Insightful? Honda Insight Concept @ 2008 Paris Motor Show
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TORRANCE, California — Honda on Thursday lifted the veil of secrecy surrounding its new Prius fighter, saying the compact five-door hatchback — christened the Insight — will make its debut on October 2 at the 2008 Paris Auto Show. Honda said the Insight, which will undercut the price of the Toyota Prius, will go on sale in the U.S. next spring.
The new Honda Insight is expected to be priced from under $20,000 and is the first vehicle in Honda's ambitious hybrid strategy. In comparison, the 2009 Toyota Prius starts at $22,660, including a $660 destination charge.
Honda plans to roll out four new gas-electric models over the next four years as part of a broad global strategy to Boost hybrid sales to 500,000 units by 2012 — which would represent more than 10 percent of its total worldwide annual automobile sales.
"Following the launch of the new Insight, Honda also plans to introduce another unique sporty hybrid vehicle based on the CR-Z, first shown at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show," the automaker said in a statement.
Also in the pipeline is a replacement for the current Civic Hybrid, which is due out in late 2010, and a new hybrid edition of the Honda Fit in 2012.
The new Insight is a major leap from the original Insight, a cramped 70-mpg two-seater subcompact that was introduced in December 1999 as America's first gas-electric hybrid car. Honda took pains in its Thursday announcement to describe the new Insight as "roomy." It said the futuristic Insight Concept "shares styling cues with the Honda FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle and will provide an early look at the highly anticipated five-passenger hybrid vehicle."
Honda said it was able to hold down the price of the production Insight "by utilizing a more cost-efficient version of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist hybrid technology, resulting in a new level of affordability for hybrid customers worldwide." Although it provided few technical specifications, the Japanese automaker also said the production Insight will have "a function to assist customers in achieving more fuel-efficient driving habits." The new Insight will be built in Japan.
The Honda Insight is expected to have annual global sales of 200,000 units a year, with about 100,000 of those in North America.
Mazda Kiyora Concept @ 2008 Paris Auto Show
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PARIS — Mazda will unveil a "next-generation urban compact" concept called the Kiyora at the 2008 Paris Auto Show on October 2. The city-car concept is believed to be the first look at a future Mazda 1 minicar. True to poetic form, Mazda is crediting "water" and "harmony" as the inspirations for the design. Mazda's face-lifted MX-5 will also make its global debut here.
Other Mazdas making world debuts at Paris will be the Mazda 6 with a new 2.2-liter turbodiesel engine and the Mazda 2 with a 1.6-liter turbodiesel.
The Mazda Kiyora concept is notable for its light weight. The car is based on an all-new platform designed for maximum weight reduction, coupled with safety. It is fitted with the next-generation Mazda four-cylinder direct-injection engine and Smart Idle Stop System for fuel economy and lowered emissions, Mazda said.
The name "Kiyora" means "clean and pure" in Japanese and is another in Mazda's long-term design vision, the company said in a statement. It is positioned as a "city car cutting cleanly through an urban landscape."
Honda Insight Takes on Toyota Prius - Who Wins?
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2010 Honda Hybrid Spy Video
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It's been in the works ever since the Honda Insight went out of production in 2006, but this is the first time the 2010 Honda Hybrid Sedan has been caught out in the open. Designed as a direct competitor to the forthcoming 2010 Toyota Prius, this new Honda hybrid sedan is expected to debut early next year.
The styling is intended to mimic Honda's FCX Clarity, a hydrogen-powered sedan that Honda began leasing to the public this summer. The Clarity fuel-cell vehicle is closer in size to Honda's Accord sedan while this hybrid will fall somewhere between the Accord and the smaller Civic.
More important, this new hybrid sedan is expected to cost less than the Civic sedan. In a press conference earlier this year, Honda CEO Takeo Fukui told reporters that although the company's Prius fighter won't have next-generation lithium-ion batteries, the batteries it will use are lighter and more powerful than the current nickel-metal hydride variety.
John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda, added, "These new advancements in Honda's technology and production systems will result in cost reductions that will allow us to make hybrid technology available to a whole new generation of buyers."
In other words, even if the new 2010 Honda Hybrid is seen as nothing more than a Prius knockoff, it could still do well in the marketplace based on its rock-bottom price alone.
Add in the fact that it could realistically get 45-50 mpg and this new entry-level hybrid sedan could eclipse the Prius as the best-selling hybrid in America — that is, it will be if Honda decides to bump up production. At the moment, Honda expects to ship only 100,000 units to the U.S. per year beginning in the fall of 2009. If gas prices continue on their current trajectory, however, that number could be just the start.
Ultimate Hybrid Duel: New Prius vs. Honda Insight
FULL TOYOTA PRIUS VS. HONDA INSIGHT @ INSIDELINE.COM:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=144926
At the launch of the 2010 Toyota Prius, Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., tells us, "We'll face two challenges when the Prius goes on sale: the economy and the 2010 Honda Insight.
"The good news for consumers is that the market has plenty of room for both the Prius and Insight in their respective segments," Carter adds. "Based on our 2010 projections, the Prius can achieve a theoretical 7 percent share of the industry's largest segment — midsize sedans. In the second-ranked compact class, the Insight could achieve a 5 percent market share."
So it'll be a nice, peaceful coexistence for these two hybrid cars that just happen to look almost exactly like each other. Don't believe that? Neither do we.
As the U.S. economy continues its topsy-turvy performance, nobody's market share is safe. So it actually matters which hybrid car is better — the 2010 Honda Insight, which went on sale March 24, or the 2010 Toyota Prius, which hits dealers in late May.
The Insight has already proven itself against the 2009 Prius. But now that the 2010 Toyota Prius has appeared with its bigger engine, all-new chassis and 50-mpg EPA-combined fuel economy rating, it is a much tougher hybrid cookie (bursting with high-fiber organic oats and fair-trade chocolate chips!).
65+ MPG! - 2010 Honda Insight
Senior Editor Edward Loh finds out just how fuel-efficient and fun to drive Honda's all-new 2010 Insight is.
Exclusive : New Honda Civic 2012
The New Honda Civic..The Featured Concepts Have A Litle Asseblance and Much Diferences With The Actual One.
A New Engine Like a VTEC 2.0 could be made.or A Hybrid Engine..to fight with TOYOTA PRIUS
Davids 2010 Honda Insight Review
My personal review of the 2010 Honda Insight, as an owner of the vehicle. I made this with my cheap digital camera, so give me a break on some of the realIy shakey scenes. It is harder to hold a tiny camera still in a moving car than one might think. I also make some comparisons with the 2009 Toyota Prius, some people have complained it should have been compared to the 2010 model. However, the 2010 Prius was not available for several months after I purchased my Insight and so I had no way to compare.
Prius Killer? - 2010 Honda Insight
Senior Editor Edward Loh heads out to Arizona to take a first look at Honda's all-new hybrid, the 2010 Insight.
Hybrid Wars! - Toyota Prius Vs Honda Insight - Part 1
We compare the specs and design features on the two latest and most interesting hybrid vehicles - the Honda Insight and the all-new Toyota Prius. Part 1 of 2.
2010 Honda Insight Driving Impressions
Cars.com's Joe Wiesenfelder gives us his driving impressions of the 2010 Honda Insight.
Shot and produced by: Matthew Avery, Lindsay Bjerregaard and Sarah Gersh
Edited by: Lindsay Bjerregaard
Honda Insight 2010 Review
This is a review of my latest gadget, the 2010 Honda Insight. I purchased this car a little over a week ago, and I have been enjoying it very much. The purpose of this review is to inform other potential buyers and interested parties about the features this car possesses.
2010 Honda Insight Review
MPGomatic.com puts a 2010 Honda Insight EX Navi to a grueling test drive in search of maximum MPGs. [ Full Review: http://www.mpgomatic.com/2009/09/03/2010-honda-insight-review/ ] While the new Honda Insight hybrid falls short of the Toyota Prius when it comes to mileage, it's a more economical choice, overall.
Honda's New Insight Hybrid
Honda has been working hard to compete with Toyota in putting out affordable hybrid vehicles, and the brand new Insight hybrid that they unveiled at the LA auto show this year is a big step towards competing with the Prius. The Insight is named after Honda's first attempt at selling a hybrid, which was the first gas and electric car available in the US when it came out. But the new Honda Insight is sleek, aerodynamic, and thoroughly modern. The new Insight is aimed at mass audiences, unlike the original tear dropped shaped two seater. Insight 2.0 is a comfortably sized five door with folding rear seats. Honda claims that the new Insight will have a price tag of just 19,000 dollars, which is a few thousand dollars cheaper than a new Prius or Honda Civic Hybrid, and it will match or even exceed the fuel economy of both of those existing hybrid models. The new Insight is cheaper, sleeker looking, and more fuel efficient than the most popular hybrids on the road... no wonder Honda is expecting sales of the Insight to be through the roof when it arrives in showrooms in April 2009. I'm HOST, and you've been watching RPMFreaks.Com. Keep watching for more news, reviews, and tips from the automotive world. Distributed by Tubemogul.
