Hybrids And Small Cars Staging A Comeback

California and the Washington, D.C. are the two hottest Prius markets in the country and there are ample supplies of the little car available. Hundreds of the cars languish in Washington-area dealerships poised to take advantage of the next sudden rise in gasoline prices.

A Toyota salesman complained to ConsumerAffairs.Com that just two years ago there was a waiting list for the car along with a price mark-up that provided the salesman extra income. Now lots are overflowing with the Pius.

The Japanese automaker is actively trying to expand Prius sales despite the vanishing tax credit and sales figures seem to suggest the Toyota marketing plan is beginning to work.

Toyota has linked Prius sales in April to Earth Month and the automaker is actively pushing for higher hybrid vehicle sales in April by placing up to $2,000 in incentives on the car. Toyota offered consumers lease incentives on the Prius in February and March and Prius sales were once again climbing along with gasoline prices.

The large number of Prius sales just in the last two years have whittled away at government tax breaks available to Prius consumers.

So far this year, Toyota has sold 61,635 hybrids in the United States, up 68 percent from the first three months of last year. That includes 28,453 hybrids last month.

"This month marks a milestone eight years in the making," Jim Lentz, executive vice president of Toyota's U.S. division, said in a statement. "Record U.S. sales of Toyota and Lexus hybrids have now topped the half-million mark."

This year, unlike 2006, there are plenty of the