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crazy 2010 email

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by rigormortis, Jan 13, 2009.

  1. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

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    Hey Toyota -

    Where's my invite? :mad: I would buy a car through your pioneer/special invite program, if only to avoid having to e-mail and haggle with a bunch of dealers. I can understand not getting an invite to your special Detroit party. After all, I don't post much here since I replaced my Prius with a Camry, and I was not all that sociable even when I had the Prius! But no invite to buy the car??? How rude, insensitive and shortsighted!!! :eek:

    Here are my qualifications:

    I've been patiently waiting to buy a new Prius for 2 years, ever since I traded up to a HyCam.

    I test drove a Gen 1 and would have bought one if I could have gotten a decent lease deal (since I knew Gen 2 was coming).

    I joined and posted on 3 or 4 different Yahoo Prius groups before Danny even knew what a Prius was! (was he even out of high school yet?) ;)

    I owned a Prius for at least 2 years before Danny even thought about actually owning one! (how ironic was that?) :cool:

    I've owned more hybrids than half the people here, since I now own a HyCam!

    I was an early member of PriusChat. (with fear and loathing, after watching various Yahoo groups implode)

    I'm ready to buy the most expensive package and don't care if I get a moonroof or a plug! :rolleyes:

    So, what ya say Toyota, are ya ready to show me some love yet?! :cheer2:
     
  2. KAR IDEA

    KAR IDEA Member

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    Your miffed at Toyota, Danny and the Prius community and you drive a Hycam, and you expect to be shown love by being offered the Prius Pre-Purchase Invite?

    How about an e-hug...
     
  3. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    Most of us have made a name or impact within the community at some point, and each of those forums would be able to point to each of the people on the invite list and say "Yea, I know him or her, etc." or "He/she did such-and-such" or "He always posts about X".

    There's also the inevitable "woops", can't get everyone every time.
     
  4. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

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    Well, my post was really just a lame attempt at humor, but it already seems evident that Toyota's targets for selling a lot of the 2010 Prius to existing Prius owners or even non-current owners may be a tad high. Even I would not be buying gen 3 if I still owned my 2004 Prius. Perhaps they should consider expanding the program in this period of bearish auto sales and low gas prices. However, from the dealers' perspective, I'm sure they're hoping for at least a short period of high demand and low supply.

    Oh, and I'm warning you Toyota, I may have to go look at the Insight if I don't get that invite! :D
     
  5. KAR IDEA

    KAR IDEA Member

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    :tea:

    Ahhh ggood, I understand. I have a tendency to take people seriously, sorry about that. Cheers! And IMO: I'm glad I own a Gen 2. The Insight talks to you and the Gen 3 is aesthetically not as pleasing to my eye (strangely enough...).
     
  6. brandon

    brandon Member

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    Yeah, this whole public "preferential treatment" marketing ploy doesn't sound very professional to me, speaking from a marketing background. Sure, you'll potentially make 200 people happy, but how many thousands of people will you potentially p*ss off in the process? Hopefully the advice they received from a third-party marketing firm doesn't blow up in Toyota's face.

    Personally, I don't think I'd take the bait. I'd rather wait and see what the actual packages and pricing will be, and then work through my local dealer. I will very seriously consider trading my 2005 Prius for a 2010, but it will depend on what options are available for each package, and how much each package will cost. I know roughly how much I will be able to get for my trade-in, but if I think the 2010 packages are overpriced (shouldn't be catering to the Lexus crowd here, IMO) or don't contain the combination of features I want, I will not be as willing to take on new debt.
     
  7. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I thought (aka hoped) that first post was intended as humorous... but I think you make a very sound point. I'd dare say you're just the person Toyota could/should target. But how do you do that. You've got barely over 100 posts here, and while your name looks vaguely familiar to me I can't really say I remember you as a contributor here.

    I think the target audience isn't so much those who want a 2010 Prius, but those who want a 2010 AND will be active in sharing their experience and "spreading the gospel".

    That said, I'd like to see the Prius extended to all previous Prius owners...why not? It seems a ready audience. Most won't take the opportunity, but it's a darn good way to get a jump on that 180k unit sales target...it'll get a lot more used Prii out on the market for those who can't swallow the price of a brand new one....further extending the reach of hybrids and the Prius.

    But what do I know...never had a marketing course in my life.