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Just how rare are Honda Insights??

Discussion in 'Honda/Acura Hybrids and EVs' started by AussieOwner, Jan 18, 2010.

  1. AussieOwner

    AussieOwner Active Member

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    I am currently in Tokyo, and have been in the city for just over a week. Finally, I saw my first Honda Insight. Whenever I walked down the street, I would always see a few Prius, with a ratio of about 2:1 Gen 2 to Gen 3. You still need to keep a careful eye out to see any Prius, they are not as common on the roads in Japan as you might think, but give it 10 minutes of car watching and you are pretty guaranteed to spot at least one Prius.

    But in the entire week, I had not seen one Insight. They have not been exported to Australia, so I was hoping to spot a few while I was in Japan. No such luck. Have spotted two plug-in Prius (with the English label on the side), but no Insight.:(

    Finally, this evening, as I was heading down the road to get dinner, I finally spotted one. Did not get much of a chance to get a good look at it, but it was definitely an Insight. After 8 days, I had finally seen one.:eek:

    But it does beg the question - just how rare are they?
     
  2. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    I live in NYC and since I bought my 2010 Prius in June of 2009 I have seen 3 maybe 4. Compare that to too many 2010 Prius to remember... Oh, and one of those 3 or 4 was still on the dealers lot in Brooklyn!
     
  3. DetPrius

    DetPrius Active Member

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    Here in Detroit where Toyotas and Hondas aren't too common, I've seen maybe 6-8 Gen III Prii and more Gen II but I've only seen one Insight parked at our church and never seen one on the road.
     
  4. GreenGuy33

    GreenGuy33 Active Member

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    Maybe once or twice a month, I will spot an Insight here in Rhode Island. I will see a Prius about once every few minutes.
    I do see the same older Insight. It is driven by someone in my neighborhood. It is that funky blue/purple color.
     
  5. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    While seriously outnumbered by GenIIIs, Insights are not rare around Seattle. I've seen quite a few of them.

    What is rare is the Malibu Hybrid. I've spotted exactly one. It was among a chance clustering on the highway where 5 out of 6 cars (myself included) were different hybrids.
     
  6. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    I see an Insight every few days where I live. Of course I see multiple Prius every day.

    It is hard for me to tell the difference between the two until you get up close or notice the difference in the tail lights from behind.

    Now that you mention the Malibu Hybrid, I have only seen one. I pulled up to a stop light right behind one and noticed the hybrid emblem on the back. I was really surprised when I saw it. I have not seen one since.
     
  7. bighouse

    bighouse Active Member

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    I've seen a total of three in the last four months.
     
  8. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Where I live, Portland Oregon, suburbs...numerous Prius, if you're looking you can see one anytime you wish. Insights? I've seen Three. 1 blue, 2 white...and to be honest since it was two different locations at two different times, the white one could be the same one. Never looked at licence plate.
     
  9. Econ

    Econ Member

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    I had a 2010 EX in my garage for about 6 weeks. After the 300 miles I knew I made a HUGE bad choice. (I was a very vary very unhappy Insight owner.) Guess what? It is gone.

    Now a black 2010 V is in its place.

    I have seen about five or six since I got rid of mine. I saw one yesterday in the Berkshires and that was from NY. Locally I have not see but one and that was in July.

    The local Honda dealers have very few to none. Perhaps they are sending few because of sales. I don't see any ads on TV.

    The new Prius ad is not as catchy as the first. The ad tune is nothing to remember. After I commented to my wife I have not seen it.
     
  10. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    I see very few. The ones I tend to notice are painting-tape blue though (many car enthusiasts wrap their cars in blue painter's tape to protect the paint on long highway trips) so they're something that really sticks out.
     
  11. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    In So Cal one will see 'em at least every day, if you're watching ... and you spend at least 40-50 minutes on the road.

    .
     
  12. DetPrius

    DetPrius Active Member

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    Now that I think about it, I occasionally see the original Insight (was behind one in the Taco Bell drive thru the other day) but have only seen one new Insight, parked.
     
  13. Rokeby

    Rokeby Member

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    IIRC, 2009 US sales were something like:
    ~20K for the Insight Gen II, and
    ~140K for Prius Gen III.

    To date, I've seen but two new HIs in Ballamer.
     
  14. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    The funny thing is that my first 3 Insight spottings were out of town cars (They had Washingston State plates) and that's not surprising since WA is a green state but what's also surprising is that I'm also in the (unofficial) Hybrid Capital of Canada so I see Priuses everywhere. 10 mins of car watching will probably net you at least 30 sightings. I only saw 2 locally registered Insights.

    Of course where I am at work right now, I'll be lucky to see a Prius once a month.
     
  15. Econ

    Econ Member

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    Never heard of that....painters tape. Got any info or pics?
     
  16. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    If you've ever been to Taiwan you'll notice there are ZERO priuses. I was there for a month and did not spot a single one.

    Didn't learn this until after my trip but since 2007 there were only 300 Priuses sold in Taiwan!! Prius just doesn't make sense for the Taiwanese. It only comes in one package with no options. There is little to no advertisement for the Prius and no government incentives. Gas is not very expensive in Taiwan. And the cost of a Prius in Taiwan is about 1.2 million NT ($40,000 USD)
     
  17. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  18. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    I've seen two new Insights, and three old ones. But, the old ones were all the same colour, so it could well have been the same one three times. :)

    Prius of all generations are too numerous to count.
     
  19. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    Following is total sales number in Japan;
    Gen2 Prius 333k
    Gen3 Prius 176k
    Honda Insight-II 93k

    Ken@Japan
     
  20. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    14,000 1st and 2nd Gen owners in Canada.... I wonder where they all are. Didn't TMS sell 46,000 2004 Priuses?