Toyota Cuts Price of '08 Camry Hybrid

Toyota said the pricing of its Camry Hybrid would be slashed by $1,000 or nearly 4 percent when the vehicle arrives in showrooms later this month. The base price will be $25,860, including destination. Toyota has also scaled back the Camry Hybrid's standard equipment, which used to include such upscale features as alloy wheels, a JBL audio system, leather steering wheel and shift knob, and electrochromic mirrors. Instead, those features will be bundled in two new options packages, the automaker said. For 2008, the Camry Hybrid will get such standard items as steel wheels and a single-disc CD player.

Toyota said the Camry Hybrid's "price point has been lowered significantly, making Camry and Hybrid Synergy Drive technology available to more people." However, a more likely scenario is that Toyota needed to cut the hybrid sedan's price to help it avoid the fate of the Honda Accord Hybrid — which Honda pulled from its 2008 lineup. Despite the public's interest in hybrids at a time of high fuel prices, the market apparently couldn't support a price premium of more than $3,000 over a conventional gas model. Toyota said the gas version of the 2008 Camry carries over from the previous year with a price increase of $100 for each grade.