Slapped By The Invisible Hand. Again.
As a cranky economics major, I love love LOVE seeing bossy, ignorant, normative liberals learn the heartless, iron rules of supply and demand. While the Senate Democrats officially start screeching about windfall profits and price gouging by the oil companies today, Adam Smith's invisible hand coldly touches its next victim --- you cannot escape:
Dealers selling hybrids at $2,000 to $3,000 over MSRP? Sounds pretty ... gougey. Either that or --- and I'm spitballin' here --- hybrids are in very high demand with low supply. Like other ALL stuff, increase the supply and the prices come down.
College isn't cheap, so these painful real world lessons in Econ 101 (i.e. there is no such thing as price gouging, just prices. Deal with it.) will have to suffice for our benighted acolytes of feelgood command economy prescriptions. Delicious.
UPDATE: Thanks for stopping by, HotAir and Ed Driscoll readers.
Love this!
Posted by: jcrue | June 10, 2008 at 11:06 AM
More government mandates! More regulations! Take the producers! Tax the taxpayers! Save the environment! Loot the profiteers!
Ayn Rand was so right on - there is now, in this very day and age as in hers, a moratorium on brains.
Posted by: Good Lt | June 10, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Here is Florida all Toyota dealers were trying to charge $3,000 over MSRP on Priuses last December. Most were getting it. I hate to think what they are getting now.
Posted by: Corky Boyd | June 10, 2008 at 11:15 AM
"As a cranky economics major"
I thought you were a airborne laser/interceptor missile major.
Stop fucking with us, Cuffy!
Posted by: EC | June 10, 2008 at 11:34 AM
EC, I'm Obama's worst nightmare: a missile defense contractor with an MBA. Oh, and whitemalefromAlabama.
Posted by: Cuffy Meigs | June 10, 2008 at 11:37 AM
Is there even one Democrat who understand the simple rule of supply and demand???? Just one????????
Posted by: Ed Stanowicz | June 10, 2008 at 11:42 AM
Cuffy for Prez!
One thing about hybrid cars some people completely forget. If you buy a used one after a few years, the battery will need to be replaced. They aren't cheap either, they range in the thousands of dollars.
Suck on that, libtards!
Posted by: EC | June 10, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Here's one thing NOT factored in all of this:
The convenience in your life of not having to go to the gas station as often!
That is what I've always liked about owning a hybrid.
Posted by: DPierre | June 10, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Good blog cuffy!
One problem is that the dealers aren't "ordering" the vehicles that are so wanted right now. Why, because when you have people who want something so bad they will pay more for a product which really isn't worth it.
Supply and demand are one thing... but anti-supply plus proffiting markups make dealerships with a wanted item, very very rich.
Have a great day!
Posted by: upinak | June 10, 2008 at 12:54 PM
There is a reason Prius outsells all other hybrids. It is the only hybrid that you can identify as a hybrid. All others look exactly like their plain cousins. Being green is more about looking green than being green. If you want to save money, buy a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris.
Posted by: Tushar | June 10, 2008 at 01:25 PM
DPierce,
You really think that they are holding supply back? The dealers and MFG.s would love to sell more, many more. The ramp up of products takes a long time and can be snagged at any point in the supply chain.
This is just the way ramping up happens.
As to the price over mgf list, Someone wants it more and offers more. Right now people are only willing to put $2-$K premium on these. Gas goes up more or the MSM makes things look even darker that premium will go up.
Posted by: jukin | June 10, 2008 at 01:26 PM
A friend was in Maryland last week at a car auction. A several year old used PU truck that ran on natural gas sold for almost $18,000.
Crazy
Posted by: dri | June 10, 2008 at 01:35 PM
If you buy a used one after a few years, the battery will need to be replaced.
Not only that, but the greenies don't seem to be worried about all those discarded giant nickel batteries that will leak toxins into precious Gaia for centuries to come.
Posted by: bmac | June 10, 2008 at 02:07 PM
Perhaps these dealerships should be hit with excess profits taxes
Posted by: Michael | June 10, 2008 at 02:44 PM
Buy the Fit, not the Yaris. Better standard safety features. A Toyota salesman actually told me he wouldn't put his family in a Yaris.
My hybrid Civic's saving me $160 a month with my commute, and the tax credit and state rebate more than paid for the battery replacement fund (those costs are coming down, btw, and all elements of the hybrid powertrain are warrantied for a minimum of 80k miles by many state laws).
I'm no liberal, btw.
Posted by: DrSteve | June 11, 2008 at 07:06 PM