[mikesride]

I am not passing judgment on whether these cars are the solution or a waste. It looks to me that our market at least might not be ready for them.
The very last line, is very telling.


.Lexus silently kills off hybrid
May 18, 2012 , by Nicholas Maronese

. .HS250h production stopped January, Lexus tells no one
Newspapers and blogs tend to make a fuss when a car model gets killed off, but nobody cried when production of the Lexus HS250h hybrid was stopped early this year.

Because no one knew about it.

The car is still being sold in dealerships across the U.S. and Canada (starting price: $40,850) but the premium automaker quietly closed down its assembly line this past January.

The luxury hybrid sedan, the first Lexus had designed as a hybrid-only from the ground up, was canned due to failing sales, reports Edmund's Inside Line.

From its peak in 2010, when Lexus moved over 10,000 HS250h sedans in the U.S., sales had fallen almost 75 percent to just over 2,800 last year.

In Canada, 2010 sales topped out at 746, dropping 59 percent to 308 in 2011. They've sold 77 here this year so far.

The incoming ES300h hybrid sedan, due in Lexus showrooms this summer, isn't a replacement for the HS250h, either, the automaker told Edmund's.

The Lexus HS250h turned out 5.6 and 5.9 L/100 km in the city and on the highway, respectively, out of a 147-horsepower 2.4-litre four paired to an electric motor.

The new, yet-to-be-priced ES300h has a little more power but is expected to deliver even better fuel economy.

(Edmund's Inside Line)

HS250h production stopped January, Lexus tells no oneNewspapers and blogs tend to make a fuss when a car model gets killed off, but nobody cried when production of the Lexus HS250h hybrid was stopped early this year.

Because no one knew about it.

The car is still being sold in dealerships across the U.S. and Canada (starting price: $40,850) but the premium automaker quietly closed down its assembly line this past January.

The luxury hybrid sedan, the first Lexus had designed as a hybrid-only from the ground up, was canned due to failing sales, reports Edmund's Inside Line.

From its peak in 2010, when Lexus moved over 10,000 HS250h sedans in the U.S., sales had fallen almost 75 percent to just over 2,800 last year.

In Canada, 2010 sales topped out at 746, dropping 59 percent to 308 in 2011. They've sold 77 here this year so far.

The incoming ES300h hybrid sedan, due in Lexus showrooms this summer, isn't a replacement for the HS250h, either, the automaker told Edmund's.

The Lexus HS250h turned out 5.6 and 5.9 L/100 km in the city and on the highway, respectively, out of a 147-horsepower 2.4-litre four paired to an electric motor.

The new, yet-to-be-priced ES300h has a little more power but is expected to deliver even better fuel economy.

(Edmund's Inside Line)

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