Hybrid SUV hard to find, dealers say

DETROIT, July 7 (UPI) -- A limited supply of hybrid SUVs is thwarting consumers' overwhelming demands for the fuel-efficient vehicles, industry observers said.

The vehicles, especially in the face of $4-a-gallon gasoline, aren't on lots long, averaging 17-38 days, while a 60-day turnaround is the norm, The Detroit News reported Monday.

Ford Motor Co. can't seem to make enough of its Escape. General Motors Corp. had problems with the battery for the 2007Saturn Vue hybrid, which slowed production for 2008 models.

The Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon also are hard to find, in part because about half of the dealers decided not to sell them and also because GM produced only limited a number, the News said.

"There's been a dip in inventory, and most hybrid SUVs are going at or just below sticker price," said Jesse Toprak, chief economist for Edmunds.com, a car-buyer's research Web site. "Whatever you find is going to cost you a bit more."

"There's a growing level of interest to learn more about hybrids, and I'm sitting here and I only have two of them," Joe Serra, president of Serra Automotive, which sells GM, Chrysler, Toyota and other brands at dealers across the country, told the News.