Test drove an Insight today

Every manufacturer takes a loss on early versions of any new model. If the first person to walk in and buy a car had to pay the total development cost then it wouldn't be the case but the fact is the development cost is spread over many cars. Toyota have been making a profit on Gen 2 Prius for a long time prior to the end of production and I would imagine with the huge volumes of Prius being sold in Japan and the rest of the world, Toyota are making money on every Prius they now sell.

I bet Honda are still trying to recover their development costs in the sale of Insight II.

Some times it is cheaper to spend more in the first place. Ask any Prius owner about that.

 

It's the same for every high-tech company. The original R$D cost are normally huge but the cost of production gets lower and lower as time goes.

For every high-tech new product it's a big gamble. My last company was a pharmaceutical who might spend millions of dollars to research a medicinal drug but found out that it won't work or won't sell.

 

Lived in Phoenix some years growing up in 50's. No a/c in car, no a/c in house. New brick house cost parents 10k. Never thought about a/c except heard rich people had it. Still alive. People today are a bunch of spoiled babies. The Insight, Honda advertised endlessly about the Prius shape being wierd. Then they make one that looks like a Prius.

 

the best thing about the Honda Insight is that it sells Prius's

 

I saw that coming and warned about the backfire.

 

While true, Toyota took a much bigger hit on losses per vehicle than would normally be expected due to the extremely high development costs. It was a gamble that took a massive, long-term commitment to the program to get it right and, luckily, oil prices 'cooperated' by going ballistic, so it eventually paid off.

Honda surely took a similiar hit on loss per vehicle. Unfortunately for them, the vehicle wasn't nearly as practical as Toyota's and didn't sell as well.

 

Toyota's r&d price tag is small potatoes considering that the technology will eventually be in all their vehicles.



and they are way ahead of the 2015 "cafe curve" where other companies have to catch up.

 

Toyota HSD also simplified the car mechanics while Honda IMA added complexity on top of the legacy stuffs.

It is easy to see HSD would be cheaper to manufacturer in long-term. The design also gave engineers more flexibility to work on due to two MG2s with ICE "disconnected" (thru PSD) from the wheel.

Honda's IMA may be simple to understand but the actual operation is very complex and it is a mess with hacks here and there. The latest incarnation is with the HV battery reliability.

 

That is just what I was saying. However I don't think it was just unfortunate, I think Honda didn't go far enough with their hybrid car so don't have a car which competes with the Prius in the hybrid vehicle market. If they did a little more work they would have sold more Insight cars so could have recovered their development costs (sooner).

It is my estimation that Honda are losing money on each Insight they sell even though development cost was lower than the more sell-able 3G Prius which has been on the market for less time but Toyota sell at a profit now due to greater volume sales.

Yes, I am just guessing.

 

the Toyota prius (my first Toyota) exceeds the Honda hybrid in all areas that really count. im impressed. who needs electric vehicles
I get 53-59 mpg driving with traffic on the interstates,, one 220 mile trip (95 % interstate) i obtained 59mpg , just driving with traffic,, speed ranging 65-85mph...
i easily get 60-67 in town driving with traffic. some how my wife get a max of 50mpg.

 

The REALLY first gen prius (circa 1996) sold only in japan was sold at a loss. But i heard every subsequent generation of priuses were sold for profit. ESPECIALLY the Gen IIs, where in 2004 people were paying over MSRP.

 

I thought Insight rather noisy (but then the Prius is too esp considering my other auto, yes, a German build).

I actually looked at the Ford Focus too. It's a sedan and with the battery, you end up with no cargo space.

 

LOL are you serious? I would never have thought about this. Having AC turn off when you're at a light is RIDICULOUS. If the thing really is belt driven of course that is how it works. It would be a deal breaker for me, too. Absolutely and without exception. The fact is the hybrid system that Honda uses is second-rate. Toyota's is king, it's just a better deal. I don't know when/if Honda will stop playing 1999 and catch up with the future.

The Prius is a superior vehicle to the Insight. The reviews say it, the numbers say it. It's not that the Insight is a bad car, but it's just inferior to the Prius. This is also part of the reason the Prius outsells it 6:1.

I didn't know the insight lacks cruise standard. Even junky bottom of the line cars have that nowadays, that is incumbent. What next, does it have roll down windows? Come on, that is not acceptable.

Well geeze a couple hundred years ago people did "just fine" without antibiotics or childhood injections, a few decades ago my parents never had seatbelts in their cars or anti-lock brakes. Technology moves forward.

Interior sound deadening in the Prius is good, at least for me, very little road-noise, but when you floor the thing it gets really loud and sounds really buzzy and pitiful. Car does not like to be floored it seems!

 

hybrid focus is available for purchase?

 

One of my Prius' is ridiculous. My 2002 Prius's A/C goes off whenever the engine is off. However, unlike the current Insight, it will turn the engine on occasionally at long red lights to help cool the interior.

Works for me, up in Chicago. And if it's really hot and we don't need two cars, we'll drive our 2004 for the electric A/C benefit.

 

I think he is talking about the Ford Fusion Hybrid.

 

I was told by a Manager at the local dealership that Toyota licensed Honda to use their Gen I technology, so that explains a lot when it comes to the A/C in the Hondas....

 

Ignore the Civic Hybrid,,,just sold one,,great car if we are still in 2007,,but the 2010 Prius is just so MUCHHHHHHHHHHHHH better. The seats don't even fold down,,,you have very limited cargo space in comparison.