Uhhh, no. Japanese government subsidized the development costs. Otherwise, you'd be paying around 40K for one.

Even with that help, they took a bath on them the first couple of years. I read an interview a few months back with Toyota's CEO. He'd had them cut the initial build cost in half. He said if they could cut that in half again (ie, to 25% of the initial build cost), then they'd clear as much on a Prius as they did on a Corolla.

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Just say "NO" to Ethanol - Drive Diesel

Mitchell Oates
Mooresville, NC
'87 300D 212K miles
'87 300D 151K miles - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD 67K miles
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club