Does the Honda Insight Hybrid Get the Green Light?
Honda has been marketing fuel-efficient vehicles in the United States for decades, starting, ironically, with the T360 pickup truck. Their latest hybrid vehicle, a trend started by Toyota & Honda in the late 1990s to push people into compact cars with new technology, is the redesigned Insight, which looks essentially like a Toyota Prius twin. Honda & Toyota have become “push” manufacturers, meaning they feel they can define the market for the consumer as a result of their market influence. Honda’s most recent Accord model has edged into full-size car status, as Honda grows the Civic to make room for the Fit. Between the Fit and Civic is a car that apparently not only fails Honda’s own strict standards for interior quality, but also drivability. Much has been written about the Insight, Honda’s new low-priced hybrid. We’ve been told how much carbon dioxide it produces, how its dashboard encourages frugal driving by glowing green when you’re easy on the throttle and how it is the dawn of
