I learned about this today so now you all do too

The Honda Insight is a car all the way back as far as 1999. This crazy vehicle was able to achieve an EPA MPG (with modern tests) of 49 city and 61 highway. Original testing was actually 67 city and 71 highway, at that! This crazy little engine has a maximum of 78 horsepower, combined between the Inline 3 SOHC Honda engine and a 10KW (13HP) electric motor. This motor is used as the starter, the alternator, and a motor together, but it actually has a separate starter motor in case the hybrid motor dies, using a separate 12v starter battery as well.

While 78 horsepower doesn’t sound very great, keep in mind the following: the coefficient of drag is 0.25, and if weighs a maximum(!) of 1,964 lbs, or 891 kg. What does this mean? It can still reach a maximum speed of up to 112mph! Not to mention, modders that get ahold of these things can push it far beyond these limits, with someone putting in a Honda J32A2 engine and getting 295HP in this little thing! That would put it at approximately capable of a top speed of about 192mph!

Not to mention, not only is this thing super light and nimble, it still has respectable crash ratings, and while parts for it may be hard to find, this car is one of the coolest and most efficient one can buy, even today

Edit: Found a link I like even better for the main link, original link here

    • dan1101@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Yeah it was ahead of it’s time, I think it just needed better battery technology and software.

      • over_clox@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Vehicle doesn’t need software, unless you consider yourself too incompetent to drive.

        All an EV really needs is a decent voltage regulator and a battery that ain’t gonna pop while you sleep.

        • dan1101@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Well and hardware to go with the software. Every type of vehicle has gotten both more powerful and more efficient since the 80s/90s and a large part of that is because of better computers, sensors, and software.

          • over_clox@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            My 1987 Honda Accord was already getting like 33MPG, back when it was running at its best and parts were still available to keep it maintained.

            That’s the real catch though, keeping parts available so you ain’t gotta replace the entire vehicle…

            • bingbong@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              1 year ago

              That’s the real catch though, keeping parts available so you ain’t gotta replace the entire vehicle…

              The crown Vic was the most environmentally friendly car, don’t @ me

              • dan1101@lemm.ee
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                1 year ago

                Seats 6, easy to repair, 25MPG highway, parts still available (I assume), I think you have a good argument.

            • dan1101@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              That and rust. I have a 1995 F-150, parts are no problem but the rear fender wells are a blight on my still otherwise shiny truck.

      • RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.worldM
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        1 year ago

        I am personally not a fan of EVs, as the lack of the sound, rumble, and smell of an engine is missing from the driving experience for me. But I think GM had some good ideas with the EV1.

        While I think more advanced technology may have had some improvement on the EV1, I am more inclined to think it would have performed better as a hydrogen powered vehicle. Hydrogen power is cleaner than gasoline, but still has the refuelling speed benefit that gasoline has. Charging a car battery for any amount of time longer than 5 minutes is a major inconvenience.

        I really think that ideas conceived by the Tucker motor company could still be utilized. Seat belts and disk brakes have already become standard, why not take this further? Designing a vehicle for the engine to be swapped out in ~30 minutes presents a design precedent that needs major consideration: ease and speed of maintenance. You want to do major repairs on your EV? Have fun getting tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of insulated safety equipment, insulated tools, and heavy lifting equipment. Designing vehicles to have fast, easy, and relatively safe maintenance for even major repairs would be well worth the tradeoff of making a vehicle bigger or less fuel efficient, in my opinion.

  • Jode@midwest.social
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    1 year ago

    It gets better. Things like the geo metro were able to get rediculous mpg just by being light and simple. No electric motors necessary. Makes you wonder how far we’ve slid backwards now that we’re accepting 30mpg as good.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      My brother had a Plymouth Horizon that was similar. It took a while to get moving but it would scream down the highway getting in the 40+ miles per gallon.

      However a minor parking lot bump we barely felt cracked the steel bumper and pulverized the styrofoam surrounding it. It was a thrilling ride, not least because there was nothing to save you.

      Two decades later, My current Subaru can’t even get 30mpg. However it’s one of the safest cars on the road, much bigger, all wheel drive, crumple zones, airbags all around, collision avoidance, many more features, and triple the power. Safe and quiet at any legal speed, and them some.

      I know which one I’d pick

  • reddig33@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    It was an awesome car. The CR-Z was a similar form factor, but didn’t get as good mileage. Would love to see an EV version with fast charging and a 250mi range. It would probably be doable now.

    • Astroturfed@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The CR-Z was a car I wanted so badly to be good. It just wasn’t though. There were sportier better options of you wanted that and if you wanted fuel efficiency it was a bit laughable. My 4 cylinder car was getting like 28mpg highway and it only got mid to low 30s.

      • AmbientChaos@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        I owned one, it was a blast in the corners and it was rad that you could get a two seater six speed hybrid. The biggest let down though was how slow it was in a straight line. It was almost dangerously slow. A CR-Z Si with a K20 or K24 would have been amazing. They offered a dealer installed supercharger later in its life that got it to 200ish HP but it was too little too late.

  • 0110010001100010@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Heh, we had one of those at my previous job. It was one of the fleet vehicles anyone could reserve and use. It was always a game to see who could get the best fuel mileage driving it the ~30 miles between our offices. If I recall correctly the record was around 90MPG. It was also a standard shift that had the auto-off for the engine when you stopped which would make you think you stalled it. Good times…

  • snooggums@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I honestly think that if they left the back end the same as the other Civics it would have sold like hotcakes. That back end was total ass.

    • Astroturfed@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yes, it was so noticable and weird. I’ve never wanted a “look at me” kind of car. I remember one of the teachers at my highschool drove one and people made fun of it regularly.

    • TeckFire@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      That’s a fair point. On the flip side, it reduced aerodynamic drag significantly compared to a civic, so I understand why they did it. Personally, the reason I even noticed it was because I am in love with the design, the rear especially catching my eye

    • TeckFire@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      Actually, it was only stick shift, until they released a CVT option for it later. This meant it was incredibly efficient, minimizing drivetrain losses and improving emissions, and gave way to all sorts of awesome mods now, like a start/stop enabler any time you put into neutral so you can coast on the highway easier

  • PaupersSerenade@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    I loved my Honda Insight when I was driving it. Fun to min/max the mpg and the auto off was pretty nifty at the time. Less fun when the hybrid part of the engine died. If I remember correctly it was also the alternator so that was a 5k fix