"DailyTurismo" (thedailyturismo)
02/11/2014 at 11:10 • Filed to: Daily Turismo
3
15|
"DailyTurismo" (thedailyturismo)
02/11/2014 at 11:10 • Filed to: Daily Turismo | 3
| 15 |
The 1st gen Insight didn't sell well compared to the Prius, which is a shame because it was a great car, complete with manual transmission and proper feedback from the steering wheel. If you didn't buy an Insight when new, perhaps you will consider a modified version that will smoke the tires in the first 3 gears.
The Honda Insight was the first modern hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle to hit the US market, beating Toyota's Prius to the showroom by a few months back in the year 2000. Remember the year 2000? Y2K? Did you ever find another use for the bomb shelter and apocalypse hideout you built for your family? Did you know that Spam does have an expiration date? Back to the Insight; the only real complaint you could have is that the combined gas-electric 73 horsepower won't thrill in the year 2014...but what if someone offered you a 200 horsepower Insight? Find this !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for sale in Clinton, CT offered for $12,500 or best offer via ebay.
Honda discontinued its original front-wheel-drive
two-seat sports car, the CR-X, in 1991 and launched something called the
CR-Z in 2010. Unfortunately the CR-Z re-boot was heavy and slow — barely
faster than the CR-X with worse fuel economy. That is progress for
ya...and while it is certainly a safer and more refined ride, it plays
straight to the aging baby boomer demographic — people who have
sensitive backsides but are insensitive to money spent at the pump. If
proper nutters (like opponauts) had designed the CR-Z
instead of marketing managers at Honda, the result would look at bit
more like this modified Insight.
The original inline-3 with electric assist (not a bad setup at all) has
been removed and this one is now powered by a 2.0 liter K20 4-banger
that is found in the Acura RSX Type S and Civic Si. The K20 has been
slightly modified, should make a few more ponies than the stock 200
horsepower rating and surprisingly torquey at 139 ft-lbs.
The Insight was actually equipped with a 5-speed manual from the factory, a strange appearance of a clutch pedal in the market segment dominated by slushbox equipped tubs of wallpaper paste. Unfortunately this is probably the reason the Insight did so poorly compared to the Prius which welcomed mass transit lovers by the boatload with its decidedly A-to-B business approach to driving. It was remarkable how many people who were not car enthusiasts by the farthest stretch of the imagination came out of the woodwork talking about how great their new Prius was when they first exploded into the market. In SoCal the Prius driving 55 in the fast lane has become a punch line while an Insight sighting makes you ask yourself "was that an EV-1?" This one has a gauge cluster borrowed from an S2000 shoved into the dash and it doesn't look bad at all.
Lose the blingy wheels, keep the fender skirts and hoon the crap out of this thing. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Originally posted as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
CalzoneGolem
> DailyTurismo
02/11/2014 at 11:15 |
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Frankly I could do without the wheels and the stripe. Who thought that was a good idea? Nothing a few bucks and an afternoon with a heat gun and some plasti dip couldn't fix.
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DailyTurismo
> CalzoneGolem
02/11/2014 at 11:17 |
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Agree'd. Everything else is spot on for awesome. 1600 lbs + 200 hp = Front-drive Elise?
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CalzoneGolem
> DailyTurismo
02/11/2014 at 11:18 |
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These were pretty good handlers out of the box. I wonder what it feels like to be relieved of the battery mass?
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> CalzoneGolem
02/11/2014 at 11:25 |
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You could probably adapt this to hybrid quite easily, oddly enough. Just find a way to incorporate the electric motor/starter flywheel arrangement onto a larger engine and produce some custom programming for the controller - because even a highly tuned K-20 certainly wouldn't be hurt having a little extra low-end electric torque...
95HondaV6
> DailyTurismo
02/11/2014 at 11:33 |
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I agree with others herein, except I would bring a set of wheels and tires at purchase. Very nice set-up if photos don't lie...
RotaryLover
> DailyTurismo
02/11/2014 at 11:37 |
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Here we go again. Searching for Insights on Kijiji.
SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
> DailyTurismo
02/11/2014 at 11:48 |
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Would dragon
AdmiralAkbar
> DailyTurismo
02/11/2014 at 11:51 |
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A friend of mine recently purchased a Smart. I'm currently rubbing pictures of this Insight in his face. Don't worry, he feels bad.
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DailyTurismo
> AdmiralAkbar
02/11/2014 at 12:35 |
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Haha. The Not-So-Smart car is really terrible once you realize you should have purchased something like this or a K-car.
Also, why are you stuck in the grey mist...somebody get this guy posting privileges please!
PilotMan
> DailyTurismo
02/11/2014 at 13:05 |
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I would love that.
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PilotMan
> PilotMan
02/11/2014 at 13:10 |
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Too bad my bank wouldn't finance it.
DarrenMR
> DailyTurismo
02/11/2014 at 14:26 |
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There are a couple stock ones for sale by me. Maybe I should take a test drive.
Boomchow
> CalzoneGolem
02/14/2014 at 15:18 |
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handling was awesome below 25 mph... the stock lightweight suspension components have no market upgrades and there's no rear sway bar so it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, unless modifications were also made here.
quattrofl
> DailyTurismo
02/14/2014 at 16:08 |
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http://www.j32a.com/showthread.php…
I just leave this here
Frosted
> DailyTurismo
02/14/2014 at 17:13 |
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Red Wheels for maximum swag bro!