Hybrid tax credit for Toyota models slowly going away

If you wanted a Prius, you shoulda bought one a few months ago. The rules governing tax credits for hybrids are about to change and kick Toyota hybrid buyers out of getting the top benefit ($3,400). The reason is that Toyota sold its 60,000th hybrid in May. Sixty thousand (applied to each automaker) is the magic number for hybrid tax credit and now Toyota's hybrids will begin to shrink until they disappear in October 2007. Hybrids made by other automakers still qualify for the full tax credit, until either they sell 60,000 hybrids or 2011, whichever comes first. We'll see if the effective price increase in the Prius evens out the hybrid market at all, since it'll take quite a while before Honda or Ford sell 60,000 hybrid models.
[Source: AP via EV World]