It's Time for Show Off Sunday: A 2001 Honda Insight

Every week on Show Off Sunday, we have the opportunity to showcase our own cars and share their unique features with the community. This week, I'm excited to introduce you to my 2001 Honda Insight, also known as the first hybrid ever sold in the U.S., beating the Prius by seven whole months.

The Honda Insight was built in Suzuka, Japan from 1999 to 2006 and shared the same assembly factory as the Honda S2000 and the Honda NSX. Like the NSX, it has a purely aluminum construction, which adds to its lightweight and aerodynamic design. My car, specifically, has the only available option for 2001 air conditioning, which is just one of the many interesting features of this car.

The Insight's weight is a significant aspect of its overall performance and fuel efficiency. At the time of its production, it weighed around 2,900 pounds, making it an impressive feat of engineering considering its size. This weight, combined with its aerodynamic design, resulted in an estimated EPA rating of 43 miles per gallon, making it one of the most fuel-efficient cars of its time.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Honda Insight is its innovative hybrid system, known as IMA (Intelligent Multipurpose Architecture). The IMA system uses a combination of a gasoline engine and electric motor to achieve exceptional fuel efficiency. When the driver drops the clutch, the engine shuts off, and the car becomes silent. However, once the car reaches a certain speed, the engine restarts, and the system kicks in again.

This technology was revolutionary at the time and paved the way for modern hybrid systems used in many cars today. The Honda Insight was also one of the first production cars to use this technology, making it an exciting milestone in the history of automotive innovation.

As a car owner, I can attest to the exceptional driving experience that the Honda Insight provides. The steering is super responsive, and the gear changes are quick and smooth. The car's handling is surprisingly agile, making it a joy to drive on winding roads or city streets. However, one aspect of the car that might surprise some owners is its limited top speed.

The Honda Insight has a relatively low top speed, around 110 miles per hour, which can be a bit restrictive for some drivers. However, this is more than made up for by its incredible fuel efficiency and exceptional handling. The car's acceleration is smooth and linear, making it feel much faster than its actual speed.

One of the most surprising aspects of driving the Honda Insight is the difference in power and torque between the gasoline engine and the IMA system. When the driver drops the clutch, the engine shuts off, and the car becomes silent. However, once the car reaches a certain speed, the engine restarts, and the system kicks in again.

This transition from electric to gasoline power can be quite smooth, making it feel like the car is effortlessly gliding down the road. The IMA system seems to "take over" when the driver drops the clutch, providing an almost imperceptible sensation of movement before the engine starts to rev up again.

As a car enthusiast, I've always been fascinated by the innovative technology that goes into modern cars. The Honda Insight is a shining example of this, and its history as one of the first production hybrid cars makes it a truly unique and exciting vehicle.

In conclusion, my 2001 Honda Insight is an exceptional car that offers a unique blend of fuel efficiency, handling, and innovation. Its IMA system and aerodynamic design make it a joy to drive, while its relatively low top speed provides a more relaxed driving experience. Whether you're a seasoned car enthusiast or just looking for a reliable ride, the Honda Insight is definitely worth considering.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enit's time for show off Sunday whereeveryone has a chance to show off theirown car and here's this week's winner,hey guys this is my 2001 Honda Insightalso known as the first hybrid ever soldin the u.s. being the Prius out by 7whole months the Honda Insight was builtin Suzuka Japan from 1999 to 2006 itshared the same assembly factory as theHonda s2000 and the Honda NSX and likethe NSX it has a purely aluminumconstruction my car has the onlyavailable option for 2001 airconditioning and my car in total weighs1878 pounds at the time of itsproductionit was the most aerodynamic car evermade until this day remains the mostfuel-efficient vehicles sold in the USthe EPA estimates in sight at 61 milesper gallon on the city but many ownershave been able to achieve upwards of 90miles per gallon by making slightmodifications for their vehicles imasystem but today I want to show you thehighlights of the Honda Insight as itsits many of which are overlooked by thecar community and finally what it's liketo drive the aluminum panels of my carare finished in new formula red themonte carlo blue and silverstonemetallic were two other options if youdidn't want to stand out too much one ofthe insights most distinguishing designfeatures are these side skirts whichalmost completely cover the rear wheelsin the owners manual it says to takethem off if you're gonna put it in theautomatic car wash but it's funny ofthem to assume that I'd be doing that inthe first place something else I findinteresting is this Ridge behind therear wheels it's kind of basic and it'sjust the line but I find it interestingnevertheless some of you watching mightbe thinking this car looks an awful lotlike a Honda CRX or cr-z it has a smallsize of the upright rear window and isvery low to the ground but this designhas been streamlined into shape thatlooks very early 2000sunder the hood lies a 1 liter naturallyaspirated three cylinder engine it putsout sixty-seven horsepower and 66pound-feet of torque with the hybridsystem engagedit outputs a total of 73 horsepower and91 pound-feet of torque this engine isalso capable of lean-burnwhich means it can run with aair-to-fuel compression ratio of 25.8 to1 you might notice the conventionalbatteries sitting in the engine bay butthis car does not normally use aconventional starter due to thestart/stop system starting power comescourtesy of a 10 will kilowatt hourbattery mounted behind the seats and itsounds like thisas some of you may know this car has amanual transmissionunlike the CVT s and Priuses andautomatics and Kia hind I products thisis possible because the hybrid system inthis car does not work like thosesystems it has regenerative braking andstart/stop but the electric motor alonecannot move the car because it isconnected between the engine andtransmission so it can only help theengine this is why the system is calledima or integrated motor assist the onlyother cars like it are the firstgeneration Civic Hybrid the Honda cr-zand second generation in sight althoughyou can't use electric power alone themain transmission more than makes up forit even though this car is incrediblysmall people of all different shapes andsizes can find it comfortable in thiscabin I'm about 6 feet tall and I haveplenty of headroom plenty of legroom andI feel I could drive this thing forhours without getting uncomfortable ortired if you take a look at the gaugesthey are all LCD digital just like theHonda s2000 s it shows your speed inhuge numbers and has comprehensivereadouts for your gas mileageregenerative braking and electric motorassist amount it also shows you thebattery charge levels and would show thefuel level except mine broke after I wasrear-ended on the freeway anotherunordinary interior feature is thissteering wheel which is straight out ofthe Honda s2000 something you won't findin the Civic from this era when I boughtthis car I was really blown away by allthe features this car has done my Toyotapickup did not include him power lockspower windows power mirrors airconditioning heating seatbelts workinghorn working windshield wipersheadlights hazard lights a safety ratingand finally an engine surprisingly eventhough this car is super tiny I haven'tfound anything that doesn't fit in thetrunk I've had seats coolers a full-sizecello heck even I fit back hereI'll be back in a little, there is also asecret compartment underneath the trunkthat can carry anything I would everneed such as my car gear supplies jumpercables backpacks and morethere are also storage pockets here hereand hereso I never run into any problems withholding my stuff then there are a fewaspects of practicality that this carhas that really shouldn't be ignored forone the tiny size which basically meansin a crowded cities such as Los Angelesyou will never be left looking for aparking space simply because you didn'tfit also due to its incredibly smallsize the turning circle is minisculemeaning I can make u-turns inresidential streets and finally you havethe option of taking advantage of hybridparking and the carpool lane if youspend $25 on a sticker which I didn'tbecause I hate it's incredibly fun todrive I mean the steering is superresponsive the gear changes are quick Imean little notchy it doesn't like to berevved out much but it's fun very funcar I mean I can dart around thesecorners and they're very little timeswhere I feel bored driving this my oldercar which was a 1986 outer corner hedidn't have anything and they've gotreally terrible gas mileage it would dieall the time would break and at onepoint I just decided I I was tired ofspending so much money trying to getevery leak every seal replaced or fixthe differential was leaking powersteering was leaking it didn't havebrakes it was it was a little bit of anexpensive car to keep running everysingle time I drive this car issomething amazes me about it I'm gonnaspend on it though how fun it iseverything about it is just prettyamazing and I hope you is buying thiscar to be somewhat intriguing as welland not just another lawn more Hondathat you see driving around the streetat 3 a.m.like I mentioned before and like youprobably know by now this is a hybridwith the stick shiftI'm not just moving this around for noreason you can really feel thedifference in power and the differencein torque so right now it's just thegasoline engine running but as soon as Idrop it into second and give it somebeans the IMA system makes up thedifference a second gear surprisinglycan go almost a 60 miles an hour which Idon't even know if the Corvette can dothat but I mean this is a lot slowerthan a Corvette so one thing you mightbe wondering about as well is where doesthe hybrid miss really kick in and thatwould be the start/stop technology so alot of cars have this now but this wasthe first one that did it and it doesn'thave a conventional started instead whenI come to a Saab I put it in neutral andthen once you get under 25 - engineshuts off and it's completely silent weput in first the engine starts back upagain and now we can take off the systemactually scared me when I first got thecar because I didn't really understandhow it worked I was used to putting aneutral engine stayed on obviously andso when I was going up a hill put it inneutral the engine turned off and Iforgot to put it will actually have theclutch pushed in so it wasn't in neutraland I started taking off again and theengine would not turn back on I wasstuck rolling down the hill wonderinghow does the engine turn back on againso yeah put it in neutral again put itin first again and then you're good togo,thank you so much Scotty for giving methe opportunity to show off my car infront of all these people and I hopeeveryone learned something about 2001Honda Insight that they didn't knowbefore,well that was this week's video andremember to have your car videohighlighted here on my channel checkthis outso if you never want to miss another oneof my new car repair videos, remember toring that Bell\n"