Toyota Prius. While GM was spending $1 billion to build up the Hummer franchise, Toyota was spending $1 billion to develop a high-mileage hybrid—even though gas prices were still low. After the Prius debuted in the United States in 2000, GM execs seized yet another opportunity to display their intimate knowledge of American consumers, arguing that hybrids didn't make economic sense and that only environmentalists would buy them. Today, Toyota can barely keep up with demand for the Prius, and it has plans to start building them in the United States.
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The Prius mid-size gas-electric hybrid posted February sales of 7,232 units, down from 10,895 a year earlier and 14.5% fewer than in 2007. Even if we take out the one day difference for the calendar sales days, this drop would be more than 30%.
Prius & Hybrids Suffer Cheap Gas & Economy (TM, HMC)
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Why is it so difficult for these 'journalists' to do a simple net search? The info from the article is pure BS.
The government is directly responsible for many Prius sales. In places like Northern Virginia where commuting is the bane of most people’s existence, the government has established High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on I-95, I-66 and elsewhere. Only cars with 2 or 3 passengers are allowed in these lanes during rush hours.
The exception is a bit of government social engineering: if you drive a hybrid, you can hop on the HOV with just a driver on board. Many people bought hybrids for this reason alone and its a great reason - it can cut your commute by up to 2 hours per day and you can go to work at a normal time.