Prime overtakes Clarity

it's neck and neck! who will cross the finish line first? where is the finish line?

 

and the media claims model 3 is having sales problems

 

Better question is, "Where the heck is the Prius Prime?!" According to ALL the advertising here in SOCAL, there is no such car. And yet, I see several every day! They must be coming from Transdimensional Transfer from a Hyperlevel Inversion, since dealers don't know about nor have any??!! Another Mystic Anomaly!

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AChoiredTaste.com

 

I see another Prime around here on average, maybe once every 4-6 weeks. Part of me says that's mighty sad. The other part says, "I have a car that's very exclusive. Kind of like driving a Deusenberg 1935 SJ LaGrande Dual-Cowl Phaeton, but way cheaper."

 

I regularly see 4 other Primes in my area, but I have only seen one Clarity on the road. I did have a Gen4 Prius driver tailgate me one day. I thought that was odd until he pulled up next to me & gave me a thumbs up. Guess he was just trying to figure out what that strange Prius-like automobile in front of him could be.

 

The Prime is very nearly not for sale in the Southeast or the Gulf States Toyota regions due to distributor dumbness. People here have to first discover that it exists and then either order it and wait or else travel outside the region. So seeing one here is a somewhat akin to seeing a Deusenberg.

 

I think the Northern Wisconsin area is similar. In the 2 years I have been driving my Prime I have seen another on the road only twice. I do get some interesting comments and "what the heck was that?" looks on occasion. The roads here are heavily dominated by pick-up trucks and SUVs which do fit the long and snowy winter conditions. Nonetheless there were really only about 5 days all winter that I did not drive the Prime. As an aside, battery life is pretty interesting in that iffy temperature between 11 and 20 degrees F. With seat heater, steering wheel heater and cabin heater all running 15 miles EV is good. Now with temps in the 40s its back up near 25 miles per charge. Still having a blast with this car!

 

The increase in Prime sales vs Clarity could be related to the MSRP. Base Clarity is about the cost of a Prime Advance.

 

Probably a factor. It seems that the Pickup/SUV crowd don't care what it costs and, in fact, want to spend as much as they can, while the rest of us have spending limits. ("If you have to ask, you can't afford it!" )

 

latest ford f150 commercial, 'tons of swagger'. you get what you pay for i guess.

 

And how much the incentives Toyota and Honda are offering.

 

A local Toyota dealer had 10 or more 2018 PRIME in stock up until recently. They are now slowly bringing in 2019 PRIME. On the contrary, a local Honda dealer never had more than 3 Clarity in their stock every since Honda introduced it late 2017. I read somewhere that HONDA only intended to sell 1,000 Clarity a year in Japan. I wonder what they had in mind for the US market?

 

Which Clarity was that in Japan? There are three, with the fuel cell one the one important to Honda, going by the name of the car. The PHEV exists in order to support the FCEV. Not sure what the BEV was meant to do.

Found this in a quick search.
Honda Global | July 19 , 2018 "Honda to Begin Sales in Japan of Clarity PHEV, New Plug-in Hybrid model"
The 1000 sales was for the first year, with the PHEV being available on July 20.
Honda expects 200 a year for the FCEV in Japan.
Honda commences Japanese sales of Honda Clarity Fuel Cell

For the US, they are planning to sell 75k over four years.
Honda EV PHEV | 75,000 Sales Targeted for Clarity Lineup | WardsAuto

 

PHEV version of Clarity in Japan.
Similar article here: Honda bringing Clarity to Japan as a plug-in hybrid - electrive.com

 

The Clarity beat the Prime a couple times last year and this year.

Right now in CA and OR, there is a $6000 hidden dealer incentive. People have been paying about $26k plus TTL for the base Clarity. With the $7500 tax credit, it puts it in Civic territory for the size of an Accord.

Keep in mind the rebate is only for residents of those state. I wish it would be more like Toyota's where you can buy out of state and still get the rebate. Honda would have a bunch more sales if they made the $6000 incentive national.

 

I see them all the time. Even seeing more regular new Prius's as well. But since I live in SoCal, I expect this.

 

Probably 6 or 7, har, har! You never see those things around heah!!
Now with the advent of monumental price gouging on gas (we've breached $4.00/gal for that stuff here), I'm getting ready for the whining and sniveling from the lumberwagon owners to start!! Oh, you mean you didn't see it coming!!?? Poor babies!! Just park those turds so my Prime can get by!! As I keep saying, I have no opinions!!

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AChoiredTaste.com

 

Oh they have spending limits too - they're just more willing to take on insane financing. (also the Bloomberg article)

I remember $5/gallon gas. It was wonderful. With so much less traffic (and less angry drivers), I could actually drive our high-performance cars without the constant fear of being run into by some oblivious idiot in an SUV.

As I have repeated to my SUV-buying acquaintances when they complain about gas prices: you're getting pimp-slapped by the invisible hand.