I'm on a long waiting list here in Milwaukee, WI for an '08 Touring Prius, but if anyone has the name and phone # of a dealer, anywhere in the US where there is a shorter wait time, please let me know. I'd be willing to order one and have it shipped here.
Well, I secured one from, none other than, Toyota of Hollywood, right on Hollywood Blvd!! Whoo-hoo!
1st Toyota dealership in the country, opened in 1957.
Anyhoo, Touring Package #6, Silver Pine, can't wait. Should have it in about 2 weeks. Being transported by national company.
Plus, I don't know where you read the Touring model isn't desirable, Consumer Reports gives it an 80 rating (out of 100) and the base model a 68. I'll take the Touring.
It's not a quality issue or whatever. The Touring doesn't add anything to the standard car, really, other than some bling.
If CR simply used what other people said, then who cares what other people say? Use the facts. It's like gasoline--if you listen to other people, you'll hear a lot of "I just bought a new Prius, and I want to give it the best of everything, so I'm putting premium gas into it."
That's a moronic stand to take. Are you saying you can't make up your own mind, but instead follow the morons?
"You've probably noticed that opinion pollsters go out of their way to include as many morons as possible in surveys ... I think it's dangerous to inform morons about what their fellow morons are thinking. It only reinforces their opinions. And the one thing worse than a moron with an opinion is lots of them." -- Scott Adams
In other words: Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
CR uses its own test drives and mechanics' inspections.
It rates the touring model higher in accident avoidance, primarily because it has a shorter braking distance; that seems to be the major difference between the two in its reports.
Our local dealers have a long waiting list (currently about 12 weeks).
They blame the reduced production by the manufacturers just before the price of gasoline took off. Hybrid sales are actually lower this year than they were last year, solely because they just weren't building them.
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