Went to Toyota dealer today! Toyotathon??

Toyota salesman just texted me and said Toyota had first allocation for January and no 2023 Prius(es) were released to the Boston region. They also have not received a confirmation that the Prime would be released in the spring.

 

High interest rates will slow down vehicle sales in 2023 and 2024. How many people going to buy a $50,000 plus EV with 12% car loans? Just look at auto stock train wreck as future car sales go down the drain.

 

Not quite 12% but closer to 4.7 - 4.99% depending on your area with Toyota Financial. I will say a month ago it was 3.49%.

 

Yes, I love how when you try to build one on the Toyota website, it says: Not available in your area, please contact your dealer. So you contact the dealer, and they say "Toyota doesn't tell us anything."

 

great review if you want to know what japan gets that we don't.

gas prices will affect demand as well. and you can't just go by looks. after peeking under the hood, there's a lot that people are complaining about here.

 

Tesla doesn't have Toyota's build quality, but it's not nearly as bad as the internet would have one believe, either. (source: own multiple prius of gen2-4, purchased a model Y new last year). The lack of quality doesn't extend to what's making the car go - multiple sources have stated Toyota's own deeply favorable impressions of the motors as "works of art" after a teardown.

Elon is certifiable, and the used market for Tesla's will be tanked as long as government incentives last. When they go, the used market will rebound quickly as is the established pattern.

None of that changes the near-zero levels of stock at any Toyota dealer within a 300 mile radius of me. Rav4 hybrid or Venza is on my list, but either is a non-starter given Toyota's inability to produce...meanwhile Tesla is churning out 250K vehicles per quarter.

 

i'm still looking for a tanked tesla

 

It's relative of course, but Model 3's can be found in the 30K range now, where six months back they were all 50K range.

My own Model Y would be down by 15K on the used market (if I were looking to sell).

Meanwhile, I'm happy to give MSRP on a new Venza, but nobody has one. Best I can do is a two year old one (2021) at new prices (2023) with two years of mileage on it (30K is typical). No thanks to all that. If my wife wanted a Tesla, I'd do it tomorrow, but she's a Toyota girl.

 

Toyota produced over 8 million vehicles in 2022 to Tesla's 1.37 million. Toyota just can't keep up with the demand.

 

Yes we could have bought a Tesla Model 3 for less than the Rav4 XSE Hybrid but my wife was not having it. Smaller vehicle, poor ergonomics and, to her, range anxiety although she would rarely do more than 100 miles in a day by herself. However in Texas 40 miles for lunch is pretty common facilitated by freeways and 85mph tollways.

 

Main problem I have with Teslas (and BEVs in general) is that they take too long to "fuel." As an apartment dweller with street parking, I can't plug something in overnight, and my employer only provides one charging station which is used by the CEO. So they could be free, and I'd still buy a hybrid.

 

Neither company can. But if you want a vehicle with 95 mpg e, Tesla can deliver one. Obviously 95 mpge is if you can charge at home.

 

The Y is a much better analog to the RAV4 hybrid - it's still smaller, just less so. But frankly the RAV4 or Venza is a more comfortable car all around. Teslas do about one thing exceptionally: go fast. They do several other things quite adequately, including that they are dirt cheap to run if your charging situation is right. Seeing out the back window is not one of the things they do well.

 

They are also efficient, and Toyota seems to be trying to emulate the view out the back with the new Prius.

 

I have the Model Y and driven the Rav4 in the past. They literally have nothing in common.

 

The original inquiry was about the model 3. I agree that they are not alike, but the Y is a closer analog than the 3 in size. Context matters.

 

Yes, the Model 3 is very similar except being a little smaller.
In other word, why people bother with dealers chasing for some Rav4s, being lied multiples times and on top of that paying over the msrp. Just get the damn Model Y Long Range. With the incentives, the difference is negligible. From ordering and taking the delivery the experience is something never seen before. This is not 2010. The time has changed. We have multiple options now, we don't need greedy dealers.

 

Maybe Tesla could make a few gassers?

 

The original plan was to include PHEVs. Then Fisker left and started his own company making PHEVs.