this is a sad thing. to be honest with you guys, the shortage is just a bull. this is a marketing strategy to earn more money. sadly, they are blaming it on the earthquake. HS, Prius and CT have the same Batteries. thats thier main argument to the shortness of supply.
it takes years give or take 2 years to develop a new model. the CT project was started way back in 2009. there, projections on cost and supply are done and a contract is made. parts are also released in the market about 1 month before release date.
do you guys think its a coincidence that the price of gas is so high and suddenly there is a shortage with the number one selling hybrids like the prius and the CT? this is a marketing scheme of toyota so that they can recover some of the lost income from the fines that were imposed on them. its all about supply and demand... create a shortage and boom the moniker gets alot of attention and higher prices. its conditioning the market. they dont want another HS Flop. the timing was perfect though i have to hand it to them.
ask yourself the question, is there really a shortage? or are they just holding it at the ports...???? lets say the port of Los Angeles. if you know where to look, you will see CT200h
sadly this is a long and old dealer trick. hold it at the port keep only 1 or 2 on the lot let the customers fight for the car.
I think you are off your rocker for even suggesting this is some kind of conspiracy...
There were plenty of these cars on the lot a week or two before the quake, but they were selling fast. That was the FIRST allotment to dealers, from the first boat.
Then the quake hit, the cars sold even faster, and they had another allotment on the way but they were being sold on the way to the dealers as several people here can attest to. Supposedly one more boat did manage to arrive after that, but thats it.
The main problem with your "theory" is that Lexus is loosing business because of the lack of cars. People come in and want to see/test drive the car but can't cause they don't have one at all, so they go elsewhere and buy another car. Nobody, not the dealers and not Toyota, can make money off of something they don't have to sell.
let me tell you my experiences:
Keys Lexus: they only have one car the Demo car. it was black with caramel. sales person said they aint selling it but with a good offer he can convince the sales manager to sell it. i was like WTF? Msrp was something like 32088 and he said if i offer anything above that, i might get the car? is he serious?? im not that desperate nor stupid.
I don't know if you were around to see it, but back in 2000 when the PT Cruiser came out, that $16,000 car was being marked up $15,000+ when it first came out. I never found a dealer that DIDN'T mark up that car at first, that has not been the case with the CT. Everyone on here I've seen has paid MSRP or less for the car.
I've been very surprised how few instances of marking up these cars has occurred with the recent events, you are the first one I've seen mention that kind of situation and I'm sorry to hear that. You would not have encountered it a month or so ago.
Lexus of Glendale: called them before hand. they have a black car with caramel. msrp 32000 they told me over the phone. so went there and checked it out. i was ready to buy but when i was told that there were mandatory addons??? so i checked out what were the addons... cargo tray cargo net wheel locks film protection... those are not bad. sure they cost you an arm and a leg but they are negotiable and not really that bad at all. i was piss the most when i was told the car had chrome wheels that are mandatory because they dont have other wheels... the cost...2400 for chrome wheels. thats the time i thanked them for thier time and walked away. they wasted my time. if they would have told me on the phone that there was a mandatory 2400 option i would not have wasted my time. simple bait and switch. now i will never buy from keys or glendale for as long as i live. sneaky and tricky people in thier dealerships.
That add-on package, was it on the window sticker? I've noticed that package has been showing up on cars that supposedly were not supposed to have it (IE from the manufacturer/port, not the dealer). The one my family purchased ended up with that same package too, but it wasn't expected. Luckily, we didn't pay for it, and the cargo mat and bumper protection were actually things we were looking to get anyway.
The chrome wheels... That IS a dealer ploy. They were dishonest about not telling you before hand and should have. Its also WAY too much for chrome, which is a waste of money anyway...
