No Solar Sunroofs for the Northeast??

We are moving into detail discussion with my Philadelphia area dealer finally acting on my long-down deposit on a 2010 P-III now that there are some cars ot look at.

Seems that you cannot get a car with the solar sunroof pkg in this entire corner of the country until you go all the way down to Charlotte, NC. Can't order it on anything and it does not seem to be part of everything-but-the-sink P-V package.

Am I missing something?

How long will this situation last?

Any insights welcome and appreciated!

Chris

there are scattered IV solar navs int he dc va md area - not many and some spoken for. i have an msrp solar nav IV blz pearl delivering by 6/28 from steffcat at easton md toyota scion (by annapolis on the eastern shore over the bay bridge). i am aware of others in limited #s coming in early july - probably none sitting around tho. good luck.

I used a philly zip code on the Toyota 'build your own' site and they only allow you to add the solar package to a IV.

This has been my first experience dealing with Toyota and their option "bundling" scheme, and it will absolutely be my last.

sorry you feel that way

in normal circumstances, with more balance between supply and demand, it would not feel so difficult. when i bouhgt my wife's camry, i simply called dealerships until i found one with the right color/package and dealt. this was 3 weeks before the new 07s were coming out (the body reshaping year) and they were anxious to deal. normally a dealership would have 10+ (more on some) of each car, and either would have what you want or could get it. This is an abnormal situation.

Don't feel bad. I have no less than 13 orders for SR on both III and IV models. In the chicago region, there are well over 100 orders and only 61 coming in. That is for 114 dealers.

It's not the availability I'm concerned with. I don't appreciate being forced to pay for gimmicky stuff like a solar vent or a air molecule ionizer when I want standard options like a sunroof or leather seats.

You should have bought a Hyundai Sonata, those are much better cars with better mileage and cheaper to boot. The Camry's heyday ended last century.

Hi all; newbie here. What a wonderful site - I've spent several hours on it so far and have only scratched the surface. Thought I'd chime in on the SR issue, as I'm a salesman in Pennsylvania. I have 10 orders on the dealership wait list, and 8 of them request the SR which we are not being supplied with thus far. We searched our region and found something like only 30 total Priuses (Prii?) built with the SR at this point.

Hope Toyota doesn't take too long to supply us with the SR option, as it has been a major selling point and a lot of customers I've spoken with are holding off their purchases until the option becomes available.

Welcome Peak. I spoke with our district GM the other day. Our region grossly underestimated the amount of SR people out there. He has since changed his tune, but now it takes time to get the parts from the supplier. August is when I should see an increase. Hopefully your region will do the same...

And Accordingly, can you please post facts to support your belief that the camry's "heyday ended last century"? Because everything I see still has it as the top selling model for the last 13 out of 14 years.

If proof of being the best car means it is the top seller, than I guess the Big Mac is the best hamburger in the country and American Idol is the best TV show ever made.

Best selling car sure, but who cares unless you own the company. If you're driving the car, you want the better car. The facts are Hyundai makes a better car. I've driven them both. Hyundai looks better inside and out, handles better, doesn't drive like a couch, gets better MPG, has a better warranty, is cheaper and on and on. Edmunds agrees, and so do lots of other people. Consumer Reports gives it higher reliability as well.

The Hyundai Sonata regularly beats the Toyota Camry in the most credible reviews. Testers find that the Sonata offers a nicer interior and better reliability than the Camry these days. I didn't say it first, but it's my thoughts exactly.


By the way, is anyone interested in a used 1996 Taurus? Best 13 year old car you can get, don't bother with a used accord or camry.

Ok, I'll take the bait
I always love it when there isn't really anything that great to say about a brand so they invent a category where it can rate highly: "XYZ vehicle ranked high in Initial Quality!!!"

When I read that, I picture the owner broken down alongside the road years later. What is he/she supposed to say then - "Sure, I may own a heap now, but gosh-durn it, this sucker sure had Initial Quality!"

The articles also mention that Hyundai still has poor resale quality. Nothing is as honest about the machine value of a vehicle as the used car market.

That being said, I do agree with you that Hyundai has improved; I test drove the new 2010 Genesis in both the 4cyl turbo and the 3.8 v6 variations, and they were sweet. 5 and 6 speed paddle shifters that were very responsive, and gobs of power. Not the route I intend on taking, but they will make fun sport cars for the right buyer.

P.S. Apology for deleting your links in quote; because I'm a newbie, the forum wouldn't let me post em (must have 5 or more posts first.)

to me it is understandable that they underestimated it. It is quite amazing that, as our nation is still reeling from a financial crisis brought on by a culture of excess, that people are lining up to buy the most expensive sunroof in automotive history, especially for those of us that don't want nav.

I was hoping that the marketplace would send a message to Toyota that they made a mistake in bundling the sunroof with nav. I guess not.

I don't know man, it wasn't too long ago everyone said the same thing about Toyota and Honda. You'd get a used 1985 Toyota for a lot less than a used 1985 Chevy in 1989, no question which vehicle was better in hindsight.

It's not just initial quality, Hyundai is kicking butt and taking names in any metric you can find including reliability and owner satisfaction. Toyota better watch it or they're going to suffer the same fate of another country's automakers who were once the top sellers and thought they could get cocky and greedy and expect people to buy whatever they put in front of them on brand image alone.

You try to pull this upsell bundle garbage, and people like me remember and sing it from the hills. I'm mad enough I have to pay $3600 just to have a sunroof added to my III (15% of the car's value), imagine if I lived in the northeast and had to shell out $6400 to go up to the IV!

edit- and oh yeah, the Genesis Coupe- awesome car!!! It's going to give all the sport car makers a kick in the pants if it isn't breaking down all the time... not that that doesn't come standard on that category anyway!

I got a picture of Peak Oil Aware's bumper sticker. (Just kidding)


.............................................

i have owned two hyundais - an accent and an elantra. i upgraded my wife from an elantra to the camry.

the hyundais were inexpensive, solid, performed well. They just didn't age well - cheap stuff started falling off the interior - the mirrors on the back of the visors, etc

I agree that the sonata is a nice car and reviews well. hopefully hyundai solved their cheap fit and finish and LONGTERM quality issues. oh and resale too - i got killed trading in/selling the two hyundais i had.

HI, just one to touch base and let people know. I can get you solar panel.. I am on the Eastern shore of Maryland.. stephanie.hunsicker@koonsauto.com..thank steffcat:cheer2:

:focus: Availability of SR in the Northeast. It stinks. Whether or not you think it should be a bundled up deal, the most highly touted gizmo on this Prius is that solar panel roof and they are few and far between. If you got one - consider yourself lucky. Many of us will either have to sit here drumming our fingers while they cank some out and get delivery by the time snow's falling - or compromise and not have a sunroof at all, much less solar ventilation.

:hurt:

I was very surprised that Toyota was only building 7% of the cars with the SR option. Now that demand for this is exceeding what was expected, Toyota should be redefining their original strategy and amping up the build of this configuration.

Toyota - are you listening?? :nod:

We're in the same mid-atlantic region. We've been told that the SR packages are going to be in very very short supply for some time.

In the next allocation of 500+ vehicles which will arrive in mid-July there are a total of 6 units with the SR package. We got one. It was sold in 30 seconds, literally.

What I can't understand is why would Toyota run a TV ad with the solar roof feature and build so few cars with SR. This ad runs daily in the northeast. A classic bait and switch move for Toyota and dealers.

I would gladly pay $3600 for roof and nav on a Prius II or III but to be forced to get a IV is bull. At least I will save $6400 and just get a base III. For that money I get the remote starter to cool the car and I can get a new Garmin every year for the next twenty years.

The obvious seems difficult for some to see. It seems Toyota in their "wisdom" for some reason has always given the customer what Toyota wants not what the comsumer wants. I would be interested in knowing the actual percentages of sunroofs in all brands. This would be a better indicator of the desire for SR. I certainly would have thought a percentage of near 20% or higher for the summer alotment would have been more reasonable. Is it possible that this is more of a cultural thing meaning that sunroofs are not as desired in other parts of the world? In any case Toyota should wake up!