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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/Japanese_Flag_30x22.jpg Although U.S. sales have been disappointing, the car has been a big hit in Japan, thanks in part to government incentives. (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-honda-insight28-2009jul28,0,5682189.story)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2010_Honda_Insight-II_EX2.jpgKen Bensinger - LATIMES (http://www.latimes.com) - July 28, 2009

Just drop the price!! --Ed.

Honda's Prius-killer is looking a lot like road kill.

When it debuted in March, Honda Motor Corp.'s retooled Insight hybrid looked to be the first serious challenger to the Prius, Toyota Motor Corp.'s ecological wunder-car. Graced with a low price, 40-mpg-plus fuel economy and the Japanese automaker's reputation for quality, the Insight even looked like the Prius.

Instead, all the Insight has delivered is a flurry of bad reviews and four months of dismal sales capped by a thorough battering at the hands of the Prius, whose third generation was launched in the U.S. last month. Increasingly, the Insight is looking like the latest in a series of hybrid frustrations for Honda.

"We're all pretty disappointed. We thought we had the next hit on our hands," said Don Marino, general manager of Honda of Santa Monica.

Marino said he was selling five to 10 Insights a month, far less than the 30 or so he expected to move.

Throughout the country, Americans bought 2,079 Insights in June, bringing total sales of the streamlined hatchback since March to 7,524, according to Autodata Corp. At that rate, Honda will sell less than a third of its goal of 90,000 in the first 12 months.

By comparison, the higher-priced Prius was snapped up by 12,998 drivers last month. Since March, Toyota has sold 40,398 of the gas-sippers.

The poor sales figures are all the more humbling because Honda was the first automaker to bring hybrids to the U.S. a decade ago, with an earlier version of the Insight. Yet although Honda products almost always score well with... http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-honda-insight28-2009jul28,0,5682189.story

Hi Sean:

___Agree 100%. This should have been a $17,500 Hybrid as that is what it is worth, not a $19,800 one. An EX w/ NAVI at $20.5K would solve any comparison issues w/ the Prius-III and it would begin to sell in droves...

___And CR's... The Insight-II is a small sub-compact with little rear seat room but I thought it handled pretty well for its class by comparison to the HCH-II and Prius-II that I was driving almost side-by-side in Phoenix late last year. Ride was stiff but not rough and handling was pretty neutral.

___I still do not know why the mainstream press cannot figure out its the price? Ken is an excellent auto journalist and he missed the mark as well?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Pricing will fix there problem!

If they got the LX sticker down to $17,500 and with a little negotiation a customer could close a deal at $17,000- I'd almost be willing to buy one, and keep my civic.

Completely agreed. I like the Insight, but the pricing is too close to the Prius and HCH. It's $2k too expensive for what it is. Price the LX at $17,800 and watch them fly out the door under Cash for Clunkers.

I went to the Honda website and did a little comparison. An Insight LX equipped the way I'd want (most basic config plus cargo cover and all weather mats) stickers at $20,800 including destination. MSRP for a comparably equipped Fit is $14,800. I'd also need to price in a speaker upgrade, but I'm guessing the Fit is the same so that's a wash. Figuring in the Costco deal I could get an Insight in the $19ks or the Fit in the $13ks. No matter how you slice it the Insight comes in $6,000 higher and has less cargo utility.

Even at $4/gallon the Insight only saves me 2 cents per mile in fuel. There's no way I can justify spending an extra six grand for that. Knocking a couple k off the sticker would at least get it in the ballpark.

Completely agreed. I like the Insight, but the pricing is too close to the Prius and HCH. It's $2k too expensive for what it is. Price the LX at $17,800 and watch them fly out the door under Cash for Clunkers.

I went to the Honda website and did a little comparison. An Insight LX equipped the way I'd want (most basic config plus cargo cover and all weather mats) stickers at $20,800 including destination. MSRP for a comparably equipped Fit is $14,800. I'd also need to price in a speaker upgrade, but I'm guessing the Fit is the same so that's a wash. Costco deal should knock another $1500 or so off either one. But no matter how you slice it the Insight comes in $6,000 higher and has less cargo utility.

Even at $4/gallon the Insight only saves me 2 cents per mile in fuel. There's no way I can justify spending an extra six grand for that. Knocking a couple k off the sticker would at least get it in the ballpark.

The cash for clunkers item is a great. It's too bad they didn't/haven't looked at lowering the price a bit to better take advantage of the C4C program. How great would it be to snag one of these for a net of $13k (assume 17,500 - $4500).

The cash for clunkers item is a great. It's too bad they didn't/haven't looked at lowering the price a bit to better take advantage of the C4C program. How great would it be to snag one of these for a net of $13k (assume 17,500 - $4500).

yeah, and if they were made by chrysler, how about $8500 :D

And not only is LX's price too high, they've configured it so 80% of potential buyers will want the EX so they can get cruise control. I know I'm in a pretty small minority in being satisfied with the LX's trim level. Going for the EX puts the price within about a grand of the HCH and Prius, which is where most buyers are taking a walk. I think Honda expected to have a hit on their hands and got greedy.

But I don't know what bug CR got up their ass when they tested the Insight. After driving one last week I think the suspension is well sorted. Maybe they'd have been less critical if the car had been priced right.

Like the article says, Honda keeps blowing it when it comes to hybrids:
- First the I-I, though still the all time mpg champ and a great 2-seater, is too small a niche.
- Then the HCH comes along -- great drivetrain, but this is not 1980. People expect rear seats to be able to fold down now. I understand the constraints of the battery pack, but couldn't they have designed the rear seatbacks to fold in the middle?
- The Accord Hybrid: WTF?
- Now the Insight, the economy hybrid with WAY more utility than the HCH, ends up being priced out of the economy segment. Buyers who want cruise control have to get the EX, which costs $7500 more than a Fit. OOPS!