shark485

I bought my Es 300h last month in Raleigh/Durham NC and have seen a couple in my parking lot at work and driving around town. However I have been in the Bay Area for 11 days om business and have not seen a single one in San Fran or South Bay. I thought they would be wildly popular here, but everything eco is a tesla or Prius. Even a couple Loncoln mkz.

Is my sampling of the Bay Area a fluke or is it not as popular here?

Arty101

Interesting observation. I have a 300h too, and see more Prius than any other hybrid, plug in or all electric. That said, I see more at least one or more Tesla every day maybe because of the network they've set up or people with more money from the high tech sector. Also the Bay Area has a lot of competition with MB, BMW and Audi's on the road that represent the higher end models. Prius seem to represent the hybrids and then there's everything else, including the ES.

On that note, I've only seen a couple of the new Avalon's on the road this past year. Interesting but definitely not scientific or representative by any means.

shark485

It is indeed a very crowded luxury and Eco market in sfo. Since you mentioned it, I did see two of the new Avalons on freeways - but couldn't tell if hybrid or not.

LexBob2

Over on Car Chat they post the monthly sales by manufacturer/models but unfortunately they aren't broken out by region/state etc.

My guess would be that all of Northern California gets their fair share of 300h sales, and then some. Especially the heavily populated bay area.

Arty101

One would think the Bay Area would get their fair share of the 300h, but it's not as evident on the roadways as the other high end vehicles or Prius . Not a bad thing, but interesting.

drout

I drive up and down the Bay Area peninsula every day and have to say that most of the lexus vehicles I see are older than the 2013 models, and as far as hybrids go - I've seen quite a few CT-200h on the road. Perhaps all the customers wanting a reasonably priced Lexus hybrid bought the CT-200h in 2012 only to wish they had waited to 2013 for ES model.

Arty101

Very true, and a lot more Prius.

azn103

The SJ/SF area is primarily dominated by the Prius and Tesla market. I think the Toyota and Tesla brands have made a name for themselves as being eco-friendly vehicles that won't "club baby seals to death" (Jeremy Clarkson).

Arty101

Haaaa. So true.