Comments on: September 2008 Dashboard: Recession Catches Up with Hybrids

By: summer

summer — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 03:31:48 +0000

i still don’t believe in the charts, now which one is really true? i also thought that there is a waiting list to those who want to buy the prius? then how come the sales in the prius has been dropped?

http://www.innerauto.com

By: Need2Change

Need2Change — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:24:32 +0000

Not sure why Prius had such a large drop. I thought there was a waiting list 6 months long for Priuses. Is Toyota holding them back to prop up prices?

As for the Escalade, with most Escalades costing around $70K, I think that every Escalade sale should be a hybrid. What's another $5K or so?

Hybrids may not be recession proof. Sales will go down if people are losing their jobs or can't get credit. But they appear to be recession resistant.

By: Bryce

Bryce — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:41:24 +0000

Actually, Nissan and GM’s offerings did really well this month. GM’s market share has actually expanded to match Honda’s. (its growth rate for some of its vehicles are in the triple digits.) I guess the ramp up is going strong. Props to Nissan for posting gains as well, though sadly it seems they are stil below last years levels. Hopefully things will pan out for them. (and maybe they can finally offer the things in all 50 states) It is funny to see the Tahoe hybrids selling so well when only a few months ago, selling a dozen was a good month. Then again availability was low, and I suppose the word has gotten out on the vehicles. I am looking forward to later this year when the hybrid Silverados, Siennas, and Vue 2-modes hit the market. Should be fun to watch.

By: hybridman2

hybridman2 — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:35:00 +0000

I don't know if this is more a reflection on current Hybrid prices or more a reflection on peoples budgets tightening up due to the current recession.

When people tighten their wallets the big ticket items are put on the back burner until they are more confident that they can afford to take on a 60 month financing debt. The added $3000-$4000 of a Hybrid adds a substantial amount to an already tight budget.

If you knew you may be out of work in 3 months - would you commit to a $500 or $600 a month car payment or would you just bite the bullet and figure you'll have to bend over and take it from the oil companies and OPEC?

By the way people, get ready for gas to go up again. It seems our good friends in the Middle East are not happy that we've reduced our gas consumption, so they're holding an emergency meeting to determine if they should cut back supply... friggin' thieves.