Honda has launched a new mini-site - oh, excuse me, a mini-insight - that displays information about its hybrid vehicle lineup in all sorts of flashy goodness. Of course, the star of the show is the new Honda Insight, which was unveiled in Paris last week. On top of that, the dedicated site has information on the old Insight, the Accord hybrid, the Civic hybrid, the CR-Z and the Jazz hybrid, along with press releases from 2007 and 2008 about the latest models. To visit the site, go here and click on the "launch" button.

This is Honda's second major online development that features the Insight. The first is the Insight blog, "a Honda blog that follows the journey of our latest hybrid." Whether you prefer the chatty nature of the Honda blog or the more straightforward minisite, Honda wants you to know that their Prius-fighter has arrived online. We've noticed, but we're really waiting for the car to show up in dealer lots.

[Source: Honda]

Vehicle aerodynamics are a strange thing. While you can create perfect aerodynamic models using math, there is no ideal aerodynamic shape for a vehicle because there are so many variables - including style, which is constantly updated. Still, certain shapes are slipperier than others and the Toyota Prius' iconic egg-shaped look is quite good at moving through the air without disrupting things too much. So, is it that big a surprise that the new Honda Insight looks a lot like the Prius? According to Honda, the look is the result of making a vehicle with low drag, not one that takes on the Prius' style. Honda spokesman Chuck Schifsky told the Detroit Free Press that, "It was done that way because it was the most aerodynamic design, and we were going for fuel economy." I'm inclined to believe Honda on this, but you can't dismiss the similarities. Take a look in the galleries below.




[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Click to enlarge the new Honda Insight

Honda has just released the first official photos of its eagerly-anticipated new dedicated hybrid car that will debut early in 2009. The car that until now had been referred to by Honda officials simply as the "Global Hybrid" will revive the popular Insight name from the company's first hybrid model. Although Honda is officially calling the car that will be shown in Paris next month a concept, these concepts tend to be extremely close to the final production version. Given the similarity to the spy photos we've seen already we shouldn't expect much to change before launch next year. The Insight does bear a strong resemblance to the larger FCX Clarity fuel cell car although as with most hybrids, the current Honda three bar grill design is actually a solid piece for optimized aerodynamics. Honda has already said that it has cut the cost of its IMA hybrid system in half for the Insight and the new Insight's price is expected to start in the neighborhood of $18,500. Honda is expecting about 200,000 world wide sales of the Insight with half of those going to the U.S.


[Source: Honda]

With the success that Toyota has had with its Prius hybrid sedan, you could be forgiven for forgetting that Honda actually beat them to market here in the states with the Insight. For whatever reason, though, the Insight never became the green-bearer that Honda had hoped. Still, the name is not associated with any negativity, so Honda might be considering reviving it for its upcoming dedicated hybrid model. We applaud this idea and hope it turns out to be more than just a rumor.

Honda's new hybrid model should more directly compete with the Prius as it will be sport a four-door body style and be easily identifiable as a green vehicle. Expected to use a 1.3 liter engine along with the Integrated Motor Assist which Honda uses for all of its hybrids, early estimates for fuel mileage are in the 50-55 mile per gallon range. Much of the structure is said to be derived from the Civic, which could account for its expected price of under $19,000. Also expected are nickel metal hydride batteries which would help keep pricing low. With rumors such as these, we'll be hard pressed to wait until its expected debut at next year's Detroit Auto Show, which, incidentally, is when Toyota will unveil its next-gen Prius. Game on.

[Source: Auto Observer]

There is a huge aftermarket contingency turning small Hondas into performance cars by replacing their engines with larger versions from other vehicles. We're sure that you've noticed the various Civics and Integras buzzing around town, and soon those Civics could be Insights if this vehicle starts a new trend. Created by LHT Performance in Florida, this particular Insight features the K20A engine featured in various Honda and Acura models in both the U.S. and abroad. The conversion, of course, removes the Integrated Motor Assist that made the Insight a hybrid in the first place.

The same thing that makes the Insight such an efficient vehicle, its light weight, also makes it an ideal performance car. According to LHT, the car has close to 200 horsepower and scoots along very quickly. Fuel mileage isn't quite as good as a stock Insight, as you might imagine, but is still quite respectable at nearly 50 miles per gallon on average. We hope that removing the IMA engine from the Insight doesn't become a common sight, but we can appreciate the work that went into making this one.

[Source: LHT Performance]

The Toyota Prius was the first modern hybrid car to hit the market in Japan in 1997 but the Honda Insight beat the Prius to the US market by a few months. The teardrop shaped two seat coupe had some initial success but the limited utility eventually saw its sales dwindle. Production of the Insight ended in the fall of 2006 although rumors of a successor have been running rampant since before that time.

Now Honda may have a solution to their problem in Canada of the Fit falling just shy of the requirements necessary to qualify for tax rebates under the new clean car program adopted by the government there. Honda has discussed de-contenting the Canadian model Fit to reduce weight enough to get the efficiency numbers up enough to qualify. Another alternative has now surfaced in the form of a Fit equipped with the Insight drivetrain. The Fit could get the 1.0L three cylinder engine with Honda's Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system and boost mileage to mid 60mpg range for a price well under $20,000.

Whether it will happen is still an open question and it may well not since the current Fit is already well into its lifecycle. More likely is a scenario where the next generation Fit will get a hybrid option when it appears a couple of years from now.

[Source: HybridCars.com via AutoBlog]

Honda has been making headlines on sites such as ours as of late with the greening of their automotive fleet. Remember, Honda is not exactly a newcomer to the world of green vehicles, their Insight brought them into the hybrid game right from the start. Not only that, the combined fuel economy of their fleet of vehicles is the best in America. They offer hybrid versions of their Civic and Accord, and have been working on their hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for years. They also have CNG versions of the Civic. So, it should come as no surprise that they have won the award as the "Greenest Automaker" for the fourth consecutive year from the Union of Concerned Scientists. Want to know more? Check out this article from The Auto Channel. Don't forget to watch the included video.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

The jewel of the PARD Hybrid Vehicle Exhibition last June was the Oaktec Honda Insight. The event, the first of its kind for hybrids in the UK, was held at Prodrive's test facility in Warwickshire and hosted hundreds of delegates including FIA technical consultant Peter Wright.

This particular Insight is a class A winner in the Formula 1000 rally championship which is based in northwest England. That's right, a rally car. More impressively, it competes with all of its low-emissions systems intact resulting in a gas mileage of 30 mpg while it's competing.

Paul Andrews is the man who originally conceptualized a competitive hybrid and reaps his reward by piloting the car. He and Oaktec are constantly experimenting to optimize the car's performance while maintaining its low emissions levels.

At the time of exhibition, the Insight ran on "petrol," however, an update on green-car-guide.com notes that the car has successfully raced on E85. Andrews said, "The car ran faultlessly through out the event and the ethanol fuel gave us no noticeable drop in performance."

Oaktec now has an agreement with Warwick University's International Automotive Research Center (IARC) which has previous experience in hybrid research and together they are further developing the hybrid system for motorsport as well as optimizing E85 performance.

Related:

• A tribute to a forerunner with Insight
• The 131 mpg Caterham Seven

[Source: EEMS]

With the end of Honda's production of the Insight this year, The New York Times takes a nostalgic look at America's first modern gas-electric hybrid.

Introduced in 1999, the Insight offered an E.P.A. rating of 70/61 on highway and city streets. In 2006, the little two-seater still offers the best estimated mileage numbers. Despite it's fuel savings, the Insight didn't fair well in sales over its production run. It offered no trunk with an uncomfortable suspension set-up riding atop hard, narrow tires to Americans paying an average of just $1.39 per gallon for gasoline. The Insight, in turn, never seemed to break out of its niche role as a utilitarian mode of transportation for extreme treehuggers.

Honda estimates that since 1999, the total sales of the Insight will be roughly 18,000. It's a pretty modest number when compared to Toyota's Prius which was introduced in Japan in 1997 and then exported to Europe and North America in 2000. Just this last April, the Prius passed the half million mark.

Honda, however, was able to pave a path for the recent surge of high mileage, alternative-power cars in the U.S. by introducing the word hybrid to the American automotive scene and offering an insight into future possibilities.

Honda's baby hybrid will surely be considered a classic in the years to come.

[Source: The New York Times]

A stock (right from the dealership) hybrid that gets over 90 miles per gallon? A Toyota Prius that receives over 1,200 miles on a single tank of fuel without any mods? How'd these vehicles achieve such miles without technology?

The drivers did it. Called 'hypermilers', these individuals modified their driving habits to maximizing their vehicles' fuel efficiency. Reporter Joshua Zumbrun consulted such individuals to maximize the mileage of his Honda Insight (pictured). He learned from father and son Fons about websites such as GreenHybrid.com where hypermilers obsessively watch their mileage and adapt their driving habits to burn every ounce of fuel. Eventually Zumbrun, after following some of the suggestions, was able to achieve over 75 mpg on one trip in his Insight. EPA estimate for the diminutive hybrid is 57 mpg city, 56 highway.

[Source: Washington Post via Detroit News]

If reading about hybrids isn’t enough for you, then perhaps the collection of videos over at Edmunds.com (a car buying information guide) will suit you.
The site has the following videos online: First test-drives of the new Toyota Camry and the Lexus RX400h, tests of the Lexus GS450h and other models and the long-term test video of the 2000 Honda Insight. Most interesting looking is the comparison video between the 2006 Civic Hybrid and the 2006 Prius. I couldn’t get the videos to load on my system (Mac OS X with Firefox) but perhaps you’ll have better luck.

Edmunds will take your desired features (prize, size and type) and rank the cars by your choices. Of course, there are only nine hybrid vehicles in the database, so if you’re feeling energetic, it’s totally possible to rank the nine cars yourself. The site also has a buyer’s guide and a fuel economy guide, which I’ll review soon.

[Source: Edmunds.com]