Talk:Honda Insight/Archive 1

Aftermarket upgrades
Find specific relevant upgrades options for this specific vehicle. Right now the information is most relevant to the upgrades of a Toyota Prius. Include sources to the companies or organizations doing the upgrades and the types of options available. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Nadyes (talk • contribs) 9 August 2006. }

Various upgrades for the Honda Insight are similar to those of other hybrid vehicles which include extra batteries, chargers and solar panels.

THIS IS ABSOLUTLEY NOT TRUE. Extra batteries and chargers are available for the Toyota Prius (and soon a handful of other cars). However, no companies currently offer extra batteries or chargers for the Honda Insight, nor do they have any such plans for the future. This is because the Prius and the Insight are different kinds of hybrids. The Prius is capable of shutting off the internal combustion engine for periods of time and running only off the battery, but the Insight is not capable of this. As such, extra batteries and chargers will never be available for the Insight. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ryan256 (talk • contribs) 24 August 2006.

Solar panels provide additional energy to the batteries while the vehicle is ... away from the grid and Solar panels are also useful when the Insight ... doesn't have a charger or is not connected to a power outlet. umm. afaik, Priuses don't get plugged into electrical sockets/mains, but it is certain fact that Insights do not. In despite of being the owner of one, i will even cite in the spirit of No Original Research. http://automobiles.honda.com/models/model_overview.asp?ModelName=Insight currently says (in the flash blurb): The sporty, fun-to-drive Insight makes owning a hybrid convenient as well, since you never have to plug it in. it is not a matter of convenience that you don't _have_ to plug it in, it is a matter of fact that no standard/user-facing means is provided to the owner by which they _could_ plug it in to anything. the citation for the solarpanel link is one user installing it on a first-generation Prius; imo that doesn't qualify as enough to be able to make a sweeping statement that Some drivers have claimed up to 10%... because there is only one driver in that article. almost seems like someone meant to be editing the prius page and ended up editing the insight page... Jrrs 05:16, 3 September 2006 (UTC)
 * I have removed the "Aftermarket modifications" section entirely. The information in there was not appropriate to the Insight (but rather specifically to the Toyota Prius), and I'm tired of seeing it in this article. --Ghewgill 02:44, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

first paragraph
at the end it states: "increases efficiency at the expense of emissions"

if it creates more expensive emissions, that would surely point to a higher fuel burning rate compared to acceleration, and therefor less efficiency. unless it burns less fuel and creates more emissions, which doesn't really add up. --naught101 05:32, 6 December 2005 (UTC)


 * "The Insight is also one of the cleanest: the CARB rated the 5-speed variant ULEV and the CVT variant SULEV. This trade off is due to the 5-speed's lean-burn ability which increases efficiency at the expense of emissions." lean-burn is a more effecient mode, with less power, which burns less fuel. The trade off is that in doing so combustion is hotter and produces more CO (as opposed to the less harmfull CO2) which a special catalitic converter collects and later converts back into CO2 as lean-burn cycles in and out of opperation. --D0li0 11:26, 7 December 2005 (UTC)


 * ok, maybe it should say that, ie. CO emissions not CO2 emissions --naught101 05:04, 8 December 2005 (UTC)


 * But that makes it sound like it's dirty, which relative to other cars it is not. The Insight has additional catalitic converters which still ensure that the MT (Lean-Burn) versions are ULEV rated, as opposed to the CVT AT (no Lean-Burn) which is SULEV rated. The MT however has fewer CO2 emissions, due to it's higher mileage. --D0li0 13:45, 10 December 2005 (UTC)

Honda vs Acura in NSX link
would it be acceptable to change the 'Acura_NSX' link within the 'insight is assembled at suzuka plant' to be Honda_NSX? two substantiations: - given that the plant is in japan, and no (afaik) 'acura' are sold there, and given that the insight is *not* destined exclusively for markets in which honda sells certain cars *as* 'acura', it strikes me as more accurate to refer to the NSX as Honda in that context. if the Insight was destined only for a market in which the NSX was sold under the label of "acura", then it would seem natural to use 'acura' for the NSX link. - the canonical name of the Acura_NSX article already is Honda_NSX, as seen by virtue of the redirect. Jrrs 05:47, 5 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Yes, definitely. Done. --Ghewgill 19:46, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Replacement battery pack cost
I acknowledge this statement needs to be "verifiable", and I've never seen this online. I found out when my pack died. I can provide a receipt showing Honda replaced my NiMH battery pack in late 2006 with more than 120,000 miles on the car, as well as contact information for the dealership. Marc W. Abel 17:42, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

How the heck do you change the rear tires on one of those things? ... for that matter how do you change a tire on a motorcycle?
 * The plastic panel covering the rear wheel detaches easily with a flat screwdriver. The panel slides off, exposing the whole rear wheel so it can be removed normally. --Ghewgill 20:49, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Inocorrect fact?
"The Insight is currently tied with the Audi A2 for the smallest drag coefficient among all street-legal, production cars, with a coefficient of 0.25. The previous record holder was the 1935 Tatra T77 which achieved a coefficient of 0.212, unless one considers the GM EV-1 to be a production automobile - it had a coefficient of 0.195." I think a Lotus may have reached first. I'm really not sure. Someone please check. XYZ CrVo 03:23, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

If the criteria is smallest coefficient, would not the record holder still be the Tatra? Is not 0.195 < 0.212 < 0.25? L0b0t 20:53, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Maybe the numbers were reversed? Even so I think the 07 Lotus is first in that catagorey now anyways. Should we delete? XYZ CrVo 21:05, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

"Full" Hybrids
In the Technology section, the second paragraph states "The Insight is not considered a "full" hybrid vehicle..." The term "full hybrid" is a creation of Ford marketing and not a technical term. There is no clear definition to it, other than Ford using it to make their technology (which is really Toyotas) sound better.Kusig 21:01, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

The Insight isn't a "full" hybrid because it can't run in electric-only mode? Ok, the Prius is not capable of running in internal combustion-only mode. If its electric drive system dies on the road you're screwed. The Insight can be started from a small auxiliary battery and run entirely on IE. Does that mean the Prius isn't a "full" hybrid either? BipolarBear 20:47, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Fuel Consumption
In the Technology section, the last paragraph states "... the Insight is not the most fuel efficient mass-produced car ever sold in the United States, which was the Messerschmitt KR200 ...". The fuel consumption for the Messerschmitt (3.2l/100km) as stated on that wiki page is hard to confirm. The German Messerschmitt club linked from there states 4.5l/100km. The web is full of references anywhere from 2l/100km to 4.5l/100km in metric units (equivalent to 53 to 120 mpg) and 45 to 87 mpg in US units. Maybe the statement should be softened to something like "the Messerschmitt may have had higher fuel economy..."?Kusig 21:25, 20 December 2006 (UTC)


 * To be fair, the 3-wheeled Messerschmitt is usually considered to be a form of scooter or motorcycle, and is commonly registered as such. I wouldn't call it a "mass-produced car" and wouldn't compare the fuel consumption of a scooter to that of a car.


 * Also, it doesn't seem accurate to compare the fuel consumption of vehicles outside of a common testing method (like EPA testing) PeteinLongBeach 22:11, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Customization section needs work
I cleaned up the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Insight#Customizations section. I just had time for a some obvious cleanup, but skim reading as I went, I question the entire section. This may be great for a fan site somewhere else on the net, but likely has no place in an encyclopedia. If anyone can help strengthen the formal tone and eliminate junk like: "one that should be carefully reviewed if your deciding on purchase" the section might have merit. --Charles Gaudette 06:42, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Incomplete sales figures
I moved the chart on the left here. In addition to being uncited for six months, it's also been obviously incomplete. They didn't stop selling the cars in the second half of 2002. Once the information is sourced and complete it'd be okay to add it back in, but for now I think it's best on talk. --JayHenry (talk) 01:02, 18 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Also in the, information without sources category, I removed:

While formidable, the Insight was not the most fuel efficient mass-produced car ever sold in the United States, which was the Messerschmitt KR200, a three wheel vehicle similar to the Corbin Sparrow and about the size of a Commuter Cars Tango.


 * I found one source, from the Wall Street Journal that contradicts this. Here's another source that also contradicts .  Perhaps this is similar to hypermiling.  If one drives carefully perhaps a Messerschmitt can obtain such mileage, but it's not the vehicle's average. --JayHenry (talk) 05:01, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Non Encylopedic Tone
Since when is an encylopedia where you find out about "easy modifications?" Who says the issues that have their own section are "common"? The article has taken on a very Popular Mechanics feel rather than an impartial view of the car. 842U (talk) 23:01, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

Assembly
On the wiki page is says the Insight is assembled in Suzuka, Mie, Japan, however my Insight papers said it was assembled in Takanezawa, Tochigi, Japan. Were the insights later than 2002 assembled there? Quietpopcorn (talk) 22:10, 6 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I remember reading about this awhile ago. At some point Honda switched which plants it used for assembly.  I'll try to figure out where I read it and add the information to the article. --JayHenry (talk) 22:04, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

Spark Plugs
there is mention in the article of special indexing required to get replacement spark plugs correct. The article indicates the plugs are marked A, B, C, or D... wouldn't that be A, B, or C... given that its a three cyclinder?