The day started out with us doing "car stuff" which included transferring title on the 2002 Honda to SWMBO, getting a new e-Check inspection for the car, transferring license plate registration. Then we set off for an afternoon of light shopping for necessaries. The sky was brooding and dripping and it was breezy most of the day so it was good weather for errands! While we were out and about and on a stop for decent broccoli, we spotted and parked behind one of the original Honda Insights –actually the second one we saw today– and I snapped a cell phone photo of the old and the new. I was never turned on by the design and "two-seatedness" of the original but it was definitely an original and got great mileage, even by today's hybrid standards.
By the way, according to the Wikipedia article: "The Insight earned an EPA fuel efficiency estimate of 70 miles per US gallon (3.4 L/100 km; 84 mpg-imp) in highway driving, 61 mpg-US (3.9 L/100 km; 73 mpg-imp) city." This week my 2010 was turning in a performance of ~50 MPG in real-world, mixed-type driving. I'm pretty happy with that and I like the practicality of added interior room and nifty exterior styling a whole lot better than the earlier model.
Still, cheers to you, owners of the red Insight and the silver one we saw on the road, and may you and your wheels enjoy many more miles in the years ahead!
[這個好]
Sorry, James, I should have added a caveat: the first hybrid on sale in the US.
Yes, Jack, I'm sure you are correct: the success of the Prius in the US market over the little Insight led to misunderstandings. I've seen more than a few Prius drivers give my new car a "double-take" as we cross paths. Though I've spoken with none of them, I'll bet they are thinking: 1) The Prius was first in the US. 2) The new Insight design is a rip-off. Oh well, at least we share the same attitudes towards fuel economy and pollution and that's a good thing!