Honda Insight Preview Costa Mesa CA

• Five-door, 5-passenger hatchback with split-folding rear seat
• More compact, more cost-effective, next-generation Integrated Motor Assist system
• New Eco Assist technology helps driver "learn" how to maximize fuel economy
• Honda says the 2010 Insight will be priced "significantly below" other hybrid models
• Base and EX models available, the latter offered with an optional navigation system
• Fuel economy ratings are 40 mpg city and 43 mpg highway
• Driving range is 400 city miles
• Built in Suzuka, Japan
• On sale in April of 2009
• Honda expects 100,000 sales annually in North America

Introduction
While the world worried about a complete technology collapse in the months leading to the start of Y2K and consumers fervently snapped up full-size, gas-guzzling SUVs while the snapping up was good, Honda introduced the odd little Insight, an aerodynamically-shaped 2-seat hatchback equipped with a new-fangled hybrid powertrain. Sold in paltry numbers, the original Insight was the first hybrid gasoline/electric vehicle available to American consumers, a car aimed at forward-thinking commuters who didn't need to carry many people or much stuff at anything more than double-digit speeds. The last of those first Insights was sold for the 2006 model year. By then, Honda had begun steering eco-conscious buyers to the larger, more practical, 5-passenger Civic Sedan....

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