Letting off the gas - Editorial from Forbes If you want to buy Toyota Motor's hybrid-powered sedan, the Prius, be prepared to wait several months before your car is delivered. And don't expect the dealer to throw buckets of cash at you to close the sale. I can't deny that there's strong demand for the Prius, or that right now Toyota could sell several thousand more--if it had the manufacturing capacity. But the big Chevy Suburban still outsells the Prius 3 to 1. Toyota's own gas hog Tundra outsells Prius. So do other big sport utility vehicles such as Ford Motor's Expedition, Dodge's Durango and Cadillac's Escalade. Prius will account for just 50,000 of 17 million vehicle sales this year--or roughly 0.25% of the market. I know only one couple who own a Prius. They love it, but they also get 19 miles per gallon from their Lexus RX 300 SUV, and they own a small pickup truck. I would wager that Prius is a second vehicle for many owners.
Hmm, not very bright. I wonder if he realizes that $11 a week more on fuel means $572 more a year. Isn't that roughly how much most people got back on the Bush tax cut? Just imagine all that money put back into our economy, instead of being sent to Canada, Venezuela, and the Middle East.
All those trucks and SUVs that Americans buy are not ego-driven purchases. These vehicles don't have fins and swooping fenders, nor are most of them terribly fast. Most trucks are square, utilitarian vehicles that can carry up to three rows of people and their pets, lots of stuff and tow heavy loads. People buy four-wheel-drive trucks to make it easier and safer to negotiate wet and snowy roads, pothole-strewn highways or rutted trails. Hence the word "utility" in SUV. And the word "sports"??? What a silly man. LOL
