Honda is known for making reliable, affordable, and good looking cars. But over the years, they’ve also produced some brow-raisers. These cars, whether or not you liked them, deserve recognition. That’s what this blog series is going to be about: shining a spotlight on Hondas that were brushed under the rug.
We’re going to start off this series with a car I’ve always wondered about as a kid:
The First Generation InsightÂ
The Insight, introduced in 1999, was a 3-door, 2-seater hybrid electric hatchback. It only produced 67hp and was one of the most fuel-efficient cars in the U.S. at the time of its production. It was available with a manual transmission, and no air conditioning.
Its looks were very quirky; the arch cover over the rear wheels turned some heads and turned some people off. Its 67hp came from a 1.0 three-cylinder engine, as well as the first iteration of Honda’s Intelligent Motor Assist (IMA), an electric motor that attributes to regenerative braking.
Mix that all together and you get a seemingly average hybrid car, right? Most of the time, you’d be correct; but with the Insight’s manual transmission option, you actually get a pretty decent race car, as it turns out. I’m not kidding. In 2006, an Insight won the Formula 1000 Rally Class A Championship in the U.K and in 2011 was asked to step down because it dominated the first three rallies of the Formula 1000.
Top-mark fuel efficiency, decent looks, and a manual transmission should usually make for a good-selling car, but unfortunately, Honda ended production of the quirky little Insight in 2006, only to be revamped in 2008 as just another Prius look-alike. Maybe the 2019 Insight will be just as interesting as the first.
By Christian Olsson, Honda Genius
*Any MPG listed is based on model year EPA mileage ratings. Use for comparison purposes only. Your actual mileage will vary, depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle, driving conditions, battery pack age/condition (hybrid only) and other factors. For additional information about EPA ratings, visit http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/label/learn-more-PHEV-label.shtml.
Related Posts:
Where Do You Get Your Honda Radio Codes?
Why Pre-order Your Next Honda Vehicle?
What To Do If Your Car Has A Recall? A Step By Step Guide!
Honda Civic Trim Level Research Page
Connect with us
