The Honda Insight concept, unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, probably won’t significantly displace the Prius. This concept, set to unveil as a production vehicle at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show and go on sale in the first half of 2009, uses Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid system and, as such, is considered a mild hybrid, because it doesn’t drive the car under electric power only. IMA integrates a small electric motor with the transmission, which provides extra boost when the car is accelerating, and includes an idle-stop program. The IMA system has been refined by Honda from earlier versions–its batteries and control unit are placed under the cargo area in the Insight.
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Honda’s taking on the mighty Toyota Prius with an uber-cheap hybrid the company says will double its hybrid sales by making eco-friendlier cars as affordable as they are fashionable.

The Civic Hybrid (pictured) has long been an also-ran to the Prius, which has outsold Honda’s gas-electric models 4 to 1 during the past decade and become synonymous with green motoring. Honda hopes to take down the king and redefine the market with the all-new affordable five-door hybrid it’s unveiling for the first time Thursday.
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Hybrid car entrants from Hyundai Motor Company and Japan’s Honda and Toyota will lock horns in the W20-million price range segment (US$1=W1,040) in next year’s second half.

Honda Korea said Sunday it will release its New Insight hybrid at a similar cost to its Civic 1.8 (W25.9 million) in the latter half of next year. The estimated price is comparable to Hyundai’s Avante LPG Hybrid, which will premiere in Korea in July of next year. Toyota’s hybrid Prius will hit Korea in October of next year, likely costing W29 million.
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The Ford Motor Company, which devoted itself for nearly 20 years to putting millions of Americans into big pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles, is about to drastically alter its focus to building more small cars.

Ford Expedition at a plant in Wayne, Mich. The company plans to make the Focus compact car there, BY nytimes.com

The struggling automaker, reacting to what it sees as a rapid and permanent shift in consumer tastes brought on by high gas prices, plans to unveil its new direction on Thursday, when it will report quarterly earnings.
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The popular styles Accord, Odyssey, Civic and Element, will soon add to its not-so-successful hybrid line.

In early 2009, according to Takeo Fukui, Honda Motor Company’s president, Honda will offer a new affordable gas-electric hybrid in the United States, Japan and Europe.

The announcement, made in Tokyo, was presented as the automaker’s “commitment to green technology.”
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Five years on, the Insight is long gone but Honda has ample proof it was on to something good with the hybrid Civic. Many manufacturers are now offering hybrid versions of mainstream vehicles, from Ford’s Escape to Chevrolet’s Malibu and Toyota’s Camry and Highlander.

This mainstreaming is good news for buyers who are interested in better fuel economy and lower greenhouse gas emissions, but who want all the comforts and conveniences available in “normal” vehicles.
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