Prius Sales and Prices Dropping?

...'Cause ya know, when I'm looking for auto pricing trends, I check out eBay first...

Not too professional. I'm still reading the stories on this board about folks waiting for weeks on multiple waiting lists. To me, that doesn't seem to indicate interest is declining. And besides, who calls 3.3 percent a headwind?!

Nothing like wild speculation to make an AutoWeek article complete!

 

Article:
Through August, Prius sales were down 3.3 percent to 70,447, vs. 72,849 in the first eight months of 2005.
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Prius sales are determined by how many Priuses are shipped here. That is based on how many Toyota can make and decides to send to the USA. They dont sit on the lot for more then two weeks almost anywhere populated. A rural dealer may have to drop the price to sell one NOW to make a quota or goal but in general even that is not neccessary.

If Toyota DOUBLED the number of Priuses sent to the USA they could still sell all of them. Many would be sold at a minor discount but they would not sit on lots for half a year like some vehicles. I personally know of four people who would buy one if they could easily get one with color and package choices on normal new car terms instead of wait lists and unusual dealer demands <at or over MSRP, fees, $500 mud flaps etc>.

 

I have also noticed that almost half the "used" Pri's on ebay have salvage titles (most from CA) who wants that...?!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BobZ @ Sep 14 2006, 09:53 AM) [snapback]319556[/snapback]</div>

I was just going to say that. While reading this paragraph:

I thought to myself, how many of those happened to be SALVAGE title vs clean title?? Not too many people are willing to jump through the necessary hoops to get a salvage title vehicle financed & insured, as some financing and insurance companies (not to mention state requirements) have made it difficult to do so for a car that's been salvaged...

 

Doesn't AutoWeek tend to have...ummmm...how shall I say...somewhat of an unfriendly view of hybrids in general? And didn't Natalie Neff, one of their editors, make disparaging comments about a test Prius?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hampdenwireless @ Sep 14 2006, 08:55 AM) [snapback]319453[/snapback]</div>

I would get upset at this - and I've written my share of letters - at the public being misled, except the public seems to be smarter than the pundits and buying the Prii as fast as they can be shipped. When a slowdown really occurs (not like the Feb. dip this year due to the factory being used to get a sufficient inventory of Camry hybrids), then it'll be time to go on the offensive for real. But that hasn't happened yet on Gen II.

 

Hmmm... down 3.3%... sounds to me like Toyota is doing the smart thing, decreasing their sales one month as they ramp up production for the next model year. if someone wants to buy one now, odds are they'd be willing to wait a few weeks for the "new and improved" version, and i wonder how many people out there decided to wait until 2007 comes out to buy, if they decided to start looking? seems it'd be better to decrease numbers made/shipped now so you can have a ton when the demand spikes again.