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May: #9 package drops to 39% due to EPA?

Discussion in 'Dealers & Pricing' started by chris_b_01, May 3, 2004.

  1. chris_b_01

    chris_b_01 New Member

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    Just got off the phone with my dealer (Virginia Beach, VA)

    He let me know that my wait time is going to go up

    In April he said that Toyota was making 80% of all cars with package #9

    In May, he said that the EPA got involved, and made Toyota cut the #9 production to 39%

    So... my wait time goes up.... great (not)

    What does the EPA have to do with anything?

    Chris
     
  2. bigbaldcuban

    bigbaldcuban New Member

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    You got me man. If that's true, (I can't see how). I wonder what is environmentally dangerous about a Prius? :Wth:
     
  3. chris_b_01

    chris_b_01 New Member

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    Maybe it's the extra weight of the NAV stuff that will throw off the 60mpg estimates?
     
  4. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    That makes absolutely no sense to me. Absolutely none. What would the EPA have to do with which type of package is made?
     
  5. shona

    shona New Member

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    I could possibly believe that some group out there was giving toyota a hard time to make more of the lower end vehicles so people were not forced to buy the high end model, if they wanted a Prius. Maybe a consumer group, but not the EPA. A fair practices group, maybe.

    shona
     
  6. jasond

    jasond New Member

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    I could believe it if it was the FTC or something like that, rather than the EPA. Has your salesperson undergone a recent IQ test? :)

    When I bought, I was shown specific figures on how many units Toyota would be making available this year, before I made my purchase decision. It's possible that Toyota was prevented from deviating sharply from those promised numbers, effectively harming people who relied on them when choosing to buy a particular non-BC Prius.
     
  7. bigbaldcuban

    bigbaldcuban New Member

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    It's possible, but basically, anyone that doesn't like it could get another car from any number of auto makers (leaving more for me - tee hee hee). They don't even have a monopoly on hybrids. If they wanted to make nothing but #9's until they had them sitting on the lot it might not be nice, but its certainly not illegal.

    Did I mention that I'm waiting for a #9? 8)
     
  8. chris_b_01

    chris_b_01 New Member

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    The dealer seemed very knowledgeable

    Definately said EPA, not FTC

    A different dealer told be last month that the #9s account for 80% so I have had that from two sources

    Only this one dealer today though told me about a drop in production for #9s


    Chris
     
  9. Mybrid

    Mybrid New Member

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    :crazyeyes: :Wth: :cussing: Ok, I've got to put in my 2 cents. Why may I ask, that everytime that a representative for a Dealer speaks it becomes Gospel? I'am going to make it short. The EPA does not tell Toyota that it can't make cars! Here is the clue: When they (Dealer representative/s) start telling you that there is a shortage because of something else other than simple demand for the car its :cussing: BS! And I'm not saying that all Dealer representatives are this way! My last word is this, Remember that Toyota is making PRII (not just the USA) from one assembly plant. It would be nice if the USA were the only ones getting these cars then the shortage wouldn't be so bad.
    :computer: :clap: :wave: Sorry to be on my soapbox today!
     
  10. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    I'll tell you what it sounds like - a dealer's piss-poor excuse for why their allottment went down one month compared to the past month's for the same package.
     
  11. jasond

    jasond New Member

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    So, how exactly did you earn that "Emoticon abuser" tag? :mrgreen:
     
  12. aarons12

    aarons12 New Member

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    gee, i wonder... actually, i just clicked on the 'view more emoticons' link and saw where all the rest of them come from... quite a collection
     
  13. Mybrid

    Mybrid New Member

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    jasond wrote:
    So, how exactly did you earn that "Emoticon abuser" tag?

    :roll: :roll: :multi: :evillaugh: :lolup: Oh come on do ya really need to ask something so obvious :?:
    It's like asking when your car will be here :!:
    :lol: :computer: :wave:
     
  14. bookrats

    bookrats New Member

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    You know, after being on the internet for over 20 years, I've always been impressed with how information can become garbled -- or simply spun out of thin air.

    However, hats off to (some) Toyota dealers and their "grapevine" -- they're pushing the envelope to new heights.

    The EPA? Gee, why not the Treasury Department or the Secret Service?
     
  15. tag

    tag Senior Member

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    Speculating here but my guess would be whichever one assassinated JFK.
     
  16. Dianne

    Dianne New Member

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    The EPA limits many things. They limit the HID headlamps, the side airbags, the side/curtain airbags, and NAV systems etc ... I guess we could all sit here and wonder why or just accept that it's true -- which it is -- or Toyota's be producing 100% NAV cars. That's the largest demand.

    Dianne


     
  17. SpartanPrius

    SpartanPrius New Member

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    It may be due to a paperwork conflict. During EPA certification, the manufacturer has to project what quantity of vehicle types are delivered per model to satisfy the CAFE standard. While there is probably no mileage difference between the nine Prius models, the reported production of 80% No. 9 may have skewed the paperwork enough to suggest TILT to the bureaucrats. Don't know for sure, but it seems that the EPA is likely to have such roadblocks in place to catch routine manufacturer chicanery which is ussually associated with relatively poor efficiency vehicles.

    Alas, the poor Prius may have rolled into this morass (dragging me along with it...).
     
  18. Tempus

    Tempus Senior Member

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    I can see maybe limiting the HID for Mercury (which is the reason that's always given).

    I've also heard they limit the NAV for Mercury, which doesn't make sense to me, because the screen is there regardless of whether the Nav Box is or isn't.

    But the Airbags really puzzle me. Do they limit the number of Domestic cars that can have side airbags? What about cars that have them standard?

    That one really seems like a terrible example of beaurocracy gone wrong, to limit a major safety feature.

    Maybe we can arrange a Steel Cage Death Match between the EPA and the NHTSA to resolve it.

    I'd watch on Pay Per View and they could recoup some costs.
     
  19. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    I believe it's the HID mercury, the NAV (all cars have screens, but the NAV has a gyroscopic deal which may be based on mercury movement?). I'm not sure what else would require protections.
     
  20. Tempus

    Tempus Senior Member

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    Hmm, did a little searching on HID Headlights and Mercury

    First, there's a Minnesota Report http://www.moea.state.mn.us/publications/p...ation2002-3.pdf

    It mentions Mercury in HID and NAV Displays.

    Interesting Points, if you look at the sources of Mercury, Coal is by far number one.

    Flourescent Lights alone account for 1%

    HIDs and NAV aren't big enough to make the pie chart.

    But, this one from Georgia really caught my eye

    http://www.ganet.org/dnr/p2ad/mercury.html

    A note on fluorescent and HID lights

    Even though these lights contain mercury, the energy savings they deliver over incandescent bulbs saves tons of mercury air pollution that would be released from coal in coal burning power plants. Buying them is a good thing; just purchase lamps with green caps (indicating low-mercury) if possible and recycle the light at the end of its useful life.


    Another with the same opinion

    http://www.pprc.org/pprc/pubs/newslets/news0303.html

    Just be sure to recycle :)