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.

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.

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/

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.

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.

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”.

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”.