Last month I reported on some Car & Driver spy photos that indicated Honda would be building a hybrid-only car that looked almost exactly like the Prius. Today, Honda confirmed that those spy photos were genuine — and that their designers don’t have any creativity.
Honda will be debuting the rebranded Insight hybrid at the 2008 Paris International Auto Show on October 2nd. Although Honda has already begun the spin machine claiming that the Insight Hybrid looks more like the FCX Clarity than the Prius, that certainly seems like a stretch to me. With the exception of the grill and the headlights, the rest of the Insight looks damn near like an exact replica of the Prius.
The Insight will use Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist™ hybrid technology which, Honda claims, has allowed them to achieve significant cost reductions — base model starting at $18,500 — making the Insight the most affordable hybrid vehicle to date. Along with the Civic Hybrid, the new vehicle will be produced at an expanded hybrid vehicle production line at the Suzuka factory in Japan.
Posts Related to Hybrids and Honda:
- Honda Begins “Production” of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle
- Report Claims Every New Car Will Be a Hybrid By 2020
- Late to the High Gas Price Party: Honda Building Prius Clone
- Toyota Prius to Get Solar Power
- Paul McCartney’s Lexus Hybrid Gets 4 MPG
Image Credits: Toyota and Honda
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Hey, at least the Honda Prius has a different grill…
They really should have made it look identical to the FCX Clarity, like they said they would. Too bad.
I was thinking about getting one of these earlier, when they said that it would look exactly like the FCX…but now…I think I’ll just get a pure electric car in a few years, since pure electrics have virtually no maintenance costs.
Considering that the Toyota Prius has a much better hybrid system, this Honda Prius better be super cheap.
Hey, at least the Honda Prius has a different grill…
They really should have made it look identical to the FCX Clarity, like they said they would. Too bad.
I was thinking about getting one of these earlier, when they said that it would look exactly like the FCX…but now…I think I’ll just get a pure electric car in a few years, since pure electrics have virtually no maintenance costs.
Considering that the Toyota Prius has a much better hybrid system, this Honda Prius better be super cheap.
Just what we need more of the same…
They must have missed the concept that it was not car but the concept that became the movement. They should have built something just as edgy and unique that would allow it’s buyer to make an outward statement.
Maybe it was more of a case of “We don’t know why it is selling but, since it is we can cash in on that.”
Just what we need more of the same…
They must have missed the concept that it was not car but the concept that became the movement. They should have built something just as edgy and unique that would allow it’s buyer to make an outward statement.
Maybe it was more of a case of “We don’t know why it is selling but, since it is we can cash in on that.”
If you want fuel efficient cars you shouldn’t whine about fuel efficients shapes.
“Oh snap, Boeings new plane is shaped just like Airbus’s!!!!”
If you want fuel efficient cars you shouldn’t whine about fuel efficients shapes.
“Oh snap, Boeings new plane is shaped just like Airbus’s!!!!”
Anon,
Oh snap, Boeing’s Dreamliner only resembles Airbus’ A340 in that it’s a plane with two wings, some jet engines, a fuselage and a tail… ’cause those are all things that are required for flight. Damn!
Oh snap, Honda’s new Insight looks exactly like Toyota’s Prius because all dedicated hybrid platforms have to have the same exact shape ’cause it’s a requirement for rolling on four wheels over the pavement…. oh wait…
Not sure how you came to the conclusion that I was whining about a fuel efficient shape. My point has nothing to do with the actual shape (or even whether it’s ugly or not) and everything to do with the complete copycat nature of Honda’s design.
And please don’t tell me that they had to choose that shape because its the only aerodynamic shape available. There are many other types of aerodynamic shapes inspired by creatures in nature that Honda could have modeled the car after and given it a unique look.
Just one example of unexpected shapes that are more aerodynamic than the Prius/Insight:
http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-7154-1-503504-1-0-0-503518-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-1.html
An argument could be made that the Prius stole its design aesthetic from the original Honda Insight electric car. It too had the same basic aerodynamic profile, just a little smaller.
An argument could be made that the Prius stole its design aesthetic from the original Honda Insight electric car. It too had the same basic aerodynamic profile, just a little smaller.
Technically, this looks like Honda’s old CR-X line, which came out a LONG time before the Prius. So who copied who?
Either way, more hybrids is a good thing.
Todd
Technically, this looks like Honda’s old CR-X line, which came out a LONG time before the Prius. So who copied who?
Either way, more hybrids is a good thing.
Todd
Anyone remember the Honda Insight (2000 to 2006)? As one of your readers commented, that was similar to the CRX and the Prius came *afterwards*.
I’ve never been a fan of Honda’s design team, although I still buy their cars. They could use a little help.
Anyone remember the Honda Insight (2000 to 2006)? As one of your readers commented, that was similar to the CRX and the Prius came *afterwards*.
I’ve never been a fan of Honda’s design team, although I still buy their cars. They could use a little help.
True that most aerodynamic shapes have some similarities (CRX, Insight v 1.0), but when looking at the two pictures side-by-side above its not even a similarity… its an exact copy of the shape down to the little window in front of the side mirrors, the exact shape and proportion of all the side windows, the flares on the wheel wells, the curve of the front pillars, the angular rake of the rear end… it’s all the same.
I’m not saying that Honda doesn’t have good engineers or that they haven’t designed some good, attractive cars… just in this one instance they have copied another car’s look almost completely.
I think the Honda looks better. the headlights and all. BTW its a low coefficient of drag shape… hard to improve upon
We don’t complain that Airbus and Boeing make extremely identical planes on the outside or stuff along those lines.
Besides people in this market will prefer a car that gets a few extra MPG and keeps a bland shape than an interesting design that destroys efficiency
I think the Honda looks better. the headlights and all. BTW its a low coefficient of drag shape… hard to improve upon
We don’t complain that Airbus and Boeing make extremely identical planes on the outside or stuff along those lines.
Besides people in this market will prefer a car that gets a few extra MPG and keeps a bland shape than an interesting design that destroys efficiency
Similar? Yes, but I’m sorry if you don’t notice differences. The small side windows at the front and rear are completely different shapes. The headlights are different, the grill, the tail section, the lower part of the doors. The Insight is a huge aesthetic improvement over the Prius.
Nobody even knows the what the interior, the suspension, and the drive train are really like in the Insight… hmm probably all very much different as well.
What’s more important here is that there are going to be a lot more fuel efficient vehicles on the road. Also, competition sparks innovation, which leads to even more fuel efficient vehicles, which leads to reduced fuel consumption. Isn’t that why you’re all reading articles on this website anyway?
Similar? Yes, but I’m sorry if you don’t notice differences. The small side windows at the front and rear are completely different shapes. The headlights are different, the grill, the tail section, the lower part of the doors. The Insight is a huge aesthetic improvement over the Prius.
Nobody even knows the what the interior, the suspension, and the drive train are really like in the Insight… hmm probably all very much different as well.
What’s more important here is that there are going to be a lot more fuel efficient vehicles on the road. Also, competition sparks innovation, which leads to even more fuel efficient vehicles, which leads to reduced fuel consumption. Isn’t that why you’re all reading articles on this website anyway?
They don’t lack creativity. It’s just that since it looks so much like the Prius, people are more likely to assume it’s a hybrid and go for it. It’s a marketing stint, that really will work…
They don’t lack creativity. It’s just that since it looks so much like the Prius, people are more likely to assume it’s a hybrid and go for it. It’s a marketing stint, that really will work…
I’m sorry, they look absolutely nothing alike, aside from the overall shape of the windows.
I mean, come on:
http://image.automotive.com/f/miscellaneous/2007-toyota-prius-touring-edition/1000476+w700+cr1+re0+ar1/2007-toyota-prius-touring-edition-front-left.jpg
That’s where the similarities end.
I’m sorry, they look absolutely nothing alike, aside from the overall shape of the windows.
I mean, come on:
http://image.automotive.com/f/miscellaneous/2007-toyota-prius-touring-edition/1000476+w700+cr1+re0+ar1/2007-toyota-prius-touring-edition-front-left.jpg
That’s where the similarities end.
All aerodynamic cars don’t have to look the same. The EV1 was more aerodynamic than either of these, and so was the Dymaxion car from 1933 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlLZE23EJKs
The next generation will be even more efficient like the Aptera http://www.aptera.com/
I suspect the Honda’s shape grew out of “lets make something that we already know will sell, but make it a little cheaper”.
All aerodynamic cars don’t have to look the same. The EV1 was more aerodynamic than either of these, and so was the Dymaxion car from 1933 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlLZE23EJKs
The next generation will be even more efficient like the Aptera http://www.aptera.com/
I suspect the Honda’s shape grew out of “lets make something that we already know will sell, but make it a little cheaper”.
Dang Nick, you went and kicked over a nest of Honda lovers. How dare you speak ill of our Japanese overlords.
Dang Nick, you went and kicked over a nest of Honda lovers. How dare you speak ill of our Japanese overlords.
Nick,
Obviously you have no knowledge of Honda, other than what you read from other uninformed writers. Here’s an informed take on the copy-cat subject by Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing at edmunds.com:
Let’s address the elephant in the room first, shall we? Many who have seen early photographs of the 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid have dismissed it as nothing more than a carbon copy of a Toyota Prius.
These people would be wrong.
What “these people” are forgetting is what was said about the current Toyota Prius when it first debuted in the fall of 2003. “It looks like a four-door Honda CRX,” they whined.
Honda Copied…Honda
Much of this finger-pointing stems from the nearly horizontal rear glass of the 2010 Honda Insight with its vertical, peekaboo rear window for enhanced rearward visibility.
The vertical glass panel allows the Insight to fully exploit the widely recognized aerodynamic principles of Wunibald Kamm, who discovered that if one abruptly chopped the tail end off a teardrop, the most streamlined of shapes, most of the low-drag goodness would remain. A Kamm back, they call it.
Yes, the Toyota Prius has this very arrangement. But so did the 2000-’06 Honda Insight and the 1988-’91 Honda CRX before it. That the 2010 Insight looks this way is no accident, because Yasunari Seki, chief engineer for the 2010 Honda Insight, made his name at Honda while working on the CRX HF.
And that’s just what the 2010 Honda Insight is, more or less: a hybrid version of the late Honda CRX HF, but with four doors, room for five passengers, up-to-date safety features and modern conveniences.
With respect to the 2010 Honda Insight, Honda is guilty of copying no one but itself.
Nick,
Obviously you have no knowledge of Honda, other than what you read from other uninformed writers. Here’s an informed take on the copy-cat subject by Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing at edmunds.com:
Let’s address the elephant in the room first, shall we? Many who have seen early photographs of the 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid have dismissed it as nothing more than a carbon copy of a Toyota Prius.
These people would be wrong.
What “these people” are forgetting is what was said about the current Toyota Prius when it first debuted in the fall of 2003. “It looks like a four-door Honda CRX,” they whined.
Honda Copied…Honda
Much of this finger-pointing stems from the nearly horizontal rear glass of the 2010 Honda Insight with its vertical, peekaboo rear window for enhanced rearward visibility.
The vertical glass panel allows the Insight to fully exploit the widely recognized aerodynamic principles of Wunibald Kamm, who discovered that if one abruptly chopped the tail end off a teardrop, the most streamlined of shapes, most of the low-drag goodness would remain. A Kamm back, they call it.
Yes, the Toyota Prius has this very arrangement. But so did the 2000-’06 Honda Insight and the 1988-’91 Honda CRX before it. That the 2010 Insight looks this way is no accident, because Yasunari Seki, chief engineer for the 2010 Honda Insight, made his name at Honda while working on the CRX HF.
And that’s just what the 2010 Honda Insight is, more or less: a hybrid version of the late Honda CRX HF, but with four doors, room for five passengers, up-to-date safety features and modern conveniences.
With respect to the 2010 Honda Insight, Honda is guilty of copying no one but itself.
Pat,
You obviously have no knowledge of how to be a decent human being, aside from what you’ve learned from other jerks.
To fully understand what I know, you can peruse the rest of my writings here on gas 2.0, read what I’ve written for the New York Times, and read this particular article for more info on the aerodynamics question:
http://gas2.org/2008/09/15/do-cars-really-need-to-look-like-ufos-to-save-gas/
Toyota owners just want to think that the Prius was an original design. Far from it. Honda wasn’t either, but the original Insight IS the first US/Japanese Market mass production vehicle to use the design. It is based on a little known (well known to people who really know the history of cars, little known to some car-bloggers and so-called editors at edmunds.com, motortrend etc) as the Kamm/Koenig-Fachsenfeld Design.
The design molds two different aspects of aerodynamic design, one of which, the Kamm-back, describes a flat cutoff end which retains as much of the cross-sectional area of the car, reducing overall drag. The second aspect is that the tear-drop shape has the least surface resistance. The two-combined is what yielded the original Insight design, that which the Prius took and added another set of doors.
In this day and age of editorials and blogs, it is sad that so many people are misinformed/misled by false information.
Toyota owners just want to think that the Prius was an original design. Far from it. Honda wasn’t either, but the original Insight IS the first US/Japanese Market mass production vehicle to use the design. It is based on a little known (well known to people who really know the history of cars, little known to some car-bloggers and so-called editors at edmunds.com, motortrend etc) as the Kamm/Koenig-Fachsenfeld Design.
The design molds two different aspects of aerodynamic design, one of which, the Kamm-back, describes a flat cutoff end which retains as much of the cross-sectional area of the car, reducing overall drag. The second aspect is that the tear-drop shape has the least surface resistance. The two-combined is what yielded the original Insight design, that which the Prius took and added another set of doors.
In this day and age of editorials and blogs, it is sad that so many people are misinformed/misled by false information.