New "standard" model difficult to find?

Does anyone know what percentage of 2008 Prius production will be the new "standard" model (MSRP $20950)?

I searched Longo's inventory and see that out of 54 2008 Prius in stock, none of those are the new "standard" model. Will this be like a loss leader that you can never find or will there be more of them available as we get further into the production run for the 2008 model year?

Also, as it gets closer to the debut of the new, redesigned 2009 Prius, will the outgoing 2008 get incentives or rebates or other dealer discounts? If so, will they be discounting the more heavily optioned ones more - such that it makes more sense to get one of those instead of the low-end "standard" model?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mingoglia @ Nov 8 2007, 11:24 PM) [snapback]537150[/snapback]</div>

Depends on the dealer.
Just searching the Longo inventory for 2008 Prius today I see:

3 - $23,383
13 - $23,759
12 - $23,958
2 - $24,208
8 - $26,464
5 - $26,663
4 - $27,734
3 - $27,993
1 - $28,076

Touring:
2 - $28,254
1 - $28,453

So it's split pretty evenly. 30 for under $24K, and 24 for over $26K.

The last time I was there in person I saw not a single cloth interior Prius on display. The only ones they put out for viewing were loaded models with leather interior. I'm sure they had the cheaper ones tucked away somewhere in their massive parking structure.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TerryStl @ Nov 10 2007, 04:34 PM) [snapback]537816[/snapback]</div>

When I enter my zip on Toyota's web site to build a 2008 Prius, there are three "Grades" listed on the left hand column from which I can choose:
*Prius
*Prius with packages
*Touring with packages

If I select "Prius" then it builds a car with zero options/ zero packages at $20,950 plus dest charge of $660 for a total MSRP of $21,610.
So it seems to be working OK for my region. Question is how many real-life cars are actually allocated.

As far as Prius with packages go, these are the options it shows me:
"Option A" $0 = std equip (Cruise, heated mirrors, etc.)
"Option B" $575 = pkg #2
"Option C" $3280 = pkg #5
"Option D" $4550 = pkg #6

If I choose pkg #2 it comes out to $23,560 (incl dest chg).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TerryStl @ Nov 16 2007, 07:58 PM) [snapback]540798[/snapback]</div>

OK. Thanks for the update.

 

From the looks of what some people have posted that they paid for a pkg #2 Prius (about $21k-22K - which is about the same as full sticker for the "standard" model), it almost seems pointless to get the "standard" model (no cruise, heated mirrors, etc.) unless one could actually find one and pay close to invoice for it.

And the lower MSRP (and rareness) of the "standard" model might make dealers less willing to negotiate on that one anyway. So I'm not sure what the point is. It looks like it may just end up being more of an advertising gimmick than anything else.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mingoglia @ Nov 24 2007, 03:18 PM) [snapback]543698[/snapback]</div>

I think Toyota just decides what the dealers will get and that's that. Which is fine by me since it seems the lesser of two evils. If I don't have any say in the matter then I'd rather have Toyota deciding how my car is equipped rather than the dealer deciding.

Which brings me back to my original question. Because since I live in the Los Angeles area, large inventories are the norm at these huge dealerships. So all I really need to know is what percentage of the production run is going to be that bare-bones model. Then it's just a matter of taking that percentage and applying it to the total Prius stock at a big dealership like Longo, and that should pretty much indicate how many of that model would actually exist.