Read this recent evaluation of a current economy hybrid model. It certainly doesn’t encourage me that the automotive world is pointed in the right direction.
Click this link:
http://www…294116.ece
What do you think?
Are you ready to ditch your current ride and rush on down to the dealer and buy one?
At any rate, the road test is humorous and I thought I’d pass along a laugh. If you’re not a regular reader already, Check out some of Jeremy Clarkson’s other evaluations. I’d enjoy driving a Fiat that has Bugs Bunny’s ear for a shift lever!
CSA
The writer of the article just didn’t like the Insight, it’s his opinion. I’m sure that it’s a fine car. I’ve driven the second gen Prius quite a bit, which also has a CVT and I think it’s a great little car. If gas were expensive enough to recoupe the cost of a hybrid, I’d consider buying one.
It is humerous. The man has a wit unusual in automotive reviewers.
As to the specs…I haven’t seen that little horsepower in quite some time. Merging on a highway must be a real adventure.
There is no doubt that Jeremy Clarkson is entertaining. I regularly watch Top Gear on BBC America, and he is amusing, albeit a bit of a blowhard.
Just watch his interaction with his two co-hosts, and you will see that he is constantly bullying them in an attempt to prove his own points, no matter how bizarre or outragreous his points may be. Each of the three men has his own role on the show. Mr. May (nicknamed “Captain Slow” by Clarkson) is there to be ridiculed for always driving slower than Clarkson. Richard Hammond is there to be constantly ridiculed because he is very short–especially in comparison to Clarkson, who is very tall.
The perpetual center of attention on the program is Clarkson, with his constantly overbearing personality. The underlying theme of Clarkson’s pronouncements is that he is never wrong, even when it is abundantly clear that he is out in left field with his opinions. However, the show is always enjoyable, as long as you remember to consider it to be entertainment, rather than something purely educational and authoritative.
Jeremy’s stock in trade is gross exaggeration of his opinions on the cars that he test drives, as well as on virtually everything else that he spouts off about. Just like many other topics, using this evaluation of the Honda Insight should be one of many sources of information that one uses to gather information about the car.
Instead of telling us that he was uncomfortable in the Insight’s seats, he tells us that the seats are terrible. Period. No qualifiers. As we all know, seat comfort is a very individual and personal perception, and Clarkson’s height (something on the order of 6’5" if I recall correctly) undoubtedly has a lot to do with his opinions regarding those seats.
Just as I would not put a lot of weight on his opinion of the seats, I think that much of his other verbiage has to be taken with a large grain of salt, never forgetting that he is primarily trying to entertain, rather than to inform. Ultimately, an extended personal test drive of this car is the only way to evaluate its seats–as well as all other aspects of the car–on your own terms.
Jeremy Clarkson:
Is he opinionated, spirited, and entertaining? Absolutely!
But, is he reliably authoritative and unbiased? Absolutely not!
Thanks For The Input. I Have Never Seen Top Gear. Entertainment And Humor Is How This Man Makes His Living, Apparently.
I believe he jokingly makes reference to the fact that he may not always be right, but he is never wrong, on his auto review site.
You make some very good points.
Anyhow, I got a chuckle out of a couple of reviews I looked at. Reminds me of the reviews in Dirt Bike Magazine that I used to read a few decades ago.
CSA
I won’t buy one for 2 reasons.
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I totally agree with Clarkson’s opinion on battery. Battery manufacturing involves some nasty chemical, they don’t last long enough, and regenerative braking capability must be compromised to preserve the battery–hard braking is done by friction brakes because battery cannot accept rapid charging. If Honda uses ultracapacitors in their hybrids, which theoretically have none of the draw backs, I’ll consider them.
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CVT, with its high internal drag, defeats the purpose of high efficiency. Honda needs to put in a simpler and lighter manual transmission. A Honda engineer says that the Insight can have a manual if there enough demand for it. I don’t want to buy one knowing that it isn’t at its full potential.
In Europe, they have a much better alternative–a 5 door diesel powered Civic
I Wonder About Diesels As An Alternative.
Is this country ready to supply fuel for a massive rush to diesel?
How are diesels here above the 45th parallel? Do they start better at -20F to -30F than they did back when I was driving Rabbit Diesels several decades ago? Those big stinking fuses (I think for the glow plugs) blew all the time and the fuel jelled. I had to carry fuses in the glove compartment.
One chap on this space, Joseph, extoles the virtues of diesels. I’d give them a go if I could get a large car, resonably priced, with reasonable performance, that starts where it’s cold and puts out heat to the passengers.
CSA
It’s Not Bad Looking.
They Drive These On Highways?