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Posts Tagged “

Insight

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new honda hybrid

Honda's New Hybrid Prius-Fighter Caught Desert Testing, Listening To "Eye Of The Tiger"

No, it only looks like the Toyota Prius. The crafty car spies of KGP caught up again with the Honda engineering team in the hot desert sands out west. Just in the nick of time to take an exclusive first set of shots of Honda's new Prius-fighting hybrid. We don't know much about it other than we knew the boys from Honda had something in development to sit on top of Honda's hybrid hierarchy — in the slot just above the 2009 Honda Civic hybrid sedan we saw earlier today. We also know it'll be a global model. Otherwise, you're on your own. Hit the jump for the spy report.

More »

Spy Photos

6:30 PM on Wed Jul 16 2008
By Ray Wert
21,844 views, 126 comments

Latest by n/a: Is it just like technologically impossible to make a hybrid that actually LOOKS COOL?!!?!? Shite man... everyone wants to save bucks, but some people like the car to actually like something other than a tennis shoe :-/ PRIUS SUCKS!!! THIS SUCKS more »

alternative energy

Aussies Invent UltraBattery, For Ultra Hippies

You know, everything is usually better when you put ultra- in front of the name, except in the case of alternative energy automotive technologies. UltraBattery? Are you kidding me? Is that really the name? UltraBattery is the work of a team of researchers at Australia's national science agency. The "ultra" aspect of this battery is its ability to out-ast traditional battery systems. And despite how much I rag on its name, the technology isn't too shabby. More »

3:00 PM on Tue Jan 29 2008
By Travis Hudson
1,233 views, 14 comments

Latest by n/a: 37lbs... How much does a tank of fuel weigh?? That surely must ofset some of the extra weight in the battery. Whatever, anything that goes towards reducing fuel consumption is just another relentless unstoppable step towards Clean Earth!! And by more »

gaming

Oregon Trail Remake Ditches Wagons for SUVs, Hybrids And... Umm, Wagons

The cult classic game, Oregon Trail, has finally received a much needed update. Thule Trail is an independent game still utilizing the same style of graphics, but an updated story line that involves a cross-country trip to a music festival in a variety of cars including the Honda Insight, Dodge Nitro or an old Volvo station wagon, rather than a 19th century cross country trip of settlers in a rickety wagon. More »

4:45 PM on Mon Dec 17 2007
By Travis Hudson
2,905 views, 26 comments

alternative energy

It Still Looks Silly, But Honda Insight's Batteries Stand Test of Time

When hybrids first hit the market in 1999, critics and enthusiasts placed their bets on how long — or short — the $3,000 battery packs would last in the hands of consumers. Even some automakers expected they'd be toast in a few years, and stayed away from hybrid technology altogether. But Honda was more optimistic. With its Insight the first hybrid on the market, Honda assured buyers the batteries would last last the projected life of the vehicles — about 8 to 10 years. Now, as the first Insights are rolling through their eighth year of life, most appear to be holding up. In fact, A JD Power and Associates durability survey shows hybrids having 10 percent fewer problems than typical gas burners, excepting higher defect rates from exhaust systems, engine computers and instrument panels. Honda acknowledges replacing some Insight battery packs under warranty, but won't share specific numbers, saying it's a small amount. Still, we haven't seen the Hybrid Armageddon some predicted. But is the countdown clock still ticking? [The Detroit Free Press]

9:45 AM on Tue Oct 9 2007
By tingwall
16,345 views, 23 comments

Latest by n/a: If the Insight's first year was 1999, and it is now 2007, the car is "rolling through its NINTH year", not its eighth. Simple error. Happens all the time. Too bad they stopped making this car, though. Guess I'll have more »

news

Report: New Honda Hybrid Concept Coming to Geneva Show

A new dedicated hybrid is on the way from Honda, reports Autocar, first in concept form then for production in 2008. It's not exactly a surprise — Honda's CEO Takeo Fukui announced recently an economy-minded hybrid would be launched by decade's end. The new gas-electric model would replace the company's Insight, which was the world's first series hybrid — despite that Prius is Latin for "before" (pretty tricky, Mr. Toyota). Nonetheless, a prototype will likely be unveiled at the Geneva auto show in March. The yet-unnamed model is expected to be cheaper than a Prius, at least in the UK. – Mike Spinelli More »

6:35 AM on Wed Jan 31 2007
By Mike Spinelli
3,717 views, 9 comments

Latest by A strolling player: My bad, I had my terms mixed up. Either way, the Prius came first. more »

news: racing

Movin' Very Slowly: Hypermiling

When we had our old Acura Legend, we were addicted to its fuel-economy display. We generally averaged around 21 mpg, which included a 33-mile Walnut Creek-to-San Francisco commute that was 2/3 open freeway and 1/3 brutal congestion (hello, MacArthur Maze and Bay Bridge). On a trip from Portland back down the East Bay, we were running low on gasoline coming down out of the Cascades. The meter showed that we were gaining miles to empty, prompting our friend Brett to exclaim, "This is the best car ever! It actually makes gas!" Wayne Gedes also got hooked on eking fuel economy out of an Acura — in this case, his wife's MDX. More »

2:30 PM on Fri Jan 5 2007
By Davey G. Johnson
461 views, 25 comments

Latest by st3ph3n: My Vectra (the shame of it) had the MPG and Range functions on the trip computer and it was always fun to see the instantaneous MPG, the average for a journey and so forth. I learned, very nearly to my expense, more »

sema

Ezerioha! Bizimoto's Honda Insight Import Dragster

Nigerian boy genius and motorsports engineer, 'Bisi Ezerioha brought what we've dubbed the Most Unlikliest Dragster to SEMA. The MENSA member's 9.8-second Honda Insight is an odd duck among its fellow Honda import competitors on the IDRA, IDRC and NHRA circuits. But under the hood, the hybrid drivetrain been swapped with a SOHC Honda mill. Maybe his next one will get proper Ben Franklin power — not that the race series boys would allow it. More »

4:04 PM on Thu Nov 2 2006
By Mike Spinelli
1,809 views, 2 comments

news

HOV Hybrid Program in California Nearly Closed

To us, the most compelling reason to buy a Prius is the ability to use it in California's carpool lanes without having to carry the requisite passenger or two. Apparently, nearly 75,000 other folks think so, too, as the state of California has announced that no more of the HOV-free-ride passes will be handed out to owners of Insights, Prii and Civic Hybrids. In a year (the program started last August 10th), 74,108 have been issued. The legislature may consider another carpool-lane bonanza for hybrid drivers if the Department of Transportation concludes they haven't clogged up the the lanes with single-occupant, gas/electric vehicles. [Thanks to Scott for the tip. More »

3:00 PM on Fri Aug 4 2006
By Davey G. Johnson
773 views, 5 comments

Latest by lraines: Does this affect HOV lane access for the Platnum stickers on the CNG cars that had access BEFORE the gold stickers for Hybirds? more »

news

Honda Kills The Insight -- Tens Mourn


The Insight was the first to the hybrid scene and consequently was the crappiest — it was small, had barely any pick-up, and did we mention it was small? Despite gas prices hitting relatively atmospheric levels, Honda was only able to push a few hundred of the little deuce-craps out of the door. Honda claims it'll be replaced with a new hybrid, probably built at the same new plant we discussed yesterday. The automaker also says it'll be smaller than the current Civic but still suitable for "family use" — also it won't be appearing until 2009. Glad to see the "first to market" edge played out so well for them, eh? More »

9:59 AM on Thu May 18 2006
By Ray Wert
154 views, 10 comments

Latest by BlackIce_GTS: Austin: SCC ran a 3 part look at building an Insight drag car in June-August '5. I only have the June issue, so I don't know what engine they used. more »