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Opicher stated it quite well in in Msg 6299, and
if a quick re-read of many of the posts here serves
me right, it is possible to find a Prius without the
wait if one puts in just a very small amount of
effort. No, it isn't quite as easy as walking into the
dealership and selecting the car from among all those Camrys
and what all sitting there on the lot, but almost.
There are TRAC cars that come up for sale, there are
cars that are delivered but not bought by the original
orderer, and which are not bought by the next-in-line
orderers. Check some of Dianne's posts here and in the
Prius Groups board to that effect. So wailing about the
wait and lamenting one's inability to "Just Buy It"
when the old car is totaled is unfortunately a bit
disingenuous. As to Toyota's thinking: as a marketer, I can
tell you that the process is complicated, but one
aspect is clearly Toyota's desire to see that the
car/technology is established and accepted before committing to
expansion of models and facilities, because there is at
least the intention of bringing in other THS vehicles
in the (near) future. The extremely good service
given Prii and careful attention paid to solving actual
or potential problems is a testament to that desire
and to that planning. Caution in allocating resources
to the new technology and to producing it was/is in
order--note that none of the "Big 3" is anywhere near ready
to market anything like the Prius--indeed, Ford is
buying THS systems for their SUV, probably because it
has proven itself in Toyota's hands and because Ford
can't do it and knows it.<br>Alan
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Well, this is what TOYOTA says.
Jun 5 2001, 05:18 PM
