Auto & Car Blog

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Hybrid, Honda, LA Auto Show

Honda joins Ford in the green dash race with its latest piece of clever technology, the Eco Assist dashboard, which the automaker has revealed here in LA and will come with the 2009 Insight hybrid. There’s an ECON button on the dash that increases fuel efficiency by changing settings on the CVT transmission and air conditioning unit and by increasing regenerative braking capabilities and a more aggressive anti-idling algorithm.

The Insight’s new dash will also change colors between shades of green and blue to tell the driver how they’re driving. There is also an an “economy scoring function” that keeps track of the way the car is driven and gives eco-scores to the pilot. Ford has taken a similar approach with its new Fusion hybrid, which will be equipped with an LCD gauge cluster called SmartGauge[TM] with EcoGuide.

[Source: Honda]

Continue reading LA 2008: Honda shows off Insight’s Eco Assist dashboard

LA 2008: Honda shows off Insight’s Eco Assist dashboard originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrid, Honda, Paris Motor Show

Honda this week launched its first blog in conjunction with the debut of the new Insight concept in Paris. If Honda’s usual practice and the spy photos we’ve seen are any indication, the concept Insight that is on the show stand right now will be almost identical to the production model coming next spring. While the Insight’s profile undoubtedly shares a lot with the Toyota Prius, it also differs in many design details. The Insight has more surface development than the Prius including the belt-line and rocker panel creases that help catch the light and make the look more interesting. The Insight also has a less distinct peak in the roof than the Toyota giving a sleaker look to the green house. The primary elements that are likely to change in going to production are the lights with the concepts fancy clusters giving way to something a little more conventional. You can check video of the Paris reveal and running footage of the Insight after the jump.

[Source: Honda]

Continue reading VIDEO: Live reveal of Honda Insight and a new company blog

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Filed under: Hybrid, Honda, European Union, UK

In the United States, sales of hybrid cars greatly outpaces the sales of diesel cars; super-size trucks don’t count. The leader of the hybrid race globally and in the States is undoubtedly Toyota, but other manufacturers, including Honda, are doing their best to catch up. Despite the fact that the original Honda Insight helped usher in the hybrid age, the automaker has taken a major back seat to its main rival from Japan in recent years. To help combat this issue, Honda is set to revive the Insight nameplate with a Prius-fighting five door hatchback of its own, and it will undercut its competitor by thousands of dollars.

So, what about Europe? Across the pond, hybrid cars and trucks are not nearly as popular as they are in the U.S. There, diesel fuel is priced more attractively than gasoline, and sales of oil-burners are therefore very strong. A recent survey conducted by Honda in the U.K. indicates that 40-percent of those who would not buy a hybrid are put off by their high price. Since the Insight will be the cheapest hybrid available in Europe, Honda hopes to buck the slow-selling trend. We’ll see how it works out sometime next year.

[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req’d]

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Filed under: Hybrid, Honda, Paris Motor Show

The biggest bit of greenery at the Paris Motor Show may be the Honda Insight concept. This is the car that’s set to give the Prius a run for its money in the ongoing hybrid arms race in America, and it looks like it may have the goods to do proper battle. As has been stated, over and over again, the Insight bears a striking resemblance to its main rival from Toyota, but perhaps that’s to be expected as both cars are meant to cheat the wind in an effort to reach maximum efficiency.

This isn’t the production version, but we don’t expect too many changes to its external appearance before it hits the Detroit Auto Show in January in its final form. Details like those LED-heavy light clusters up front may not make it, but the overall look is what will be in Honda dealerships sometime next year. The interior looks pretty spacey, but so did the second-gen Prius’ when it was introduced. Take a look at the live shots in our gallery below.

[Source: Autoblog]

Continue reading Paris 2008: Live shots of the new Honda Insight… at last!

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Economy, Hybrids/Alternative, Sedans/Saloons, Green, Paris Motor Show, Hatchbacks, Honda

It’s the impending debut of the all-new Prius-assaulting Insight hybrid that’s got our hearts all aflutter over Honda’s booth at the upcoming Paris Motor Show, but that’s not all the automaker will be bringing with it to the City of Lights. Along with the new dedicated hybrid we’ll see the latest version of its older and somewhat less interesting brother, the Civic Hybrid, that along with the rest of the Civic line for ‘09, gets a small bit of freshening for the new model year. We do like the looks of the new front-end, but besides that, there’s not much to see here… and so we move along to the CR-Z hybrid coupe that Honda’s been showing off since Tokyo. Big H’s other stab at saving the world runs on hydrogen, the FCX Clarity. Despite the fact that nobody in Europe will be able to buy it, it’ll be there with bells on.

Honda will also use the Paris Motor Show to introduce the Continent to its new-for-’09 Jazz, known to us Yanks as the Fit. Something else that should be of interest to the Europeans is Honda’s first automatic gearbox for its ubiquitous 2.2-liter diesel engine, dubbed the i-DTEC, which rounds out the new stuff that Honda has to show in Paris.

[Source: Honda]

Continue reading Paris Preview: Honda readies refreshed Civic Hybrid and i-DTEC gearbox

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Filed under: Hybrid, Honda, UK, Paris Motor Show

The big news coming from Honda for the Paris Motor Show is the introduction of the Insight hybrid concept. We are glad that previous reports that the name would be changed were incorrect. For the rest of their booth, Honda has other things to show off as well, and we’ve pasted the official press release after the break. The next big debut is the Euro-market Honda Jazz, which is known in most of the rest of the world as the Fit. We tested the U.S. Sport version and you can read all about that here. Although everybody knows what the Jazz looks like, Honda will be trotting out the entire line, which includes 1.2, 1.4 and 1.4 i-SHIFT Automated Manual Transmission models.

Along with the Insight and Jazz, Honda will show off its newly-updated Civic hybrid for the first time. Drivers who want an automatic with their 2.2-liter diesel engine will get that option for the first time ever. Lastly, Honda will bring along its latest FCX Clarity and the CR-Z concept that we’ve all seen a million times already. Anything we left out? No? All righty then, there you have it.

[Source: Honda]

Continue reading Honda reveals its plans for Paris

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Filed under: Hybrid, Honda, Paris Motor Show

Click to enlarge the new Honda Insight

src="http://digg.com/api/diggthis.js">Honda has just released the first official photos of its eagerly-anticipated new dedicated hybrid car that will debut early in 2009. The car that until now had been referred to by Honda officials simply as the “Global Hybrid” will revive the popular Insight name from the company’s first hybrid model. Although Honda is officially calling the car that will be shown in Paris next month a concept, these concepts tend to be extremely close to the final production version. Given the similarity to the spy photos we’ve seen already we shouldn’t expect much to change before launch next year. The Insight does bear a strong resemblance to the larger FCX Clarity fuel cell car although as with most hybrids, the current Honda three bar grill design is actually a solid piece for optimized aerodynamics. Honda has already said that it has cut the cost of its IMA hybrid system in half for the Insight and the new Insight’s price is expected to start in the neighborhood of $18,500. Honda is expecting about 200,000 world wide sales of the Insight with half of those going to the U.S.

[Source: Honda]

Continue reading Paris Preview: Honda Insight concept to be new global hybrid

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Hatchbacks, Honda, Paris Motorcycle Show

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Honda Insight Concept

Honda is reviving an old name for its new Global Hybrid that goes on sale next spring by calling it the Insight. The new five-door hatchback “Prius-Killer” will be the most direct competitor yet for Toyota’s iconic hybrid. Learning from the lesson that hybrid buyers apparently prefer their cars to be recognizable as such rather than being derivatives of existing models, Honda has modeled the new Insight after its low volume FCX Clarity fuel cell car and will be debuting it as a concept at the Paris Motor Show next month before it goes on sale as the least expensive hybrid in the world in 2009. Recent comments by Honda have hinted at a price starting at $18,500 for the Insight, which goes on sale 10 years after the original. Unlike the tiny two-seater that had limited appeal and utility, this new one is expected to appeal to a much wider audience. Honda is planning for worldwide sales of 200,000 units a year with 100,000 going to the U.S. market.

[Source: Honda]

Continue reading Paris Preview: Officially Official, Honda’s new hybrid is the Insight!

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