Calvin Conover's 2000 Honda Insight : still running

'GROVETON, N.H. -- When Honda introduced the first hybrid vehicle in America, the 2000 Insight, there was technological wonder, but few would call it pretty.

Car and Driver magazine said it had “styling inspired by laxative suppository.” It was not clear what that meant, but it did not appear to be laudatory.

But in a tiny paper-mill town in northern New Hampshire, Calvin Conover was smitten. Appearances be damned. He saw a deeper beauty.

“I had to get one of those,” he said. “I saw a chance to reduce my pollution by a lot.”

’ Almost two decades and 286,000 miles later, Mr. Conover, 67, is still in love with the little oddball hybrid.’

’ His records show he has averaged 56 m.p.g. over all those years. ’

’ His wife, Kim, has been driving the Insight on her 90-mile daily commute’

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/business/honda-insight.html

I love the car
My wife drives it. Not me

Unlike the Prius and the other commonly seen hybrids, the Insight was based on a sports car. I think that’s one of the reasons folks who own it seem to like it. Not everyone wants a sports car of course, but those who like sports cars really like them.

And what slow poor handling sports car was it based on ?

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I love the looks of the little cars and the aero design. Then again, I like 2 seat cars and fender skirts. The ride is decent, pretty quiet, handles well for an economy car and, most of all, did what it was designed to do… get great gas mileage. The drive system made them reasonably peppy for such a small engine.

When Honda went with the 4 door model, their MPG dropped 40%, and they’ve been running a very poor second place to the Prius ever since.

I got a good look at the csr when it firdt came out. Everything in that car was specifically designed to be light. Lots of aluminum and magnesium. It was not based on any existing Honda.

Very little sports in that car. Super skinny, hard tires. Low power, decent handling given the tires.

I can’t find the source, but a Honda powertrain engineer thought that the s2k, which went in sale in the US at the same time as the insight, was the easier project

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i have a 15’ civic with steel wheels. picked up a set of 08 civic hybrid wheels and they seem much lighter. i think steel is 22lbs and the hybrid rims are 18lbs. i got them as spares mostly but they are supposed to help with mileage. a tiny bit.

Years ago a friend bought a Civic CRX HF (the high mpg version). He said the wheels, which looked like normal stamped steel wheels, were aluminum. Good I didn’t bet him, I tested with a magnet, aluminum they were! I don’t know the weight difference, but I’m sure Honda did it to save weight, it sure wasn’t for looks.

Bicycle rims are alumin(i)um; rim brakes don’t work in the rain.

UHH- Ohhh, please don’t tell the bike riders participating in - say, Giro D’italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espania that, before they start on a mountain stage with their rim brakes on a rainy day as the majority still uses them. Had to stop a stage early today in the tour because of hail and a mud slide.

I had a 2001 accord last yr. for 3 months. Pretty clean for mn. I liked it. Had an odd shifting issue though.

Wikipedia’s entry describes the Insight’s sports car bloodline.

Do their bicycles have brakes?

Yes, but it’s not drum brakes - which will be a disappointment for another (former?) contributor to this forum. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I asked on a bike forum: they do. Track bicycles lack brakes. When those guys need to brake, they grab the tire with a gloved hand. I read an account of a track bicyclist who absent-mindedly set off for the store on his track bike, barreled down a steep hill, saw the traffic at the bottom, braked with his bare hand.

i knew a track guy who tested a new road bike. went to end of parking lot and turned left in front of a bus. didnt make it.