Did Honda Give Up On The Insight Without A Fight?

Just got a flyer through my door today for the new Honda range.

Diesel Civic: 78.5 mpg UK,
Diesel CR-V: 62.8 mpg UK
Petrol Insight: 74.3 mpg UK

The diesel economy gap has been closed. If you're looking for good mpg's (from a manual) car, then the Civic diesel offers that. Gives the Prius a run for its money too

 

Honda engines are still rated at double the reliability of Toyota engines (in other words half the failure rate). I don't agree that Honda quality has gone downhill..... I don't see Honda involved in a class-action lawsuit with ~10 million customers who have overheating or slushing (or dead) engines. That was Toyota (also under investigation for voiding warranties in violation of U.S. consumer protection laws).

BACK TO INSIGHT: Honda is a small company compared to Toyota (#2). I'm not aware of any Honda model that outsells the Toyota equivalent. It never made sense the Insight would outsell the prius, even though insight is a much prettier-looking car.

:-D

 

I remember the days of "The Prius Killer". We must thank Honda for launching "The Poor Man's Prius" (almost as good & cheaper) because it pushed the 2010 MY out some 6 months earlier making MY 2010 a very long year and MY 2009 very short. It also kept the price of the 2010 Prius down and for the first time (at least around here) a Prius could be had as a leftover. So in a collapsing market the new Insight II has to compete against a 2009 Prius with a known track record and a promising 2010 Prius.

The result was pretty predictable. Why buy an Insight II at 40 something mpg when you can buy a Prius at 50mpg for a bit more (maybe)? Throw in Honda's warranty solution to their battery failures and the coffin's being nailed shut.

 

The Insight2 needed to be priced lower at launch in order to have had a chance. Or as I said in the other thread, Honda should have just skipped it and brought the hybrid Fit over. The Fit is a fairly popular car for its class, and the hybrid manages to keep its cargo flexibility. So more people may have selected it over the base Prius.

 

Honda To Exit BEV Segment as Automaker Re-Confirms Fit EV Production Will End This Fall

 

Wow..... discontinued their CRZ and Insight. Now their EV. Who on earth is running Honda these days? Maybe he's an oil exec.

As for warranty issues: I recall it was TOYOTA that told customers, "Your engine is sludged at only 15,000 miles [or 20, or 25 or 30 thousand miles] and it's your fault, even though you have all the records showing your changed the oil religiously. WARRANTY VOIDED," in order to screw-over people who had done nothing wrong. Toyota demonstrated their warranties don't mean anything.

 

Well, the Fit EV was always intended for limited production. There was the hope that Honda would release a better BEV after studying the data from the FIt program, but the likely hood is that they will just focus on their FCEV for ZEV credits.

 

That was a chapter from long ago, a past already overcome back when Prius was rolled out here. How does it apply to anything now? So much has changed since then, it's just a note in history. We could stir others from other automakers too, but that wouldn't accomplish anything. Heck, for that matter, bringing up stuff from prior to the market fallout doesn't necessarily apply anymore either.

What's important are the choices being made now, reaction to how the market has changed. We're seeing that happen. Those decisions to compete with designs actually capable of competing directly with traditional vehicles are vital and should be applauded. Posting dismay & distractions isn't constructive. They are finally taking the situation seriously. It's a move long overdue.

 

The engine oil sludge case was decided in 2008 is not that long ago (and maaaany years after Prius came to the states... so you were wrong there too). Also if the media can keep citing exploding Ford Pintos, even though that occurred over forty years ago, well I think it's okay to cite the Toyota case from just a few years ago. (And since those bad engines are still for sale in used car dealerships... the problem still exists; customers need to be aware.)

Oh and I just noticed Toyota is in Another class-action lawsuit. It's dated 2014.... not even a year has passed yet.

:-D. By the way I feel sorry for you John..... you're in love with a nonhuman soulless entity (aka corporation) who you feel the need to defend like a cherished girlfriend. That's truly not a healthy thing. ;-) Nah I'm just kidding; you can love whatever you want. . It's your life choice.