somewhat slanted story "Hybrid Car Sales Decline In Down Economy" on local CBS station

That explains the comment I heard at lunch from one of the other Prius owners. I told her, "Prius sales track the price of gasoline. Just wait till summer prices hit."

Bob Wilson

 

In the long sweep of media reporting on hybrid vehicle sales, every time month N+1 sales are less than month N sales, it is reported that the hybrid fad is nearly over.

When the opposite situation prevails, reporters turn their attention elsewhere. This leads me to draw conclusions about reporters, but not about cars.

 

Hybrids are a paradigm change in the car industry. The media is loaded with commercial agendas, so take a lot of stuff with a grain of salt.

I suspect the hybrid sales drop isn't as bad as conventional cars and trucks/SUVs.
The government can force a major switch to hybrids with higher mpg and emissions standards. $4 gas also did it--and could do it again soon if they don't end oil futures speculation.

 

No doubt this story is based on others out there now like this one in LA Times.

Hybrid car sales go from 60 to 0 at breakneck speed - Los Angeles Times

My own search lately suggests that there are lots of hybrids including the Prius for sale here and they are selling somewhat slower than non hybrid cars. Our local Toyota dealer, Butler Toyota, has even been farming some used ones out to their sister dealerships (Kia, Nissan and Hyundai) just to get their local inventory down.

Many people are reluctant to move to something different like a hybrid. When gas was so high, the fear of the price of a fill-up out weighed the fear of driving / owning something new. That will change in time...

I'm looking to add another Prius but a used Touring model is much harder to find. I'm hoping as the 2010 start arriving dealers will be more willing to sell off their stock pile of 2009s cheap.

 

And why does everyone neglect to mention lower emissions? Are only Californians supposed to care about air pollution? They don't care about kids with asthma and adults with emphysema?

 

Statistics are like a bikini: What they reveal can be enticing, but what they conceal can be critical.