Flashback – The Old School Honda Insight
As I was driving today, I thought I recognized the unique styling of the original Honda Insight several cars ahead. Once I caught up to the vehicle at the next stoplight, my suspicions were correct – it was an old school Honda Insight. So, I’ve just spent a bit of time digging through the Honda Media site’s archives and I was able to find both images and several press releases about the 2001 Honda Insight.
• Insight Tops EPA Fuel Economy Report – 12/27/2000
• Honda’s Hybrid Gives Insight Into the Future – 12/29/2000
• Honda Insight Lineup Adds Continuously Variable Transmission – 1/3/2001
• Honda Insight Tops EPA Fuel Economy Report, New Civic Makes Top Ten – 1/3/2001
• Honda Insight Tops Rankings in 2001 ACEEE Green Book – 2/23/2001
• New Honda Insight Model Earns 57 MPG EPA City Rating With Advanced CVT Automatic Transmission – 5/10/2001
• Hybrid Car Sales Surge Along With Gas Prices – 6/12/2001
• Honda Insight Wins ‘Tour de Sol’ – 6/19/2001
• Honda Insight Named Most Fuel-Efficient Car in America – 10/9/2001
The 12/27/2000 press release shows that the Insight crushed its competition with a fuel efficiency rating of 16mpg more than the vehicle in the number two spot. The average fuel economy of the 2001 Honda Insight was 64 mpg.
I found it interesting to read about the ACEEE ranking since I just posted the 2009 list. In 2001, the Honda Insight had a Green Score of 52, which put it at the top of the green car lists that year. For comparison, the 2009 winner, the Honda Civic GX, received a Green Score of 57.
The last press release that really caught my eye was that hybrid car sales were surging as gas prices were rising. In May of 2001, 903 Honda Insights were sold which was a 137.6% increase over May 2000. These kinds of sales numbers definitely are a thing of the past, at least as far as 2008, 2009 and likely 2010 go.
Gas prices in May 2001 were under $2/gallon. In researching this, I found this article on the PBS website that is worth the read – Rising Gas Prices. When you read through the article, remember that this was published nearly nine years ago but parts of it feel as though they could have been written yesterday.
The 2010 Honda Insight will soon be available in the United States and I’m sure Honda would love to see a repeat of some of these headlines.
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Filed Under: Gas Prices, honda |
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Just bought a 2001 Honda Insight. Would like to connect with other “old school” Honda Insight owners.
Susan
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