Hybrid Car Review

Alright, not just their hybrid car prices are being increased, but since hybrids is what I'm interested in, that's what I'm going to concentrate on.

Toyota and Lexus vehicle prices are going up, effective mid-to late May 2008.

The MSRP changes are as follows:

Model	Change	MSRP
2008 Prius	$400	$21,500
2009 Camry Hybrid	$300	$25,650
2008 Highlander	$500	$34,200
2008 GS 450h	$900	$55,800
2008 LS 600h L	$900	$104,900
2008 RX 400h (FWD)	$300	$41,580
2008 RX 400h (AWD)	$300	$42,980

Overall changes are hovering around 1%.

Press Release Follows:

May 2, 2008 - Torrance, CA - Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., announced new manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP) today for certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles, effective mid- to late May 2008.

Toyota Division
At this time, pricing for the all-new 2008 Sequoia full-size sport utility vehicle (SUV), the 2008 Tacoma pickup truck, the all-new 2009 Corolla compact car and all-new 2009 Matrix crossover utility vehicle pricing remains unchanged.

The base MSRP for 2008 Yaris sedan will receive a new price of $12,425, an increase of $200, or 1.6 percent. The 2008 Yaris liftback will list a new base MSRP of $11,550, an increase of $200, or 1.7 percent. The MSRP for the 2008 Prius will carry a new base price of $21,500, an increase of $400, or 1.8 percent.

The 2008 Camry Solara coupe and Solara convertible increase by $250 or 0.9 percent and gain new base MSRPs of $20,180 and $27,440, respectively. The 2008 Avalon will post a new base MSRP of $27,325, an increase of $250, or 0.8 percent.

The only 2009 model year Toyota vehicle to receive a price adjustment is the Toyota Camry. The gas model increases $200 or 0.9 percent and carries a new base MSRP of $18,920. The hybrid model, which was introduced as a 2007 model in late 2006, increases by $300 or 1.1 percent and carries a new base MSRP of $25,650.

The 2008 RAV4 compact SUV price increases by $250, or 1.1 percent, and will receive a new base MSRP of $21,500. The Highlander midsize SUV gas model posts a price increase of $200, or 0.7 percent, and will carry a new base MSRP of $27,500; and the hybrid model posts an increase of $500, or 1.3 percent, and will have a new base MSRP of $34,200.

The 2008 FJ Cruiser MSRP increases by $500, or 2.1 percent, with a new base MSRP of $23,045. The 2008 4Runner carries a new starting MSRP of $28,415, which represents an increase of 1.3 percent, or $400. MSRP increases by $900, or 1.4 percent, for the all-new 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser, with a new base price of $64,100.

In the full-size truck category, the 2008 Tundra increases by $100 and will carry a new base price of $22,390, an increase of 0.3 percent. Pricing for 2008 Sienna increases by $100, or 0.4 percent, and will have a new base MSRP of $24,440.

Toyota MSRPs do not include a delivery, processing and handling (DPH) fee of $660 for passenger cars and $685 for light trucks. DPH fee for vehicles distributed by Southeast Toyota (SET) and Gulf States Toyota (GST) may vary.

Lexus Division
Lexus also announced new MSRPs for select 2008 model year luxury vehicles and the 2009 RX 350 luxury utility vehicle. Currently, pricing for 2008 Lexus IS F high-performance luxury sports sedan remains unchanged.

The IS entry luxury sport sedans will increase 0.9 percent overall, or $300. The IS 250 rear-wheel drive model with a manual transmission will carry an MSRP of $30,855, while the IS 250 rear-wheel drive automatic will have an MSRP of $32,025. The IS 250 all-wheel drive and the IS 350 models will have MSRPs of $34,485 and $36,305, respectively.

The ES 350 entry luxury sedan MSRP will increase 0.9 percent, or $300, to $34,120.

The GS 350 and GS 460 luxury sport sedans will increase 0.9 percent overall, or $400.The GS 350 rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive models will carry MSRPs of $44,550 and $46,500, respectively. The GS 460 will carry a base price of $53,020. The GS 450h hybrid model will increase 1.6 percent, or $900, to $55,800.

The MSRP for the LS 460 flagship luxury sedan will increase 1.4 percent, or $900, to $62,900 for the LS 460 and $72,900 for the LS 460 L. The MSRP for the LS 600h L hybrid will increase 0.9 percent, or $900, to $104,900.
The SC 430 luxury hardtop convertible will increase 1.4 percent, or $900, to $66,355.

The RX 400h hybrid luxury utility vehicle MSRP will increase 0.7 percent overall, or $300, to $41,580 for the RX 400h front-wheel drive model, and $42,980 for the all-wheel-drive model. The 2009 RX 350 luxury utility vehicle MSRP will increase 0.5 percent, or $200. The front-wheel-drive RX 350 will have an MSRP of $37,700, while the RX 350 all-wheel drive will carry a base price of $39,100.

The GX 470 luxury utility vehicle will carry an MSRP of $47,315, an increase of 1.1 percent, or $500.

The LX 570 luxury utility vehicle will increase 1.2 percent, or $900, carrying an MSRP of $74,700.

Lexus MSRPs do not include a delivery, processing and handling (DPH) fee of $765.

Scion
Scion recently announced price adjustments for 2009 model year xB and tC on April 11, 2008. Additional pricing information on 2009 Scion xD will be announced in summer 2008.