On a side note, I'm glad I bought when I did! I managed to pay below invoice.

i think $4.00 is the magic number... it really drives people crazy. i got mine when gas was $3.70... when i got to choose color and package.. and no waiting.. and below MSRP. now the very same dealer is selling an 05' with 57k miles for $26.5k...

Would be nice if the actual video was linked. I have no idea what video you're refering to.
What an annoying site.

Link worked for me. I actually bought my Prius on eBay 3 weeks ago for 18K, 55K miles on a 2005 base, black with tinted windows. Super clean. However there was no furious bidding war, and no other bidders asking me if i was going to buy it. In fact i bid it to 18 from 17,9 two days before the auction ended and didn't expect to win but I did. So while Prius' are definitely in demand, the report is at least slightly sensational.

When I bought mine gas was $1.69 gal, Dealers would laugh when I called around to see if they had one instock just to see. I had to flag an owner of a prius down in a parking lot to look and sit in one. After that I signed up on a waiting list then 2 months later I did get the color and options I wanted. I bet when you call dealers now they answer "hello this is ......... toyota we do not have any Prius in stock but if you want another car press 1" LOL

I don't think its a matter of stepping up production. My understanding is they finished building '08s back in March or April and took the line down to setup for the '09s. They had made enough to satisfy demand though August based on sales this spring, which were much slower. They were even still giving incentives on the hybrid Camry in April. Kind of wish I had gotten in on one of those $250/mnth leases. Then gas went up from $3/ gal in Mar to $4+ in May and all bets were off. Demand went way up, and the cars that were supposed to last all summer are almost gone. Doubt there will be any relief until either gas goes back to $3.99 and everyone starts buying SUVs again, or until the '09s roll in in August. The battery supply situation probably didn't help, but I'm not it had too much to do with it. I think they just underestimated demand. Not that they had any way to know, still I bet they're kicking themselves.

At least now he's leaving a little ozone layer for his kids!

Rob

I thought I'd read somewhere that Toyota was also diverting more cars to EU countries because of the craptastic dollar. Anyone else hear that or am I imagining things?

At any rate I'm glad we bought our '08 last year and paid below invoice.

I've read the same thing in news articles. You saw the length of the waiting list in the video. With that type of demand, Toyota should divert all of their Prius deliveries to the U.S. and sell them for $35K, and then gradually lower the price as "price-point" demand subsides.
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"I don't understand why Toyota doesn't just outsource. They should contact every major [reputable, quality] battery maker in the world and say "We need more batteries. These are our specifications, and here is our minimum quality assurance requirements. Can you provide us with batteries?"

Toyota should be contacting every major battery supplier in the world right now! Heck, they can charge a $10K "market demand" premium on the Lexus hybrid models. This could be a huge opportunity for Toyota to make some extra cash. They could sell "July delivery, first come, first serve" Prius hybrids for a fixed $40,000 for those that are willing to pay for it. And believe me, there are people out there that are willing to pay for the non-wait list cars." http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-hybrid-news/49214-toyota-battery-production-outpaced-car-demand.html#post645552

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One can't just flip a switch & expect good quality parts built to your specification instantly. IMO what keeps Toyota's quality high is that it PARTNERS with suppliers so everyone is on the same page. I would not want my Toyota built from outsourced parts. GM & Ford think the same way you do. Look where it got them.

I understand your point, and I appreciate that Toyota does this. I tell everyone I know that my Toyota, regardless of price, is a very high quality product. Somehow, Toyota needs to do something. There is a very large number of people standing here in the U.S. with their wallets open ready to hand Toyota their money. I am a scientist, but I know enough about business to know that you do anything you can to do additional business.

no offense to any one here but i would gladly sell my 2008 prius for 28000 i only paid 22000. thats alot of money i could use. dont get me wrong id miss the car but not the payments

I figured this would happen, Man was I lucky to get mine. We scored the only demo the dealer had, with a $2k incentive, pkg 6 etc...3 weeks ago for 27,900 out the door.

I love the car but dont know if I have the stomach to wait 4 months or whatever it is going to take

Same here. I feel for those on the lists as I had a short wait (2 weeks)

lots of luck to those on lists

i do not think that people would go back to SUVs even if gas was $ 3.00 per gallon.

unless i am underestimating the stupidity of people.

People are kinda dumb, but I think high gas prices have opened a lot of eyes. I mean this guy who bought a Prius to replace his Hummer thinks he's saving the ozone layer. That's kinda dumb and he's still smart enough to buy a Prius! (p.s. if you're that guy from the video, welcome to PriusChat! )

I'm pretty concerned about how that reporter was driving and narrating her report at the same time though. I mean, she probably did 5 or 6 takes of that, and the whole time, she's staring over at her camera crew?! That's irresponsible journalism.

People have short memories, and you give too much credit to the intelligence of the general populace.

The missing factor is the production time needed to react. (Toyota orders more batteries, Battery Maker orders more nickel, Nickel refineries ramp up production....takes a little while to get more batteries when dealing with tons of Nickel). Toyota has continually ramped up production of the Prius. Now in a single month, the demand skyrocketed and caught Toyota in a changeover. Give them a couple of months and the Prius Pipeline will be flowing (Prius to US, $$$ to Japan).