Honda Insight
The Honda Insight is a 2-seater hatchback hybrid automobile manufactured by Honda. Initially introduced in 1999 (in Japan, the Toyota Prius was launched two years earlier), the Insight was the first mass-produced hybrid automobile sold in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has acknowledged its 5-speed manual transmission variant to be the most fuel-efficient mass-produced vehicle in the US.1 The Insight sports low emissions as well; its 5-speed model boasts a ULEV rating and the CVT model a SULEV rating. Additionally, this variant exhibits greater fuel efficiency at the cost of a slight rise in NOx emissions.
Technology wise, the Insight utilizes Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid technology, the predecessor of the one featured in the Honda Civic Hybrid. It has a 3-cylinder engine and a brushless electric motor mounted on the crankshaft, as well as a set of 144 V NiMH batteries behind the seats. In times of strong acceleration, the electric motor lends a hand; similarly, it can recharge the batteries via regenerative braking as the car decelerates. A computer control module governs the input from the internal combustion engine or the electric motor, and in the CVT it selects the most optimal gear ratio. Dashboard monitors display the charge on the batteries, fuel efficiency, and state of the electric motor – whether it’s aiding the engine or loading the batteries.
Unlike the Toyota Prius, which has a planetary gearset, the original Insight was fitted with a conventional manual transmission. Starting in 2001, Honda also began offering a Continuously Variable Transmission option; this is very similar to the systems utilized in the Honda Civic Hybrid and Honda Logo. The Insight is not considered a "full" hybrid as it cannot run solely on electric power, unlike the Prius. One feature they share is the capability for the engine to switch off when stopped and to quickly restart. Furthermore, the Insight’s starter is powerful –10 kW – enough to almost instantly jumpstart the engine.
The Messerschmitt KR200 used to be the most fuel-efficient car available in the US until the Insight came along. It is a three-wheel vehicle with a size similar to that of the Corbin Sparrow and the Commuter Cars Tango.
Manufactured in the same factory as Honda’s NSX and S2000 (the latter of which is made of steel while the two former are aluminum-bodied cars), the Insight is deemed a halo car more than a production vehicle; targeted yearly sales of it rarely exceed 2,000 vehicles in the US. In 2003, Honda began developing the concept car Honda IMAS, which was an incredibly light and fuel-efficient vehicle made of aluminum and carbon fiber. It was meant to be a harbinger of the Insight’s successor. Two years later, Honda announced the end of Insight production in September 2006 and revealed that it will be succeeded by a new hybrid car smaller than the eighth generation Civic. During its 6-year stint, the Insight sold no more than 14,000 units in the US; Honda designed it as a test car for hybrid technology and seemed to have difficulty in appealing to a larger audience with its aerodynamic, fuel-saving shape and expensive aluminum body and frame.
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