If you buy a new Honda Insight with the optional HDD InterNavi System in Japan, Honda has a special offer for you: an optional telematics device that updates to the web - automatically, natch - your hypermiling results (we have experience writing down our scores by hand). Driver's scores can then be checked on a special website that can be viewed by overall daily results, by individuals or by Japanese provinces. This little game broadens the reach of the Insight's mileage indicator on the dashboard that is meant to teach drivers how to get the maximum number of miles from a single gallon. Oh, and the campaign was launched with a cool video featuring Snoopy.

[Source: Honda via Le Blog Auto]

We had to wait years for someone to give us a hybrid-only alternative to the Toyota Prius, but Honda finally did it with the Honda Insight. Initial interest in the under $20,000 40+ mpg vehicle was high in Japan, but that is not necessarily translating into sales in the U.S. Honda was initially hoping for 90,000 sales in North America in its first year, but it looks like the Japanese automaker may not hit its sales goal. American Honda Vice President John Mendel reportedly told Bloomberg that the company isn't going to hit 90,000, but the company "will be just fine" with 50,000 to 60,000 sales. Honda expects global sales of the Insight to hit 200,000 units, and hopes for about half of that volume to come from North America.

The revised sales forecast comes as Honda is keeping more Insights in Japan due to brisk demand and unfavorable exchange rates in the U.S. Low gas prices are also likely to be hurting sales of Honda's new hybrid, though the price of petrol has been steadily heading north over the past few weeks. The recession is also hurting Insight sales, as U.S. sales have been historically poor so far in 2009.


[Source: Reuters]

The first generation the Honda Insight wasn't offered for sale in most European markets, including Spain. The Honda Civic hybrid is available here, but hasn't seen too many sales, in part because diesel is usually cheaper than gasoline. Honda thought that it would be a good idea to promote its new Insight hybrid using a slightly more intensive marketing campaign. Named the "EcoDesafío Honda Insight" (Honda Insight EcoChallenge), a new event asks drivers from all around Spain to participate in a big challenge: how well can you hypermile the new Insight? The event is currently being held in different cities around the country and we hit up last weekend's event in Barcelona. What was this all about? Follow us after the jump.

The everyone in Honda's "Hybrid for Everyone" advertising campaign for the new Honda Insight apparently includes Xbox players. Honda will be the only sponsor of the upcoming "Play and Win" interactive quiz game that will kick off on Xbox Live Primetime May 15. The three-month free quiz show style game, part of Microsoft's delayed interactive online network, will use the 1-vs-100 method. Video ads for the Insight will be shown to people in the game's "waiting room" and during gameplay intermission. It's not simply Insight ads that players will be thinking of when they sit down for a game: the overall winner of "Play and Win" will be given a 2010 Insight.

Other parts of the new Insight's advertising campaign include something called "homepage takeovers," online video, interactive tours of the car and "branded canvases" on ABC, CBS and NBC. What language is it that advertising agencies speak these days, anyway?


[Source: AdAge]

Honda will start airing TV commercials for it's new Insight hybrid on Monday. As part of Honda's attempt to outsell the Prius, these commercials will use the tagline "the hybrid for everyone" and mention the Insight's low price (compared to the Prius) and green credentials. We don't know exactly how much the new Prius will cost when it goes on sale later this spring, but Automotive News (subs req'd) says the Insight's $20,470 price tag will be about $2,000 less. The idea of a mass-market hybrid, not a niche ride for greenies, is the right message to send right now, Honda brand national advertising senior manage Tom Peyton told AN. The first commercial is called "Beach," and two more will be broadcast in late April. What's that? Is a cheaper Prius on the way?


[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)]

We've finally gotten some official confirmation from Toyota about the sell-two-Prius-models-at-once strategy we've heard so much about. During a recent media event where we drove the next-gen 2010 Toyota Prius (sorry, we can't say much about that right now) we had a chance to talk with John McCandless, from Toyota corporate communications, and Masahiko Maeda, assistant chief engineer who was heavily involved with developing the 2010 Prius. They confirmed that both the current and next-gen models will be available for sale at the same time, but only in Japan. Here in the U.S., once the 2010 version hits the streets, that's all she wrote for the old model. Well, except for dealers who participate in the Toyota's Certified Used Hybrid Program. While Toyota hasn't released pricing information for the new Prius, we're pretty sure it'll be more than the Honda Insight. Considering the strong sales the Insight has had in Japan thus far, keeping a cheaper Prius option around seems like a smart move for Toyota.


Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.

Since Honda started taking orders for the new Insight in Japan earlier this month, dealers have tripled the original sales target. As a result, the company has decided to crank up production starting in April to meet the demand for the new hybrid. Honda had been projecting world-wide Insight sales of 200,000 a year with 100,000 going to the U.S. and Canada. It remains to be seen how strong U.S. demand will be, especially with a new Prius arriving shortly after the Insight. The Insight's price should undercut the Prius by several thousand dollars, although it's also a considerably smaller car than the Toyota. In addition to price, the Insight's Fit-based chassis should also have an advantage in driving dynamics, which may appeal to some drivers more. The Insight goes on sale in the United States on April 22.

Related:

• ABG First Drive: 2010 Honda Insight, 63.4 mpg!

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]
Live photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Now that you've had a chance to read all about our time with the fun-to-drive 2010 version of the Honda Insight and browse through the photo galleries, we can now offer you the opportunity to see this fuel-sippin' hybrid in motion. Yes, the Honda-supplied footage of their latest pride and joy is now available and allows us to see how the next-gen Insight handles the straights and curves of their test track as it makes pass after pretty pass for the cameras. The video comes in different flavors. Once you've had enough of watching the gun metal grey copy of the car do its thing, scroll down and check out the red.

In between we also have footage from inside the cabin. The camera stays glued to the instrument cluster long enough for you to check out various display options before moving on to examine practically every inch of the interior from the dash to back hatch. We're pretty sure there's enough footage here to satisfy the curiosity of anyone interested in this potential Prius-killer. Just hit the jump.




[Source: Honda]

Honda has launched a new mini-site - oh, excuse me, a mini-insight - that displays information about its hybrid vehicle lineup in all sorts of flashy goodness. Of course, the star of the show is the new Honda Insight, which was unveiled in Paris last week. On top of that, the dedicated site has information on the old Insight, the Accord hybrid, the Civic hybrid, the CR-Z and the Jazz hybrid, along with press releases from 2007 and 2008 about the latest models. To visit the site, go here and click on the "launch" button.

This is Honda's second major online development that features the Insight. The first is the Insight blog, "a Honda blog that follows the journey of our latest hybrid." Whether you prefer the chatty nature of the Honda blog or the more straightforward minisite, Honda wants you to know that their Prius-fighter has arrived online. We've noticed, but we're really waiting for the car to show up in dealer lots.

[Source: Honda]

Vehicle aerodynamics are a strange thing. While you can create perfect aerodynamic models using math, there is no ideal aerodynamic shape for a vehicle because there are so many variables - including style, which is constantly updated. Still, certain shapes are slipperier than others and the Toyota Prius' iconic egg-shaped look is quite good at moving through the air without disrupting things too much. So, is it that big a surprise that the new Honda Insight looks a lot like the Prius? According to Honda, the look is the result of making a vehicle with low drag, not one that takes on the Prius' style. Honda spokesman Chuck Schifsky told the Detroit Free Press that, "It was done that way because it was the most aerodynamic design, and we were going for fuel economy." I'm inclined to believe Honda on this, but you can't dismiss the similarities. Take a look in the galleries below.




[Source: Detroit Free Press]