It wasn’t long ago, when gas prices were at $4 per gallon and a new Toyota Prius would cost you around $25,000 and your first-born child.  Well, since it has been acknowledged that we are in a yearlong recession and gas prices are rock bottom, demand for the once popular hybrid is upside down.

Cars.com did an inventory search on their website, finding 1,241 Prius’ for sale within a 500 mile radius of Chicago.  Yet, there were only three Toyota Camry Hybrids and 124 Ford Escape Hybrids in the same area.

According to Toyota, last month it sold 8,660 Prius’, which is down considerably from 16,737 in November of 2007.  However, the highest total sales this summer was lower than November 2007 also, at 14,785 for July, and that was during the fuel crisis.

So what does this information mean?  Could it be that low gas prices have turned car shoppers off of the most well known hybrid out there?  Or does it just say that everyone is feeling the hit of the economy, so they are waiting to buy vehicles and instead just hanging onto their current ones with the addition of an auto warranty?