can make July's (July 25?) altough we'll be meeting a lot further south in San Diego County - we're looking at the Fuddrucker's in Mira Mesa. Sev will let us know soon.
Thank you greatly for the information, Dianne -- that gives me a pretty good idea what the situation must be like in our region, too.
One does not have to be "internet savvy" -- one needs to visit the local dealer to place your order. I did this countless times for others during the "internet order only" days. And, I'd do it again. Dianne
The most important thing that internet order-only does is it makes certain that Toyota knows what you want in the way of color, options, and nails down your choices to the exact science... and makes certain that the right car goes to the dealership of your choice. It's hard for everyone to read that a blah blah car is suddenly available in a certain place in the USA with no takers when there are folks with orders MONTHS and MONTHS ago in other areas awaiting that car. The current system allows for Toyota to have your name, address, and email address and a phone # -- but they do not ask me what color, package, or interior you want. If they knew when you'd ordered, what color combo you wanted, and the package you want, then they'd send the car in a specific time frame and put us all out of our freakin' misery! Di
Di wrote: The current system allows for Toyota to have your name, address, and email address and a phone # -- but they do not ask me what color, package, or interior you want. If they knew when you'd ordered, what color combo you wanted, and the package you want, then they'd send the car in a specific time frame and put us all out of our freakin' misery! Di Gee, I thought that whether they knew or not, they chose to build and ship whatever option packages they wanted to for reasons of pricing and/or parts availability. Gene
Wow what futuristic technology! They can create a database of orders? And know who wants what and where they want it? I guess I shouldn't expect any less from the company that developed/integrated all the great new technology in the Prius. :roll: What will they think of next? shoelaces?? I guess I'm just a rube, a space cadet, a fresh off the turnip truck software developer. I would have assumed that this would be the case no matter how it was ordered!
