The article doesn't paint a very positive picture for Toyota Big surprise, boring cars that aren't (considered!) bulletproof don't sell that well - except with massive discounts. Just ask GM. I wonder if Toyota will quietly start heavily discounting the 2010 Prius to just clear them out? The dealer lots are full of 2010's. Of course, Toyota can quickly turn the situation around with interesting new models.
Cheapest Gas Prices around here locally in South O.C. are up between 3.20 & 3.25 ... if it keeps up, it'll be just like last time ... waiting lists to buy a Prius. Man ... do people have short memories or what.
Gee, do you think that slow automobile sales could have anything to do with the lingering economic recession here in the U.S.?????? Keith
I agree completely. I've made it a habit to look at the pump before I fill up and see what the person before me paid total. The SUV drivers are creeping back up into the $80s now to fill up. Multiply that by five times a month, and they're paying $400 a month for gasoline! Buy a Prius already!
Me too. Ready to pull the trigger at any time. But my local dealership raised their advertised 2010 Prius prices by $500 this week...??
yeah, i 'm kinda surprised. i thought they would get a little more agressive. same cars sitting on the lot day after day, and now with winter coming, that's a lot of shoveling...
More and more people are finding that vehicles in the $20k price range are increasingly unaffordable. The only thing that has kept auto sales somewhat isolated from economic reality over the last couple of decades has been reliance on financing gimmicks. I remember back in the 80's when the idea of financing a car for more than 3 years was considered a no-no. I don't think it has much if anything to do with the press' recent interest in bashing Toyota.
Mighty Toyota is slipping under weight of recalls, sales decline | freep.com | Detroit Free Press This is reflected in the Toyota distribution of vehicles sold by looking at the sales rates: Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 0 Groups Total Sales 2010 Change 1 Toyota Pass Car 913 722 -7.90% 2 Total SUV 303 011 22.50% 3 Light Truck 672 385 14.90% http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/document/Monthly_Sales_PR_Chart.pdf Bob Wilson
Gas prices are nudging up a few cents every week now, guess the economy's all better! Soon the idiots in their shiny new suv's will start whining!
Yep. Crude oil's hovering at ~$90/barrel now, even while we're still in a crap economy w/9.8% unemployment. Bob's Toyota numbers show a similar trend to the overall US auto industry figures at Auto Sales - Markets Data Center - WSJ.com.
All we need is another spike in oil and gas prices and the 90 day inventory will disappear fast! Oil spiked over $90/barrel yesterday and looks like it's going higher today too. It appears I got mine in the nick of time!
This^^^ For those that weren't around during the middle of 2008 ( before the financial crisis ) gas prices averaged $4.25 / gal nationwide which drove consumers into Toyota showrooms to snatch every single Prius off every lot in North America. Goldman Sachs view is that oil should reach $100 / bbl around Jan 1st and fuel should average $3.00 / gal at that time. Why is this so important? Looking at the annual curve of fuel prices here in N A the period from Christmas to New Years is the lowest point of the year. From Jan 4th to mid summer the prices only go up then level off. IOW with a return to somewhat normal economic levels here, in China and in India the supply of petro-fuel could drive prices back to the $4.00 range by Summer. Goodbye Prius inventories. Hello Prius V and the new Camry hybrid.
It doesn't help that Toyota's advertising is really lame. The ads from GM and Ford are much more convincing [for people who aren't really paying attention].
toyota has the worst advertising agency out of all the auto companies. even the VW ad saying my car goes vroom vroom, what does your car do? is a better ad for prius than prius ads!
seeing those October numbers now makes it real clear why i was able to bargin so well with our local toyota dealers. I never thought they would come down so much but it just goes to show ya, do your homework, be prepaired and when the opportunity strikes, you gotta jump. I know we were not really ready but with those prices and seeing the high inventory and the gas slowly creeping up, it was a great time to pull the trigger. do your homework and get ready for more bargins before the end of the year.
Here is one forecast from JPM as of 12-4-10.. Brent oil price closes over $91 mark, $100 oil for 2011? | Oil Prices, Oil Trading Another from GS as of 11-10-10 Goldman Sachs forecast big rise in oil prices for 2012 | Oil Prices, Oil Trading Another GS forecast as reported by CNBC on 12-6-10 http://www.cnbc.com/id/40530212 Regular unleaded here on the right elbow of the continent just hit $2.95 / gal
It's starting to look a lot more like these prices are going to hold. The stock market and oil prices have been maintaining their value. If Congress can get these tax cuts approved, the economy, stock market, and oil prices should hold their values. This will keep gas prices at or above current prices well into the Spring. This should increase demand for the Prius, while punishing the wallets of SUV drivers.
I am waiting until Toyota brings out the plug-in version of Prius. I have a deposit on one. When I put down the deposit, the salesman said that the vehicle would be available between June and December 2011. The Toyota website now says that the plug-in will not be available until some time in 2012. With the Volt and the Leaf getting a lot of press right now, it is truly a shame and a marketing disaster that Toyota does not have the plug-in coming out for more than a year yet. Oh well, I guess that it is good for Chevy. I would much rather have a Prius plug-in than a Volt, but I will probably now at least check out the Volt.
