Miss Motor Mouth » Honda http://missmotormouth.com Automotive News and Infotainment Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:03:16 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 RoundAbout Show #19: The ‘NAIAS Postmortem’ Episode http://missmotormouth.com/2010/01/roundabout-show-19-the-naias-postmortem-episode/ http://missmotormouth.com/2010/01/roundabout-show-19-the-naias-postmortem-episode/#comments Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:52:21 +0000 Miss Motor Mouth http://missmotormouth.com/?p=150 Well, the North American International Auto Show--otherwise known as the Detroit Auto Show--has made all the news it's going to make for this year. It was a rocky year for the Motor City, and in a way, it really showed at Cobo Hall in Detroit. The digs might have been better than last year (Chrysler was a series of unadorned cars on [[Continue reading]]]]>

Well, the North American International Auto Show–otherwise known as the Detroit Auto Show–has made all the news it’s going to make for this year. It was a rocky year for the Motor City, and in a way, it really showed at Cobo Hall in Detroit. The digs might have been better than last year (Chrysler was a series of unadorned cars on beige carpet in 2009), but the product reveals were notably less exciting. With the patient on the slab, we called in the best team of doctors we know … our … selves. Well, anyway, we’re here with the official RoAb postmortem of NAIAS.

Is the new Cadillac XTS worthy of being the luxury brand’s new flagship? Does the Volkswagen NCC bring anything new and exciting to the German marque? Will the Honda CR-Z finally be a hybrid that’s fun to drive? We debate all these and more. Plus we’ve got another installment of our new Meet Your Roadmates segment, a Stupid Car Trick and the triumphant return of the long lost Psy-car-logy.

Play RoundAbout Episode 19


Download MP3 | iTunes | Zune | RSS
Featuring: Zach Bowman, Michelle Naranjo, Jeffrey Ross and Eric Trytko

Show Notes and Ustream video recording after the jump!

RoundAbout records LIVE on Fridays at 6PM ET/3PM PT. Visit RoundAboutShow.com and click Watch Live to watch our webcast and listen in on all the antics.

Show Notes:

Top Speed with Snow Tires
Ford Focus

Blind Spot: Drag racing golf carts

Psy-car-logy: ECO Anxiety

Stupid Car Trick: Ice damaged BMW X5 M

Meet Your Roadmates:
1992 Subaru SVX
2002 Nissan Quest
1982 Suzuki Samurai

Highway Hearsay: WTF Mazda RX8

]]> http://missmotormouth.com/2010/01/roundabout-show-19-the-naias-postmortem-episode/feed/ 0 Honda Insight: Ahead of its time http://missmotormouth.com/2008/10/honda-insight-ahead-of-its-time/ http://missmotormouth.com/2008/10/honda-insight-ahead-of-its-time/#comments Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:36:15 +0000 admin http://missmotormouth.com/?p=54 Honda Insight's lately. There appears to have been a real resurgence of interest in these small fuel-efficient hybrids. Well, perhaps it’s unfair to say “resurgence” since they didn’t exactly set the world on fire with sales when they were new. I would attribute this to Honda being a bit too far ahead of its time and now that the entire automotive [[Continue reading]]]]> I have been watching sale prices on used Honda Insight’s lately. There appears to have been a real resurgence of interest in these small fuel-efficient hybrids. Well, perhaps it’s unfair to say “resurgence” since they didn’t exactly set the world on fire with sales when they were new. I would attribute this to Honda being a bit too far ahead of its time and now that the entire automotive landscape in the U.S. has suddenly started to look surprisingly like Europe they are becoming quite hot commodities.

For those of you not familiar with this model, it was a real technology tour de force for Honda, combining their hybrid Integrated Motor Assist with an ultra-efficient and light-weight two-seat vehicle. It was also the first hybrid-electric vehicle available in the U.S. and was rated at 70 mpg highway by the DOT standards at the time. Honda stopped selling them in 2006 after poor sales. Forbes reported near the end of the model’s availability that in some months Honda only sold 8 Insight’s in the United States. Yes, 8!

I reviewed one when new and was pretty astounded. The driving experience reminded me of the old Honda CRX, especially the HF model. It was light, nimble, surprisingly roomy for a tiny two-seater, and with the manual transmission it was fun to drive. I thought it was awesome, but to be fair I was also a fan of the GM EV1, so I was a bit biased.

The Insight cost a bit over $20,000 when new and if this Craigslist posting is to be believed, they are now selling for nearly the same prices used. There’s also this eBay listing for another Insight with low miles asking for over $25,000.

It appears that Honda may have pulled the car from the market just a bit too early.

Originally posted here

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