More than you want to know about my experiences with the 2000 Honda Insight gas/electric hybrid automobile!
It's 2008. The last Insight was manufactured in 2006. If you've got an Insight of any vintage that you plan to continue driving for a long time, you might want to try stocking up on those hard, high-mileage Bridgestone Potenza RE-92 165/65x14 tires designed to minimize the Insight's rolling resistance. Supplies have dried up at Bridgestone dealers around the US and although Bridgestone tells their dealers that these tires are "backordered," that's what they're still saying about their special Insight snow tires that haven't been seen for years. I wrote to Bridgestone late last year before the supply evaporated to ask how much longer they planned to manufacture this tire, but have yet to receive a reply. Also, some floor mats for the early CVT Insights are now very difficult to find. (Hey, early Prius owners, don't feel so smug. You, too, should call your local Bridgestone dealer and hope for good news.)
Endangered Species
Now that it's been a year since its publication, the December 19, 2006 EV World story about how the amazing Bill Kinney gets 88.8 mpg from his insight is available for viewing without a premium subscription. The story includes EV World's Bill Moore interviewing Mr. Kinney about his techniques for achieving a stunning 88.8 mpg after driving more than 21,000 miles in his 2005 Honda Insight (his third Insight). Click here to read it.
"It's all about changing your thinking," says Bill Kinney.
Recently a large percentage of the Insights in Japan gathered at the Toyota Automobile Museum. There were 20 of the 2,000 Japanese Insights at the meeting. I was floored to learn that Honda sold only about 2,000 Insights in Japan. And while Honda never offered more than 4 or 5 (depending on how different you consider the two blue Insights to be) colors in the US, Japanese customers could select from a much wider range, including the Berlina Black that I was hoping would appear in the US before the end. A wonderful Insight owner, viento1001, who brought her beautiful Nurburgring Blue Metallic Insight to the gathering sent me these photos, which I appreciate greatly. She told me that even with this number of Insights, owners of the rare Berlina Black and Monte Carlo Blue Pearl Insights were not among the attendees.
Because many people have been disappointed when their new cars cannot achieve the EPA fuel economy estimates shown on the sticker, the EPA has revised the way it estimates fuel economy. The new ratings system takes effect for the 2008 model year. Here are their revised estimates for the 2000 Honda Insight 5-speed, the first (and probably only for a long time) car to achieve a 70 mpg rating. Unlike most hybrid car owners, however, many Insight owners have been able to match or exceed the EPA's origiinal fuel economy estimates. After 58,000 miles, my first Insight's lifetime fuel consumption average was 61.1 mpg (including months of 50 mpg pain during the winter). I?routinely exceed 70 mpg during the summer months. Honda, you built a fantastic car for us hypermiling fanatics. Thank you.
Data source: www.fueleconomy.gov
I couldn't resist the last opportunity to continue driving an Insight for as
long as possible. I believe it will be the last manual-transmission
two-seat hybrid and I also believe it will be a long time before there's
another car sold that can match the Insight's fuel efficiency.
From left: my 2006 Insight, Sales Consultant Jason Brinkman, Insight Service
Expert John Donnellon, Dealer Howard Cooper,
InsightMan, Sales Manager Jim Weasel, Service Manager Brad Stegemann, Service Adviser Don Durham,
and my 2000 Insight.
On the 55 mph ride home from Howard Cooper Honda, my 2000 averaged 81.0 mpg; my 2006 Insight, 86.9 mpg!
143 mph with 200 mph "in sight!" Check it out!
This warranty extension affects all 2000?04 Insights registered in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, and Texas, the shaded states on this map. (Source: Honda Service Bulletin 06-027, May 27, 2006)
To ensure continued reliability with the IMA system, American Honda is announcing an IMA battery warranty extension for certain 2000?04 Insights. The IMA battery is now covered for 10 years or 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first. This warranty extension applies only in states where there is an abnormally high replacement rate for IMA batteries.
Replace the IMA battery if it has failed.
NOTE: The IMA battery warranty extension does not apply to any vehicle that has ever been declared a total loss, or any that has been issued a salvage, branded, or similar title under any state?s law.
May 17, 2006, a dark day for America's first and still most fuel-efficient hybrid car.
Today Autoweek reported that Honda Executive Vice President Richard Colliver told them that Insight "production will stop in September of this year and be discontinued." He also revealed that Honda will bring out new hybrid in 2009 that will be smaller than the current Civic. Autoweek also reported that Honda's CEO, Takeo Fukui, said the new hybrid vehicle will be "suitable for family use" and will be priced below the current Civic hybrid.
Other sources have reported that Honda will transplant the Insight's IMA engine into the Honda Fit. Based on Mr. Colliver's time frame and the fact that the Fit is in its fifth year of production, it would seem reasonable to assume that Honda is waiting to put the Insight's engine into the next-generation Fit.
The Temple of VTEC website contains this information from the 2006 Mid-Year Speech by CEO Takeo Fukui:
Honda President Takeo Fukui giving his 2006 midyear speech.
The pictured car is likely Honda's next fuel-cell powered vehicle.
(KAZUHIRO NOGI/Getty Images-Agence France-Presse)
So perhaps Honda is planning a unique body for the Fit hybrid or--as the Detroit Free Press indicates--an entirely new platform for the Insight's replacement. After abandoning the Insight, Honda will be hard pressed to regain the Insight's top spot on the EPA fuel-efficiency list (perhaps the only reason the Insight has remained in production so long). To achieve that status the 2009 hybrid will have to be more than just a Fit with an Insight engine. It will need to incorporate some of the new technologies employed in the newest Civic hybrid, such as the ability to run on electric power alone. Still, it will very difficult for a family-sized hybrid to approach the fantastic fuel efficiency of the all-aluminum, ultra-aerodynamic, two-seat Insight.
And the Insight will likely be the last Honda hybrid to sport a manual transmission, even though it gives the driver much more control over the allocation of fuel (my wonderful Insight delivered 80.3 mpg on a 108-mile drive from Ann Arbor to Saugatuck on the west side of Michigan last week). Every day I'm reminded that the Insight is the most efficient point-A-to-point-B tool this side of a moped. Hopefully the Insight nameplate be reserved for the next no-holds-barred high-efficiency example of Honda's technical brilliance. I'd hate to see it stuck on anything that fails to exceed the original Insight's 70 mpg EPA rating. Anything less and they might just as well call it the "Hindsight."
As InsightMan weeps at this unfortunate--though not unexpected--news, he wonders why in this era of wallet-busting gasoline prices, only 320 people so far this year chose to purchase the little car that could, the incredible Honda Insight.
Thank you, Honda, for the best car I've ever owned. I expect to be driving my old number 221 for many happy years to come. [September 1, 2006 correction: Insightman caves in and buys the last 2006 Insight to be delivered to Howard Cooper Honda.]
March 2006: Not much has been happening with the Insight for the past few years. New Insights now use the same windshield wiper blades as the Civic and cruise control is finally available, but the Insight's reason for being, high gas mileage, has not advanced since the car was designed in 1999. Indeed, many owners have seen their gas mileage actually degraded by Honda's updates to the Insight's engine control module.
The rest of the automobile industry has failed to come up with a serious challenger for the Insight--many Insight owners living in warm climates with flat terrains have managed to keep their lifetime averages above 70 mpg. So year after year, the Insight maintains its top spot in the mileage charts, eliminating any reason for Honda to make any changes to it's lowest-production automobile. So the advances in gas/electric hybrid technology that Honda has developed for the Civic and Accord hybrids has not been extended to the Insight.
Toyota is probably the only company with the technology necessary to develop a competitor for the Insight, but they're content to have far and away the best selling hybrid with the Prius. Even though Prius owners are often disappointed when they realize it's impossible to match the EPA's mileage figures for their car, they're happy to be doing their part to reduce the damage they're causing to the environment.
The Insight's death knell may have been sounded by the arrival of a Honda Fit hybrid. The Fit has been sold in Japan and Europe as the Jazz since 2001 and, as the Civic has grown with each new version, Honda decided to bring the Fit to the US to take the Civic's place as its entry-level offering. But with an EPA rating of 33 city/38 highway miles per gallon, the Fit falls short of the larger Civic's 38/40 EPA estimates. What's up with that?
The obvious fix is to add Honda's IMA hybrid technology to the Fit. CNet's news.com reported that the Japanese business daily Nihon Keizai claims that Honda is developing a smaller motor and battery to reduce cost and weight. Nihon Keizai says Honda will twin the hybrid unit with a one-liter engine for the Fit and this combination will be able to match the fuel efficiency of the Insight.There's not much hope that Honda will update the Insight or even continue to manufacture it after the Fit hybrid appears. Surely, if Honda would install this newer drivetrain in the Insight, the Insight's lower weight and better aerodynamics would move it's EPA numbers to levels never before seen, but the tiny number of Insights being sold in this era of record-high gas prices all but ensures this update will not happen.
5/21/03 I just saw a color chart for the 2004 Hondas at my local dealer, Howard Cooper Honda. The Insight was included! There's even a new color, Navy Blue Pearl, which replaces Monte Carlo Blue Pearl (these two dark blues looked pretty much the same to me). New Formula Red and the trusty old Silverstone Metallic continue to be available. After noting that the Insight wasn't included in Honda's brochure of 2003 cars, and reading the interview with Tom Elliott, it looked like the Civic Hybrid would be Honda's only Prius-fighter. With the slick new bigger and faster 500-volt 55 mpg Prius about to debut this fall, I'm very happy to learn that Honda will retain the high-mileage crown. Thank you, Honda! (And thanks for not bringing the black Insight to the US, because that would cause me to trade in my trusty old number 221 and require me to spend a lot more time washing my Insight.)
Amy Whitesall, ace reporter for the Ann Arbor News, recently took a ride with me in my Insight to learn if the car is as fantastic as I've been telling everyone or if InsightMan is just a fanatic. She learned that both cases are true and wrote a story about my infatuation with this highest-tech vehicle and a few other high-tech toys (eg. my Moulton SPEED bicycle) that I've collected over the years. You can see the article text on the Ann Arbor News' website.
My, my. Can this fabulous high-tech car really be two years old already? I guess that the advent of the higher-tech Civic Hybrid from Honda makes it tough to deny. But although the Civic Hybrid includes a few new tricks (eg. the ability to turn off 3 of its 4 cylinders to reduce friction when decelerating), its 50 mpg capability still can't match the MPG king, the 70 mpg Honda Insight! I filled up only 37 times in two years while driving about 21,000 miles and achieving an average miles-per-gallon figure of 59.2.
It's the winters that kept me from averaging over 60 mpg. When the thermometer is above 60 degrees F, it's not very difficult to achieve 65-70 mpg, but when the mercury drops below 30 degrees F, it's tough to squeeze more than 55 miles from each gallon. It's not the winter blend of gas or the snow tires I mount in the winter because the fuel economy climbs dramatically along with the thermometer. The answer must be that combustion is just not as efficient when the temperatures are lower.
If you were amazed as I was at the SULEV label on the side of the silver Insight on the turntable at the 2001 North American International Auto Show, don't be. A Honda rep at the show told me the label was a mistake and that the ULEV label on the blue Insight on the show floor was correct. A SULEV Insight would have made the Union of Concerned Scientists happier, but I guess you'll have to buy a SULEV Accord if you want to drive a Honda with lower emissions than an Insight.
Now, I've heard that the SULEV Insight is coming--to California. This higher level of low emissions was reportedly achieved by eliminating the lean-burn feature of the Insight's engine, and by burning the special low-sulphur fuel that is not available in most of the US, but which is available in California. It will be interesting to see how this change affects the Insight's fuel economy.
At the show, I was disappointed that the Honda/Toyota hybrids haven't spurred any competition whatsoever. Ford didn't even bring their hybrid Escape to the show, although they were claiming it will get double the regular Escape's 18 mpg--a feat that I will be very interested to see them accomplish.
On January 7, a coalition of national environmental groups including Union of Concerned Scientists, NRDC, Environmental Defense, the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, and the Michigan Environmental Council held a press conference and an Insight/Prius gathering prior to the Detroit International Auto Show. A bunch of Insights and Priuses met near Detroit Metro Airport and drove in a convoy to downtown Detroit. There, they attached BIG 3 NOTICE ME signs and paraded around the streets near Cobo Hall, where the North American International Auto Show is getting started. The press was on hand to film the hybrids. The teaser for the evening news said that they would be showing a protest action from the auto show. A milder protest was never seen, as these quiet hybrids (OK, so a couple of cars were honking their horns) drove by the cameras showing their static-cling signs. Hopefully the press will see that there are people clamoring for these clean machines. See more pictures.
Read about the event in the Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/2001/autoshow/0101/08/a04-173013.htm
For more information about this campaign, contact Jeff Gearhart Campaign Director Ecology Center 117 N. Division Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (734) 663-2400 x117 (734)663-2414 jeffg@ecocenter.org http://www.ecocenter.org, or, as you can see in the picture http://greencar.org.
January 8, 2001--The vehicle Daimler-Chrysler calls a truck for legislative reasons, but somehow qualifies as a car because it's based on the old-tech Plymouth Neon, was named by 50 journalists as the 2001 North American Car of the Year in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show. The other two contenders for the award were the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius. On a brighter note, showing how quickly they can rise to the top of any industry segment they tackle, Honda, er, Acura, won the 2001 North American Truck of the Year award with their new MDX. I wonder if Ford had told the journalists that the Excursion was their new super-luxury-size car...
WXYZ TV Channel 7 News interviewed InsightMan. They included a short visit to my house in their report on the Honda Insight. The station loaned their borrowed red Insight to a local family of four. The limited seating was illustrated by showing mom and her two daughters walking out to the car and then we see the Insight driving away, but one daughter is left behind in the driveway. Other than that problem, the family liked driving the Insight.
They asked local Honda luminary, Andy Boyd, if there was a local Honda Insight owner who wouldn't mind being interviewed. Somehow my name came up. WXYZ producer Sandy McPhee sent Jeff Pekarek and Tim Barry into the cold temperatures and deep snow to drive from Detroit to Ann Arbor. Tim, the cameraman, started the tape with a full-frame shot of the silver 2001 Insight poster on my study wall. Then he pulled back to show me sitting at my laptop computer. Moving behind, the camera caught the screen displaying this home page just as the WXYZ logo scrolled into view. I was mumbling something like, "people all over the world have seen this website."
Next, we went outside to turn the camera to the real star, the Insight. Again, I was mumbling something silly like, "I got 120 miles per gallon downhill once." Why didn't I say 150? To get a shot of me driving from the "back seat" view, Tim, the cameraman was dedicated enough to hang part of his body out of the open hatch while he operated the camera and I drove down the bumpy ice- and snow-covered street. Despite his dedication, however, that part didn't appear on the air.
"Green Machine: At last -- an enviro-chic car. Honda's $20,000 two-seat Insight runs on a gasoline engine/electric motor combo and gets up to 70-mpg. Honda will build 6,000 cars next year. Rivals have come up with hybrids or plans to do so soon." -- "The Best Products of 2000," BusinessWeek, December 18, 2000.
This beautiful Monte Carlo Blue Pearl replaces Citrus Yellow (not my favorite) to join Silverstone Metallic and New Formula Red in the three-color Insight line-up for 2001. I never got used to that color, but I know some people love it. Other than this color and the optional Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), the Insight remains the same for 2001 (and 2002 and 2003).
Well, one other thing is different: it gets only 68 mpg in the EPA highway mileage ratings. The reason for the drop from the 70 mpg rating of the 2000 Insight is a matter of optional equipment. The only optional equipment offered by Honda for the Insight is the air conditioning system. Of course, because Honda wanted to achieve the highest possible mileage rating when they introduced the Insight, they used an Insight without the air conditioning system. Less weight; less drag on the engine. However, because so many people purchased the A/C in the first year that it became necessary to use an air-conditioned Insight for the EPA tests. So the "average" Insight produces two mpg less in the EPA highway test than the Insight for northern climes.
It's my experience that the A/C can draw more than 2 mpg, but then I never turned it last summer on unless it was sweltering and the system was required to run at 100% of it's capacity.
As much as I was put off by the Citrus Yellow (green to most people), I'm attracted to the new blue. I would like the nearly black Insight that is sold only in Japan even more. But I really like my Silverstone Metallic Insight because it hides the dirt better than a dark color. That's especially significant on a car that not only can't use mud flaps (they would probably suck away 5 mpg or more all by themselves), but that tucks the rear edge of the front wheel well behind the tire for better aerodynamics.
No, my father is not Philip Morrison. If you read the October Scientific American with the "Hybrid Vigor" article about Mr. Morrison's son's Insight, you know that his son's license plate reads "IGO ECO" just like mine. My dad is Bruce Johnson and his son had the first Insight with the license plate "IGO ECO." I was amused when I was asked on the street if Philip Morrison is my father so I thought I'd clear up the confusion by the plethora of IGO ECO license plates.
"Gaining New Insight Into Aluminum Body Production," remarks by Kazuhiko Tsunoda, Chief Engineer, Honda Insight, Honda R&D Co., Ltd. The mastermind of Honda world-champion racing motorcycles and race cars tells how he created this miracle car on a budget.
InsightMan meets Prius (that other
company's hybrid)
Insight Owner The only independent national print magazine dedicated to owners of the Honda ultra low emission vehicle, the hybrid-electric Insight automobile from Honda. Publisher, Larry Dussault will even send you a free copy!
Honda Insight Sets Thailand Fuel Economy Record
OH MI INsight gathering in Columbus, Ohio, July 29 See the pictures.
Insight Devotees get together on North Carolina Shore August 12-13
Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate High-Tech Task Force, is the proud new owner of a high-tech car--a 2000 Honda Insight. Read all about it--with pictures
Check out the August Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, page 160, for Ed Henry's great article, "Coast to Coast on Four Fill-ups." The article quotes me and fellow Insight owner and friend, Christian Jenkins. And thanks to NYC photographer, Jeff Mermelstein, there's a dramatic photo of my Insight about to achieve warp drive in front of a rural electric power station (well, I'll admit it's not as dramatic as John Wayland at the drag races, but it's a nice photo by Mr. Mermelstein--especially considering the horrible rainy weather that day).
The August Consumer Reports took a "First Look" at the Insight and they weren't very impressed. They said, "The Insight drives a lot like other small cars, but it feels slower, and you must shift the 5-speed stick often to get the car up to speed and keep it there. Handling isn't so agile, either. On bumpy roads, the ride is stiff, almost harsh. That ride, the small cabin, and pervasive road noise can be fatiguing on long trips. There's also little room for luggage." It was clear that the testers didn't get the hang of driving the Insight because they achieved less than 50 mpg in all situations. As all experienced Insight drivers know, it takes some practice to achieve 70 mpg. I hope Consumer Reports assigns one of their testers to learn how to drive an Insight before they conduct the full test in a later issue. It would be a shame if they insist on driving it like a BMW throughout the test.
July 21st: the Washington Times likes the Insight: Honda Insight hybrid fuels efficiency.
June 12th: See the new Insight promotional brochure (a verrrry big file scanned large for readability)
June 8th, Press Release: Honda Insight owners achieve more than 90 MPG in Tour de Sol road rally
June 7th, Win an Insight: http://www.myfree.com/ffs.html (refresh contest page for different Insight colors)
June 4th: Insight in New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/library/auto/wheels/000604auto.html (you have to sign in, but it's free)
May 31st, Results from the Insight MPG competition at the Tour de Sol
May 31st, Detroit News' reviewers Paul and Anita say, "Insight hybrid is out of sight"
May 30th, MSNBC tests the Insight
May 26th, Honda announces "mass market" Civic hybrid for 2001 (from Temple of VTEC)
There's a great story about John Wayland's irresistible call from the seductive siren, the quarter mile, on the Electrifying Times website: Sniffer Goes Drag Racing. John has another story on this site about the trials and frustration he experienced in his quest to own an Insight: Trying to Buy an Insight. [Do I dare try this stunt at home? No, if there's a pro in electric drag racing, it's John Wayland--InsightMan.]
After 4,000 miles, I'm having more fun than ever as I hone my abilities to work with the engine to increase my fuel efficiency. I'm slowly atoning for my post break-in exuberance, when my lifetime average fuel economy plunged to 51 miles per gallon. I just got my lifetime mpg number up to 54. George Yeager in Ohio got his lifetime mpg over 60 the other day--I guess he didn't go through the same exuberant phase I did.
When I'm in a hurry or forget that I'm driving an Insight (it can happen), my gas mileage usually hovers around 55 mpg. When I'm in a hurry but I pay attention to the current fuel mileage bar graph, I get around 60 mpg. When I'm not in a hurry and I pay attention, I get around 70 mpg. If I go crazy and have the road all to myself so I can creep up hills, I can break 80 mpg. On the first leg of my 82 mpg personal record 15-mile round trip to work, I achieved an amazing 91.1 mpg!
I've found that it's good to have at least 2/3 of full charge in the Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) battery pack before a personal record attempt. That way, you can accelerate from a stop sign or stoplight quickly, using the IMA system to help the gas-burning engine get you up to the speed limit. Hopefully, you will have some opportunities along your route to replace the charge through regenerative braking while coming to a stop or coasting downhill in gear. If you don't replace the charge this way before it gets below 1/2, then the system will initiate recharging while you're cruising along (it will stop recharging when you press on the accelerator). This parasitic cruise-mode recharging doesn't slow you down much, but it's certainly not going to help you achieve a personal record.
After you get away from the stop sign (or stop light), you just have to keep one eye on the road and the other on the current fuel mileage bar graph to work on that personal fuel conservation record. Sometimes you'll be flying with the graph showing 150 mpg. Then, to get over a mild hill, you may have to surrender some fuel and accept a 100 mpg reading. Through practice and experimentation, if you keep following the same route, you can learn how to cope with each set of hills to minimize the time you spend below 100 mpg.
It's so disappointing when you have to speed up abruptly to avoid hampering the progress of a non-Insight driver behind you. Like a house of cards tumbling down, you watch a carefully nurtured 78 mpg trip average plummet into the 60s in seconds. The Insight burns gas almost like a regular car when you push it, the difference between the Insight and a regular car is that when you coddle it, your reward is gas mileage unheard of just a year ago. I love this car!
JohnE Johnson, aka InsightMan
(aka by my friends as they guy who won't shut up about his blankety-blank
Insight)
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
PS. Thank you again, Marlene, for giving up your parking space so I can enjoy my beautiful Insight outside my office window all day long (even when the sun is reflecting off its shiny metallic silver surface making it really hard to see my computer screen).
PPS. July 4th, at 6,500 miles I'm still having a great time trying to squeeze better mileage from my Insight. My lifetime reading is up to 56.4 thanks to a 75.9 mpg return from Moline, IL to Ann Arbor, MI a week ago. I haven't bettered my 91.1 mileage, though. It's amazing to hear that some people have been able to get their lifetime readout over 70 mpg. My hat's off to them, I know it's not easy!
Paranoid disclaimer: Other than being a long-time loyal Honda customer, I have no official affiliation with the American Honda Motor Co., Inc. I'm providing this site only to enlighten the public about something that interests me: the Honda Insight automobile.