Have you heard the one about gas prices in LA? Yeah, me neither. This is no joking matter, people. The gas station down the street from me (in Los Feliz) is hocking its wares for a mere $4.58/gallon. In Arcadia, gas prices are already over $6/gallon. Yeah, you heard me. That was no typo.
So, when my 1998 Ford Escort finally bit the dust last week (bum transmission), I decided to buy a hybrid. But, here’s the thing. You either can’t find one or they’re crazy expensive. Why? Because everyone else in LA is buying a hybrid. Or, a Mini or a Fit or something else small and fuel efficient. Which is wonderful in and of itself but terrible if you want to buy right now. And it’s not getting any better any time soon.
At the Honda dealership in Glendale yesterday, couples swarmed the 2 Fits left on the lot. You had to move fast because the vultures were a-circling. There wasn’t a Civic Hybrid to be found and the dealership doesn’t know when or if they’re getting anymore in. Our salesperson told us that people come in to buy a Hybrid and leave with a Fit. She also said that they don’t know when they’ll get anymore Fits in either. (I left with one of them so there might be one remaining but I doubt it.) In contrast, Elements sat on the lot in rows like they were lined up for an execution.
At the Mini dealership in North Hollywood, we couldn’t find a salesperson to help us. Instead of the usual hard sale you’d expect from a car salesman, we were being ignored. With the promise of 35 mpg, these cars are selling themselves.  When we finally found a guy to question, he unlocked one of the two Clubmens left on the lot and rushed off to help other customers. We discovered that they only get 6 in a month at most and that both the Clubman and the Cooper have been drastically marked up to “meet market demands.”
Dealerships are not getting many of these cars in and they will continue to mark them up while demand is hot and gas prices are high. There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight and the gas price bubble is not likely to burst any time soon. If you can walk to work, by all means do that. But, if you need transportation, it might be a good idea to buy now instead of waiting. Good luck.
*photo by .inFocus via flickr.
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2 responses so far ↓
1 Bobbie // Jun 9, 2008 at 7:45 pm
You’d think they’d be stepping up production to meet the demand huh! Good luck on the car shopping. I’d be out there with ya if I had the cash.
2 hairy carrion // Jun 10, 2008 at 8:33 am
the whole hybrid thing is a scam. first they gig you on the price. then the battery is only good for so many cycles of use. THEN it costs 5,000 dollars to replace. THEN you are charged a huge fee for toxic waste reclamation for the old battery. THEN, you are still creating pollution and contaminating the environment. And according to what I’ve been hearing on indie media, you’re actually better off buying something like the Smart car. And why they don’t up production on these Alternative vehicles isn’t rocket science or some sort of geeky algorithm. It’s about money and demand. Economics 101. Duh.
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