The Insight Concept made its North American debut at the 2008 L.A. Auto Show. Honda's new hybrid was unveiled amidst flashing cameras and eager press. Taking its styling cues from the FCX Clarity, the attractive 5-passenger sedan garnered genuine praise. Dan Bonawitz, Honda's Vice President of Corporate Planning and Logistics, presented the highly anticipated hybrid, saying, "When it launches next spring, the Insight will be the most affordable hybrid car on the road. But we're not skimping on features. This is a 5-door, 5-passenger sedan with a comprehensive list of advanced safety features and the high level of quality, comfort, utility, and user-friendly technology the world expects from Honda." See more photos of the Insight Concept at the L.A. Auto Show.

Eco Assist
Traffic-congested Los Angeles was just the place for Honda to announce a useful new technological advancement for the Insight Concept: Ecological Drive Assist System (Eco AssistTM) ?an interactive fuel efficiency monitoring system. One of the features of Eco AssistTM is an ECON BUTTON that, when selected, minimizes energy usage and boosts fuel efficiency by automatically adjusting driving variables such as air conditioning and acceleration-all at the touch of a button.

Insight Hybrid Exterior Photos - Honda.com (http://automobiles.honda.com/insight-hybrid/exterior-photos.aspx)

Insight Hybrid Blog - Honda.com (http://automobiles.honda.com/insight-hybrid/blog.aspx)
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http://automobiles.honda.com/content/zulu/phase2/photos/image-gallery-exterior03.jpg
I received the text in an email from Honda and wanted to give all of you the chance to see it.

only slightly better looking than a Prius, which doesn't say much.

The Japanese are masters of Imitation.

Oh, looky! It's the Honda Prinsight! :p

Oooo. Super neato! It is an improvement over the Prius and does represent a real value for the Prius buyer, but I will pass. Thanks anyways.

The other day the CEO of Honda was talking smack about BYD's serial hybrid. The japanese are about to lose their status as "innovators" I think.

It may not be praised as innovative but it sure does raise the bar for quality hybrids that are affordable. I will wait to see the actual price and performance before I'm sure.

Just remember that Ford, GM and Chrysler must now be able to at least match this hybrid. That is not going to be easy. Remember that the shape is largely due to aerodynamic considerations. If you want to change the shape you might have to accept performance hits. Also, this car is almost ready to go. What is the competition? Especially if the economy get moving again and the price of oil starts to rise? Prius? Yes. Volt? No, too expensive and it won’t be out yet. We can go down the line but if what they say is true (cost and performance) they are likely to take a good share of the growing hybrid market. I am certainly not dismissing them as good competitors. They are holding their own in this economic meltdown quite nicely. They will not be filing for bankruptcy any time soon. If they do, we all won't be driving new cars for a long time.

Yes, I know there are many fan boys here that want to mock a worthy competitor. That's great but if you truly dismiss them then you very likely will get bitten. Raise your flag but keep a close eye on your competition.

While a lot of my response vs. the 'competition' (what are we really competing against?) is tongue in cheek, I do take these very seriously. However, I truly believe that the current crop of hybrids are a temporary solution. I suppose that's fine if it helps keep the interest going, but anyone hanging on to a Hybrid 10 years from now is going to feel like they own a gas hog. They will be oddities craved by the faithful - the same faithful who didn't give up their Batamax gear until it went up in smoke.

To put that into perspective, I've owned my car almost 15 years and the family truckster minivan will probably see 15 years in our family as well.

Since I own two Honda products, that qualifies me in my mind anyway ;-)

I hope that rear hatch design does not make it to production, as it integrates into the rear bumper. That is dumb, dumb, dumb! Hopefully Honda's production engineering will over rule the designers on this one. One tap in the back and you are looking at an expensive repair bill!

I'm not a fanboy or anything but I think the management of Honda and Toyota are being very stupid about electric cars. If I start getting different vibes from them I won't make fun.

I'm sure it's a great quality car though.

[QUOTE=darthvader420;16534]I'm not a fanboy or anything but I think the management of Honda and Toyota are being very stupid about electric cars. If I start getting different vibes from them I won't make fun.[QUOTE]




I hope you're right because then the Big 3 will be able to take back leadership and rule the auto world once again. Unfortunately, I don't see the Japanese just giving that up. Honestly, do you think they will go down without a good fight? Based on current situations and recent history? Isn’t that like betting on the knocked out fighter while the slightly bruised and heavy breathing winner stands above him with his arms held in the air? That’s kind of what it seems like to me. I think we need to really put on our thinking caps and get back to work using new training methods. The next fight is going to be tough one.

At a pricetag of $18,500, the Insight will be the worlds first affordable hybrid.