The Hot Hybrid Car That Has a "Wait List" of 21,00

My question is how long were THEY on a waiting list...

I would hope that they were not given preferencial treatment because of the large order. Do you have a link to the article you got this info from?

 

The article said August. And they didn't get the full order.

But what's great is that Thrifty normally stocks American cars (as do most rental places) and it's nice to see that they're opening up their fleets. I'd love to be able to rent a Prius when I travel (as it is now, I request a Focus since they have very low emissions and decent fuel economy).

Also, remember how many miles rental cars log every year - sometimes over 20,000, so it's good to know that those will be low emission, high mileage miles.

 

It would be unfair to only sell to individuals. Why is your order more important than theirs? Why do you think they didn't have to wait?

And this way, Toyota can have dozens of people test-driving the car and deciding that hybrid technology is fun and easy to use.. good PR, effectively.

 

"The partial delivery (part of an original order placed in August of 2003) is a "surprise,""

I see that Cybele has already answered this question, but...

If you were quoted a time of "months to over a year", you ordered just within the past month or so, right? But you think it's unfair for a company that ordered two months before the car even shipped, and maybe six months before you, to get PART of their order first?

 

Although it sucks if you're waiting for one, I think it does have a certain benefit for people who are undecided.

For myself, I took an 03 model out for a weekend to test before placing my order for the 04. It was a great way to confirm I was making a good purchase!

Dave.

 

:Wth: :cussing: :guns: :argue:
Ok I just can't let this go without my 2cents!
1st this is bad PR to those that have cars on order with
2nd rental cars drive down resale values (when in large volume.).So I hope Toyota can keep the volume in check.

Let me put this in another light. For those with cars (04' Prius) this is (may I say) not a big deal! For those on a waiting list from _ell this is very very bad (This is the same thing Chrysler did with the PT!). This is very bad customer service!

 

I think rental cars only stay in the fleet for less than a year; this means that Thrifty will be selling off its Prius fleet in a while and I suppose they will get close to their fleet purchase price for each car. Good deal for them.
I agree with those that think the Thrifty deal is probably a good thing in the long run because it will generate interest in the Prius and help move the consciousness of Americans away from Hummers, Broncos and other dinosaurs. Maybe it's not so great for those on the waiting list, but if we look at the larger picture of the environment, it can only get better if more people are aware of clean car options. I applaud Thrifty for doing it.
And, lastly, I wouldn't be surprised if Thrifty had to wait for their cars just like we do. They probably got a fleet deal, so the price per car would be less, which means Toyota would be making less per Prius selling to them when they could be making more per car selling to us. Toyota is probably doing it as a marketing ploy. We can expect more of this as they ramp up production and begin to mainstream the Prius in advertising, etc.

 

I wouldn't call that a great thing. Having a hybrid car sets them apart from the competition and stops us from having to fund the Saudi's so much, but if it were between an American Hybrid (Ford Escape perhaps) and the Prius, an American based corporation better choose the American build.

I personally think there is a difference between the consumer who goes out and buys a foreign car and a corporation who buys many. This can be an endless debate, but to make the comment that it's great is careless.

Unless of course you are not an American in which case I take back my post. :wink:

 

Well, since Toyota will have a hybrid plant running in the US of A by 2008 or so, and since American cars today seem to fall apart twice as fast as their foriegn counterparts, and since most Foriegn companies have plants in the US - I think it is great. The fact that Toyota is selling off their HSD technology to all the other car manufacturers - great, because it means Toyota is already working on 'the next' version (otherwise why would you let your competition catch up to you completely?). Companies that do smart things should be rewarded. American companies that have CEO's who embezzle and run without any form of punishment - that's not great.

-m.

 

I also feel that it is great that rental companies are buying Prii. Any support for the vehicle and hybrid technology should be welcomed. In addition, since Budget rents Priii in the DC area, I was able to test drive one for 24 hours instead of being limited to 15 minutes with a salesman in the passenger seat.

For those of you who are thinking that it's easy for me to say this since I already have my Prius... mine's been "on order" since January, and might be available in June or July.

 

My two cents:

Toyota is in the business of selling cars. That's how they make their money. In a free market, they can sell to whoever wants to buy. Thrifty Car Rental decided they wanted some Prius. They've got a right to buy. And in fact, Toyota made them wait much longer than anyone I've read about so far. That's the big surprise here. And they didn't even fill the entire order!

If you are concerned about the environment, then the highest-mileage customers should go to the top of the list. Taxicabs, rental companies, travelling salesmen, etc. The outrage here is that Toyota made a high-impact customer wait so long.

Of course it's beneficial to Toyota that potential customers can rent a Prius. I wanted to rent one for a week to see if I really liked it, but none of the rental places here offered it. A good marketing strategy would have been to offer them cheap to rental companies all over the country right at the start.

 

A good deal of toyota dealers had rentals available for their TRAC cars, but it wasn't marketed at all.

-m.

 

This thread contains a pointer to the article in question. Thrifty placed their order in August, 2003, and only received part of their 50-car order. So anyone who ordered prior to last August and is still waiting for their car can be upset. So.. how many people is that, exactly?

 

Great, I'll be stalking Thriftys like a crack addict looking for a Prius fix. I can see it now; stumbling into the neighboorhood Thrifty; eyes darting back and forth with a paranoid glaze to them. Sneaking up to the salesperson, speaking with a hazy slur:

"Yo, man! Got a Prius? I just want to drive it around the block. I promise I won't use any gas, man. Can I just sit in it? I just want to punch up my house on the NAV. Come on man, I NEED THIS!!!" :goodmorning:

 

Well, IMHO, this situation really pales in comparison to dealers (mostly in smaller towns) getting a car or cars for which they had zero orders. Now, that's a practice that should have been stopped by Toyota (and its distributors) immediately once they realized how long the wait lists were at the medium-large dealerships. IOW, zero orders = zero Prii. At least Thrifty had actually placed an order for the cars they received.

 

Not mine. They had a demo, but would not rent it. Eventually, when they realized I would probably buy, but only if I had a longer experience with it, they let me take it for a Sunday, when they were closed, for no charge. Late Saturday to early Monday. (And I gave them my $500 deposit when I returned the car on Monday.)

But now I don't believe they even have a demo. If you want one now at my dealer, you can't even drive one before you take delivery on your own (in 8 months, last I heard).