Honda to Increase Hybrid Production

(Editor's note: Ghawar Guzzler will once again try blockquote for article excerpts.)

Honda has been hit by the global slowdown like most carmakers, and has seen its earning decline like oil companies; but this isn't stopping the pirate from unloading its war plunder and gear for battle. It's time to whip the lackadaisical crew into battle frenzied and churn out more Insights.

Demand for Insight hybrids has been overwhelming; Honda is beefing up factory RPM's, planning to spit out more Insights. Excerpt from the blog below:

Honda had originally planned to sell 200,000 Insight hybrids over the next year — half in America and 60,000 in Japan, reports Reuters. But the “response has been overwhelming,” said Hiroshi Kobayashi, deputy chief operating officer for Honda’s domestic operations. “We will have to increase production plans,” he said, though he stopped short of saying how many more Honda would build.

In Japan, the Insight will start at about $20,000, which is much cheaper than the new Toyota Prius, which will go on sale in May with a base price of about $24,300.

- Brewskie

Honda's 2010 Insight

The return of Honda's Insight. It will be priced around $19,000 - $4,000 cheaper than the Prius, but with lower fuel efficiency. A strange oddity is Ford's upcoming Fusion hybrid, a larger car, will achieve slightly better city fuel economy (41 mpg vs. 40 mpg) then this little space pod, though at a higher price of $27,000. Still, it's good to see Honda stepping up with a what appears as a competitive hybrid: one that doesn't resemble an aerodynamic soda can flying down the road, barely sipping atoms of petroleum-based fuel, while primarily running on psychedelic dreams. This will suffice until we get this money shot below filling up the roads: