Toyota's Prius Now Being Discounted Where Once It Reigned Supreme

Gas prices are starting to climb again after falling from $4 a gallon to below $2 a gallon in recent months, so its probably not buyer complacency about fuel costs that's got the once mighty Prius staggering a bit.

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Some dealerships now have Prius lineups instead of lineups for Priuses.

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But sales of Toyota's segment-leading hybrid hatchback are down and the waiting lines that once defined the marque have disappeared faster than you can say "I'll take one at any price."  

We're pretty sure it's a combination of fewer buyers for general economic reasons and reluctance among many of those that remain in the market to buy now when Toyota is launching the redone 2010 Prius in a few months.

Whatever the case, there's no more messing around with low interest rates,"dealer cash" and other hidden incentives. Toyota has come right out and - in the West at least - admittted it now needs to pay people to buy Priuses now.

To that end, according to Edmunds.com's incentive trackers, the company's dealers are offering $1,000 Prius rebates in the San Francisco region. The cash replaces a cut-rate lease incentive. Cash discounts also are being offered in the Denver - $750 - and Los Angeles - $500 - regions.

This follows word that average Prius sales transactions in December were off almost 50 percent from summer highs and were running $2,000 below MSRP. That's about $ 7,000 less than the midsummer peak when many dealers were charging - and getting - $5,000 premiums for the gas sippers.

It's always fun to be able to kick sand in the face of the muscle-bound guy who pushed everyone else around, but we're kind of sad, first that the economy is emulating a Dyson Cyclone vacuum cleaner and secondly that so many people were so quick to jump off fuel efficiency bandwagon as gas prices fell

We're afraid that all to soon we'll be able to say "told you so!"

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by

John O'Dell January 13, 2009, 4:30 AM

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