Prius sales down 45 percent in December
The good ole days, at least for hybrid sellersChange. Talk about what a difference a few months makes.
Just six months, you couldn't find a Toyota Prius on a dealer lot. In December, however, Prius sales fell 45 percent according to the AP. But it isn't just hybrid cars that are getting hit hard, but fuel efficiency in general, as Toyota and Honda posted bigger sales declines than their US competitors.
Labels: Hybrid Vehicles, toyota prius
posted by Dahcredyns at
11:32 AM
32 Comments:
It's normal everybody waiting the new Prius 2010 ;-)
This post has been removed by the author.
Oil prices seem to go up now. I would NOT exclude $3/gallon gas by the summer.
No doubt that is having an impact. Why be in a rush? Still, if gas prices were higher, I don't think the drop would be so significant.
Camry and Highlander hybrid sales got hammered last month. I haven't seen this month's sales numbers for these vehicles yet, but I bet their declines will be even greater than the Prius.
Plus, the 2010 Prius will also be competing with the new Insight.
So, if gas prices remain at these levels, it should definitely be a buyer's market.
LB-
I think oil prices will be pretty volatile for a while, with big ups and downs, especially if the economy keeps tanking. Still, I hope you are right about gas prices because it makes auto consumers smarter, while keeping pressure on automakers to address fuel efficiency.
I think there's also a shift to smaller cars as well. Camry's and especially Highlanders are HUGE cars IMO.
After going to Europe or anywhere else other than a North American country, you come back here and realize how absurdly big cars are here...a US spec Accord is a big fat pig. Let's not even get into the crap the US companies make.
Camry's and especially Highlanders are HUGE cars IMO
Noz, Highlanders are indeed big cars, Camry is a midsize sedan.
You are right LB, but I think Noz's point is that outside the US, in many countries, even the Camry is quite a bit bigger than the average car. Still, the last gen Camry has gotten much sleeker compared to a couple of generations ago.
Correct....midsized cars in this country are absurdly big.
Noz, you are definitely attacking the wrong enemy. SUVs and minivans are huge vehicles. Camry, on the other side, is just a midsize sedan for a family of 2+. Just to accommodate 2-5 average people with occasional suitcases (which in fact do not fit into tiny trunk of Prius)
LB,
You're not getting what I am saying. The rest of the world drives smaller cars. That's a fact.
If we want to improve our mileage standards greatly....that is to the point where it REALLY makes a difference, midsize cars that get average mileages of 24MPG combined won't cut it.
Carmy's, Accords, etc are still too large, too heavy. We don't need cars even that big. Stand next to an Accord, it's huge...almost 1.5 times the size of a regular car you will find going around in European cities.
Is it necessary?
Forget SUVs....they shouldn't even be included. The fact that GM is still pitching their new SUVs as I am seeing constantly in ads on TV (comparing taht new one to a Pilot) is pathetic.
SUVs don't even factor in my book...they are utterly retarded.
I know about the rest of the world. I am part of it. I simply don't want to crawl into the car that is increasingly small, only because our engineers and automakers can't make efficient vehicles.
The current hybrid Camry averages almost 40 mpg and will do much more with advanced materials and engines, e.g. it will easily make 100+ equivalent with fuel cells or as a plugin hybrid. Do you think 100+ mpg is still not enough and should drive a tiny one to make 130 mpg? Bullshit!
It is the technology that makes the future not a thoughtless car downsizing.
Currently the best way to save fuel is to downsize.
Not only does downsizing save fuel but it also saves resources, space, reduces waste, on and on.
Plenty of people go around in vehicles that are about the same size as they are they don't need to crawl into anything...it's called a motorcycle or moped.
And I think your analogy of crawling into things is rather alarmist. You don't have to crawl into anything.
But if you want a living room on 4 wheels with a flat screen TV in it...well that's a different issue.
Bikes and motorcycles? Kidding me... have you ever passed US driving exams? Only idiot can fail. In addition, you can't drive in a bad weather.
PS: If you feel you need to downsize, go ahead. This is a country of choices. You made your own, I mad my own. I'd personally recommend to downsize american houses first.
lb -
i don't think noz is attacking you, or even the camry. i think he's saying that a camry is about as large as most vehicles would ever need to be for the majority of americans and american families. whereas, in truth, most americans drive vehicles bigger than the camry.
downsizing would have a big effect on overall fuel economy, but you are right, it won't be enough. it will come down to technology.
still, imagine if the camry was the biggest vehicle on the road. imagine how much safer it would be for much smaller cars to be on the road.
the typical soccer mom, for instance, buys a big suv for safety. well smaller cars would be far safer if those big suvs weren't on the road in the first place. i think that is that is kind of the point that noz is trying to make.
lb-
great point on downsizing homes. that's absolutely spot on.
how many jackoffs drive a prius yet live in a huge mansion.
great, great point.
also, noz and i live in SoCal. we don't know what bad weather means. bad weather to us is not seeing the sun for a whole day.
Dah,
you should certainly have some rains :-)
LB:
I agree with you on the houses. Homes in this country are stupidly big too.
But we are fast approaching a situation where our choices are irrelevant. I think we need to beyond "freedom of choice" because we don't really have any choices if we want to survive.
While that sounds dramatic, it is the truth.
PPS: regarding the biggest car on the road. God save us, but many people can barely squeeze in a Camry too.
LB:
Another point you should know. I grew up in Europe. I live in So Cal now but understand what bad weather is believe me.
Plenty of people drive small cars in bad weather and are fine with it. As wet as the UK is (where I used to live), it sports one of the largest motorcycling communities in Europe if not the world.
OMFG, Noz!
I am talking about BIKES in bad weather :-)
LB:
I'm fully aware of what you mean.
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Blogger LB said...
Then, why you are telling me about driving a car in a bad weather. Bikes would be generally a good idea, assuming we have separate bike roads. And everybody staying alert and following rules strictly. For example, bikers don't cross a street on a red light and drivers watching for bikes and pedestrians. Unbelievably, but the lady-cyclist in Washington, DC was killed in an accident, when both the truck and the bike started from the same direction at the traffic light and then the truck suddenly took right!!! That was NOT even at high speed! And another friend of mine was struck by a car that backed up at the crossing! This cannot be a universal solution, because it is dangerous, not withstanding a bad and cold weather when you basically cannot use a bike.
PS: On a related note, bikes can be a part of the solution if US citis downsize with people making denser communities. I am sure, many would even enjoy this. Instead of coming out of your single family and driving 3 miles just to see a live person, people would enjoy walking on the streets and going to bars
LB,
I used bikes as an example in size. You're concerned with squeezing into a car. That cars are getting too small.
OK.....what exactly do you plan on doing with a car you drive everyday? Carry 5 passengers all the time? Have 4 bags of luggage all the time?
Regardless, my basic comment was that even a Camry is a large car. Frankly, a Honda Fit does a wonderful job of being small, still carrys 4 people in comfort, and will carry luggage too at the same time.
I don't see why we need cars that are any bigger than that.
Carry 5 passengers all the time? Have 4 bags of luggage all the time?
Two or three, so the overhead is small. In addition, I can take metro, when driving is not necessary :-)
I also think that we are missing a point: most people need a small car because it is the SECOND (or a third) car in the family. When it is the only one, there is basically nothing to save :-)
As a final note, Camry is kinda big for one person. I also agree, that we need to slightly downsize everything in this country starting from people and ending with cars, homes and cities. :-)
How about this, I carry around medical equipment, samples, literature and luggage for a week for one person this fills up the trunk space and the back seat of my mid size SUV every week. I do not have luggage on the weekends or two weeks of the month but I always have samples, demo equipment and literature so my trunk and half my back seat is always full. I travel the Dakotas and MN so I drive on ice, in snow and heavy winds (40-70 mph) The temperatures can get to 70 below 0 6 months of the year with the wind chill and 30 below 0 without the wind chill. I drive 3400 miles a month on average. I absolutely feel much safer in a heavier car, off the ground, need a remote starter and heated seats so I do not get frostbite and do not see this as a luxury but a necessity that I should not get penalized for needing.
Nickname unavailable, some people do need SUV's or Minivans. Image a family with 4 kids. However, most people do not need them. Or buy oversized SUV's, which are not really helpful on snow and would require a bulldozer to pull it out if snow is deep and they got stuck. In many cases, people can rent van/SUV, because they need it 5 times a year. However, they prefer to have it.
What do you mean by penalized?
First I think midsized SUVs have a place in the market, however, most driving SUVs don't need large SUVs.
Also, I went to college in Madison, WI and drove a VW Jetta through many snowstorms without any problems.
I empathize with your safety and security concerns, but what about the national security of America?
Dahc,
In some places, where there is a lot of snow, which is not cleared, they need a car with big wheels and clearance. However, in most cases they are good with Toyota RAV, but buy somethings thrice as big, which is not really helping in deep snow.
PS: Anyway, the number of people living in such places is small. If they need big cars - they get it, it does not affect the whole picture.
LB-
Agreed. And, by midsized I meant something like the Escape or Saturn Vue, not something like a Tahoe.
Also, if there were no longer large SUVs on the road anymore - only smaller SUVs and crossovers in addition to cars - wouldn't safety be improved for all segment sizes?
Thus, wouldn't that make the safety issue of larger SUVs mostly irrelevant?
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