With all the talk about the world coming to an end from global warming if we don't go from giant SUV's to fuel-sipping hybrid-electric vehicles, I prefer not to hear anybody crying in their beer about unemployment among US autoworkers caused by cars from Japan or South Korea.

Hybrids sale over the 3% barrier. Its amazing to see what a combined economic slowdown and $4+/gal gas can do to buyers behavior.

More of the same incentives may push hybrids sale to 5% by year end, if they are available.

The improved Prius in January 2009 will be a gate crasher.

>> Why in the world did Ford Escape Hybrids have a sales decrease? <<

Given the fact that it is the highest mileage small SUV available (so they should be selling all they can make)...I'm guessing this sales decrease is due to the fact that they didn't have vehicles to sell.

For whatever reason Ford has constantly given excuses for why it produces so few of these vehicles - normally centered on the batteries, although Cobasys is selling GM all the NiMH they want. Makes you wonder if there is something else going on here - maybe Ford doesn't make much money on them. Just a thought.

Um, I believe Toyota is selling all of the Prius's they can make.

I get 45mpg going 80mph on the highway.
55mpg in the cooler months
48 mpg in the summer in Arizona with the airconditioner going.

My last car was a Cadilac Catera (19mpg)which averaged a trip to the shop once every 6 weeks for the 7 yrs I had it. The prius has never been in the shop once (1.5yrs old).

I was considering a Lexus, but opted for the Prius - that alone saved me $10,000+.

Compared to the 19mpg of the catera, and the fact that i'm putting on 18,000 miles per year, saves me about $2,000 a year in gas money over the catera @ $3.00 gas.

3% is five doublings away from 100%. Paging Moore's law...

I suspect we won't need a gas tax to "artificially" raise the price of gas after all... the way the political environment[around the world] has been going and continued increase in use of resources (developing nations, not the US) it looks like high gas prices are hear to stay. We seem to be right at the tipping point where people, for the most part, begin to step into smaller vehicles, more hybrids, and drive less often.

To be clear, I wasn't bashing the article, but I am taken back by the news. I was expecting quite a bit more actually like 7% or 8%, not 3%. Just disappointing IMHO. An increase is an increase though, and that's the bright spot I guess.

Ford is disappointing with their Escape Hybrid sales. From what I've read, it's a good vehicle...just no dealers have them. It is definitely a vehicle on my short list, (if my short list had money). If I was Ford, I would put a "priority order" on those things. Maybe it's like one of the posters suggested above in that Ford loses money on them, therefore isn't inclined to push them. Don't know.

"I was expecting quite a bit more actually like 7% or 8%, not 3%."

To paraphrase others here, "They can only sell as many as they make." Hybrids are now out of stock, and the waiting lists are growing. Note to car makers: if you want to sell cars, make hybrids!

I also like the specs on the Escape hybrid, have the money but, (A) can't find one, (B) am not convinced of Fords long term support of hybrids, they seem to be refocusing on diesels.

Toyota lost money on Prius the first three years. It's called doing business.

Another thought on this...wonder what will happen to Hybrid sales when the clean diesels start rolling in? Over at Motor Trend, Angus Mackenzie just blogged about driving an Audi A4 TDI, and after some pretty hard thrashing, still got a respectable 34 mpg. A quote from the article: "On one 200-mile stint, I averaged – averaged – 83 mph, and got 34 mpg." He went on to say, "That’s why I think a diesel is the ideal all-arounder. You get great mileage without having to drive a penalty box. Mooching around the narrow backroads and farm tracks of the Algarve at 30-50 mph, the A4 TDI returned 47 mpg. Hustling along winding two lanes at 30-70 mph, constantly braking, shifting and accelerating, it got 33 mpg. I can’t imagine how hard you’d have to thrash this thing to get less than 30 mpg."

Clearly those mpg's are in Hybrid territory there. Interesting.

I finally joined the hybrid army last week. I purchased a used 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid. Not the most efficient hybrid out there, but still better than 95% of all vehicles out there. I am getting 28mpg in the city and 35mpg on the highway. I purchased from Boch Honda (Norwood, MA). My 1998 Toyota Camry lasted me 234,000 miles after 9.75 years of use.

I had inquired from Boch Toyota (next door to Boch Honda) about the availability of new Priuses. After the April 26-27 weekend, they had ONE new Prius on the lot. Folks, this is the largest Toyota dealership in the world (their claim, not mine), and they only had one Prius after the last weekend of April. With gas prices NOT coming down, the hybrid WAITING LISTS will come back this summer.

Having a few diesel come out this fall won't dent the hybrid sales at all. Why?
1) People need more high MPG choices, and more choices = more people who'll find a high mpg vehicle they like
(people wanting a diesel vs hybrid are a little different)
2) The hybrid production of the most popular models is pretty much maxed out (and therefore can't really go above 3%)
3) it doesn't sound like the volumes of TDIs coming this fall will be very big (probably not big enough to meet demand)

Clean diesels can hardly be called clean when you compare them to gasoline hybrids.