Personal car related news

[Roman Legion]

Well, I've finally did it.. No, not acquire a DeLorean, that's a WIP for later, I'm trading in my car for a generation 1 Honda Insight, the aluminum car. I get it this weekend and I'm quite excited. Wonder if I can take the paint off and brush the aluminum body panels? :tongue:

Just thought I'd share news that I'm so excited about with somebody. Oh and it's 5 speed.. No more of that snooze automatic for me.

[NightFlyer]

The Stang was supposed to turn into a D, not a Honda :confused:

Interesting swap from American power to Asian economy. I thought that the motorcycle was the economy transportation, thus why the big change of plans?

Congrats if it makes you happy :rollin:

[DMCVegas]

Nice! I loved the look of those generation cars. What about batteries though? Where can you get them from?

[Roman Legion]

Yeah, but I decided to hold off on the D for now and the Mustang for me is impractical as hell since it takes so much fuel to go nowhere, I don't need 300+ HP and 99% of the time I'm driving the car, I'm alone in it, so I didn't need 4 seats. The insurance is about the same for this car as the Mustang oddly enough, but the operational costs aren't nearly as high. The IMA battery is good in this one and has a grid charger to prolong the battery's lifespan. The most expensive repair on this car is battery replacement which runs like $2500 new, but the car can be driven without the battery, so it won't deadline the vehicle.

I've always loved the Insight among other cars a lot people seem to not like as much (DeLorean, VW Corrado.. et cetera). My dad is giving me crap about getting rid of my Mustang, but his reason for me keeping it isn't enough for me to keep it. I can't wait to have a different car and above all, a manual instead of the sleep-inducing automatic.

Motorcycle is great and all and I do plan to keep that for a few years and it's MPG is like 60MPG, but if you've ever ridden a sports bike with a bad back for extended periods of time, you know why a fuel efficient car is a must, plus the bike has no cargo capability.

[Kukem]

LOL, you know what? I just sold my 2011 Honds CR-Z to buy a DeLorean. It was pretty much the love child of the Insight and the CRX. It was an awesome car! It's only been 3 weeks but I miss her already, but she wasn't my dream car. 6 speed hybrid that got +45MPG and was peppy as hell. She could go, but she was somewhat like the DeLorean: looked faster than she actually was.

Congrats on your new purchase. As an IMA driver, I appreciate those cars and would buy one again.

[Soundkillr]

LOL, you know what? I just sold my 2011 Honds CR-Z to buy a DeLorean. It was pretty much the love child of the Insight and the CRX. It was an awesome car! It's only been 3 weeks but I miss her already, but she wasn't my dream car. 6 speed hybrid that got +45MPG and was peppy as hell. She could go, but she was somewhat like the DeLorean: looked faster than she actually was.

Congrats on your new purchase. As an IMA driver, I appreciate those cars and would buy one again.

The crz is a neat car, and had they made it all motor instead of hybrid, they would have sold like hot cakes. I work on a honda lot, and they have a hard time giving the fits, crz's and insights away. The salesman blame it on the hybrids and limited battery life/use, as well as maintenance to replace the batteries once they die. The hybrids start to fall apart at about 100k and battery replacement with labor runs about the cost of the car. I actually like the crz's but have been told countless times to steer clear....

[Roman Legion]

LOL, you know what? I just sold my 2011 Honds CR-Z to buy a DeLorean. It was pretty much the love child of the Insight and the CRX. It was an awesome car! It's only been 3 weeks but I miss her already, but she wasn't my dream car. 6 speed hybrid that got +45MPG and was peppy as hell. She could go, but she was somewhat like the DeLorean: looked faster than she actually was.

Congrats on your new purchase. As an IMA driver, I appreciate those cars and would buy one again.

Thanks, I plan to keep this Insight even after getting a DeLorean, which I'm sure everyone would agree, is a good idea to keep the reliable car with great MPG as the daily driver. I'm looking forward to seeing 50-60 MPG or more soon.


The crz is a neat car, and had they made it all motor instead of hybrid, they would have sold like hot cakes. I work on a honda lot, and they have a hard time giving the fits, crz's and insights away. The salesman blame it on the hybrids and limited battery life/use, as well as maintenance to replace the batteries once they die. The hybrids start to fall apart at about 100k and battery replacement with labor runs about the cost of the car. I actually like the crz's but have been told countless times to steer clear....

I don't like the post 2006 Insights, they look like Honda applied the Prius mold to it. They don't look too bad, but the gen 1 Insight is for me and the gen 1s last over 275k miles according to the people online I talked to who own and drive them daily. Not sure about new hybrids, but gen 1 Insights can be driven with or without the battery on, but MPG suffers, but still gets great MPG with no battery.

[PB Co]

I had no idea the first generation was made from aluminum. Get your 120 grit ready.

Been a Honda guy for a long time and I still can't part with my 95 Prelude. Your new car has a great digital dash and shares it's 3 spoke steering wheel with the S2000 IIRC. Personally I love the aero wheel covers that blend with the body.

[Ryan King]

I too very uch want a Honda Insight. I am jealous, please post pictures.

[Roman Legion]

I too very much want a Honda Insight. I am jealous, please post pictures.

I'd recommend getting one, I apparently have a rare colour, Citrus Yellow which is highly sought after. I love this car, it has power when you need it, engine can be cut off at a stop light by putting it in neutral. Was getting over 62 MPG while on I-81 at 70 MPH with the windows down. It has great handling too. I'll post some pictures soon and the guy I traded (and got some cash on the deal) has another for sale, a silver 2000 manual for like $6k. Mine was $7k, it's in amazing shape, rare colour and had lots of work to make sure it keeps going strong. In lots of ways, it felt like it had some similar features to a DeLorean.

Yeah, if the paint ever goes, I want to DeLorean-ise it and let the bare aluminum show. The clutch is super smooth.. I basically got a collector car in a rare colour before others start to really get in on it. If it uses the S2000 steering wheel, I may go looking for one as mine shows a little age. Aluminum frame and a mix of aluminum and plastic on the body. Such a light weight car with a nice 3 cyl VETEC.

I was sad to see the Mustang drive off forever, but I am thrilled with my new car.

[Roman Legion]

I snapped some pictures really quick, I hope to bring it by a DeLorean meet sometime, so I can check out DeLoreans and let other people who care, look at my Insight. I can get to events for next to nothing and that's a huge appeal to the car for me, not to mention the unique shape, rarity of the car and the parts aren't hard to find. I do need to touch up a few things on the car, but those things are very minor.

Enjoy some hastily snapped pictures!

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[NightFlyer]

Looks like it was well maintained for having nearly 200k on the clock.

So are you back in VA now, or are you still in Vegas?

[Roman Legion]

Looks like it was well maintained for having nearly 200k on the clock.

So are you back in VA now, or are you still in Vegas?

Yes, it's in great shape and the cars if maintained can easily exceed 350k miles. There are minor issues (All cosmetic) but I can fix them as I go.

I'm back in Virginia for the time being, I'm at a school here, trying to get my A+ certification

[PB Co]

There was one other aluminum Honda. The flagship, NSX, made a 14 year production run with only small upgrades along the way. JZD had one in yellow for years. In many ways the NSX embodies the spirit of the ethical sports car.

Just because you do not yet have a DeLorean doesn't mean you can't own a rare and uniquely constructed car. I mean no disrespect to your previous ride, but to me unique engineering/materials makes the Insight more interesting.

Other cool upgrades for your new car... Honda would often reach out to Recaro to make their seats. This means some seats can be swapped in a totally safe bolt-on affair. Example, a 91-2001 Prelude can take S2000 seats after the seat pan is swapped.

[Roman Legion]

There was one other aluminum Honda. The flagship, NSX, made a 14 year production run with only small upgrades along the way. JZD had one in yellow for years. In many ways the NSX embodies the spirit of the ethical sports car.

Just because you do not yet have a DeLorean doesn't mean you can't own a rare and uniquely constructed car. I mean no disrespect to your previous ride, but to me unique engineering/materials makes the Insight more interesting.

Other cool upgrades for your new car... Honda would often reach out to Recaro to make their seats. This means some seats can be swapped in a totally safe bolt-on affair. Example, a 91-2001 Prelude can take S2000 seats after the seat pan is swapped.

Yeah, my Insight was built in the same factory as the NSX, which I always found kinda cool about the car. Yeah, I got to thinking one day about how much extra space the mustang had and the fact I didn't need a 4.6L V8 engine, higher insurance, higher maintenance and poor fuel economy and about that time I just started counting how many Mustangs I saw go past and decided to look up a car I've liked for a long time, but always had a hard time finding and after some looking, I made the deal happen and made sure the car was good and as you can see, it's in really good shape, only a few minor cosmetic fixes and the car will look entirely new again.

I'm not sure the production numbers of the gen 1 Insight or of how many of those were made with the paint mine has, but I'm told mine is rare and really, how often does one see a gen 1 Insight on the road? This car is unique, with low costs all around (Getting a grid charger to extend my battery life). It just blows my mind my car during the test drive on the highway at around 50 MPH over 70 MPG and over 60 on the interstate.

Aside from cost, uniqueness, interesting/ unique materials, it's a piece of automotive history and it's a manual transmission; I always regretted having an automatic mustang, that was a little boring. I do need to find a S2000 steering wheel, maybe I'll check craigslist or something, because mine is a little worn and it's so cool they shared the same wheel.

My dad is likely going to hate my Insight at first, but I own the car outright and have for years and he's still paying on a crappy minivan which he doesn't need. Once I show him what my car can do in lean burn mode (MPG), I'm sure he'll come around. I do love how spartan the Insight is. Oh, and when the PO showed me the auto idle stop feature, which is turned on by shifting to neutral, I thought it was so cool. I had a Prius next to me and his car was running the whole time at the stop light.

It is cool that people in public look at my car with a little confusion, but not so much interest they nearly run me off the road..lol Yeah, I know I'll have my DeLorean eventually, but I had to take car of my daily driver concern before anything and that's done.. Kinda.

I can't wait to go to a DeLorean meet now, I wonder if my non-DeLorean would attract any interest there. I love my window that's flat on the back of my car, makes reversing really easier. I've been using my tape deck as an iPod holder..lol I doubt it will damage the tape deck, but in a spartan car, it's damn convenient location for my iPod until I can get a newer radio to plug it in via USB.

Thanks everyone for the kind words, glad you guys like my ride. Funny thing is, in a few years, it'll be eligible for antique tags and if I put it in a car show, I'd be willing to bet it'd be the only one there.

[SIMid]

This is probably rarer than a Delorean! :cool1:

Congrats with the swap!

[Roman Legion]

This is probably rarer than a Delorean! :cool1:

Congrats with the swap!

I don't know about that, but I'd still say the DeLorean is rarer, but the gen 1 Insight too is pretty rare and can be picked up relatively cheap. It lacks power, so I take a hit if I have to downshift to accelerate on a hill or something. I took the car out this morning and got poor MPG and I took it out to do a few things this evening and the difference when I figure out how to bet better mileage was about double.

Morning I averaged like 37 MPG, this afternoon I drove like 53.1 miles and averaged like 58.2 MPG, I'd have gotten better than that, but I figured out how to get lean burn mode going mid way through my drive. Some parts of my drive I exceeded 100 MPG, where the lower points were down in the upper 30's (When I hit hills).

Now if I could master starting off from a dead stop on an incline without stalling out or giving it too much pedal and spinning the tires, that would be awesome. The guy I got the car from even put brembo brakes on it :)

Overall, I love this car and haven't noticed my fuel gauge drop at all after 50 miles. I'm still running on the tank the PO put in it. I've had 3-4 people stop me to ask about my car today and so many people stare at it.. Who knew the key to gaining attention was to just substitute displacement for high fuel efficiency? lol

I can say this, I'm very lucky to have found such a good example of a gen 1 Insight, this car is great and it' going on a 200 mile drive tomorrow afternoon for the weekend.

[NightFlyer]

I don't know about that, but I'd still say the DeLorean is rarer, but the gen 1 Insight too is pretty rare and can be picked up relatively cheap. It lacks power, so I take a hit if I have to downshift to accelerate on a hill or something. I took the car out this morning and got poor MPG and I took it out to do a few things this evening and the difference when I figure out how to bet better mileage was about double.

Morning I averaged like 37 MPG, this afternoon I drove like 53.1 miles and averaged like 58.2 MPG, I'd have gotten better than that, but I figured out how to get lean burn mode going mid way through my drive. Some parts of my drive I exceeded 100 MPG, where the lower points were down in the upper 30's (When I hit hills).

Now if I could master starting off from a dead stop on an incline without stalling out or giving it too much pedal and spinning the tires, that would be awesome. The guy I got the car from even put brembo brakes on it :)

Overall, I love this car and haven't noticed my fuel gauge drop at all after 50 miles. I'm still running on the tank the PO put in it. I've had 3-4 people stop me to ask about my car today and so many people stare at it.. Who knew the key to gaining attention was to just substitute displacement for high fuel efficiency? lol

I can say this, I'm very lucky to have found such a good example of a gen 1 Insight, this car is great and it' going on a 200 mile drive tomorrow afternoon for the weekend.

If you could figure out a way to drop a .8L Mercedes CRD diesel (as used in Smarts) into it and integrate it with the electric drive system, you could probably get an average of around 100 mpg :biggrin:

[Roman Legion]

If you could figure out a way to drop a .8L Mercedes CRD diesel (as used in Smarts) into it and integrate it with the electric drive system, you could probably get an average of around 100 mpg :biggrin:

Some other people driving gen 1 insights do average just that, just depends on how fast your going, how flat the terrain is and if it's city driving or not.

I need to keep practicing my clutch and shifting because I'm learning to fear stopping on anything incline. I either stall on the hill, car starts jerking or I accidentally spin the tires on occasion. I never know how much clutch to take off or how much accelerator to give and that crap is killing my MPG and irritating me in general.

If I could make this car more efficient, that would be awesome. Imagine dropping in Tesla electrics into this 1800 lbs, .025 drag coefficient car.. It would be amazing I think.

[NightFlyer]

Some other people driving gen 1 insights do average just that, just depends on how fast your going, how flat the terrain is and if it's city driving or not.

I need to keep practicing my clutch and shifting because I'm learning to fear stopping on anything incline. I either stall on the hill, car starts jerking or I accidentally spin the tires on occasion. I never know how much clutch to take off or how much accelerator to give and that crap is killing my MPG and irritating me in general.

If I could make this car more efficient, that would be awesome. Imagine dropping in Tesla electrics into this 1800 lbs, .025 drag coefficient car.. It would be amazing I think.

Yeah, I honestly don't know - it would be interesting to compare the mpg's obtainable with the lean burn against a small turbo diesel. I know that the Smart CRD turbo diesels average somewhere around 60 mpgs from what I've seen people report online. Thus in your car, I'm thinking it might produce averages of somewhere around 150 mpg, maybe even more.

I have a friend that owned a gen 1 insight for about 4 years. He used to average around 78 mpg's with it. I know that he did do a few efficiency mods, but have no idea what they were.

Definitely a fun little car - glad you're happy with it :)

[Roman Legion]

Yeah, I honestly don't know - it would be interesting to compare the mpg's obtainable with the lean burn against a small turbo diesel. I know that the Smart CRD turbo diesels average somewhere around 60 mpgs from what I've seen people report online. Thus in your car, I'm thinking it might produce averages of somewhere around 150 mpg, maybe even more.

I have a friend that owned a gen 1 insight for about 4 years. He used to average around 78 mpg's with it. I know that he did do a few efficiency mods, but have no idea what they were.

Definitely a fun little car - glad you're happy with it :)

I'm still learning this car, but it's enjoyable, just doesn't have a lot of pickup like the Mustang did and I not only miss having the power, I'm driving and expecting it still, but not getting it. I'll become accustomed to the power level soon. :) At least regular driving of my Insight will make my shifting skills expert when I get my DeLorean. Driving this car is fun if you think about the MPG gauge as a video game, the game is like pacman, but on my fuel guage.

[Squall67584]

Use the parking brake when on an incline, then start to slip the clutch like normal. When you feel the car start pulling against the brake, start gently lowering the parking brake. That's the best way I've found to not roll backwards or soon the tires and burn the clutch.

[Dangermouse]

Part of my driving test, back in the day, was to do a hill start in a stick shift, just like that. Hardest part of the test as they weren't gentle inclines. You really had to feel the clutch and it was very important to take the test in the same car that you had been learning in.

[Roman Legion]

Part of my driving test, back in the day, was to do a hill start in a stick shift, just like that. Hardest part of the test as they weren't gentle inclines. You really had to feel the clutch and it was very important to take the test in the same car that you had been learning in.

Galleons had stick shift? I thought they were just made of sticks. :neener:

I'm going on a 3 hour drive to my parent's place tonight, so I'm going to be getting loads of practice. Let's hope I can finally master this.

[Rich_NYS]

Yes, it's in great shape and the cars if maintained can easily exceed 350k miles. There are minor issues (All cosmetic) but I can fix them as I go.

I'm back in Virginia for the time being, I'm at a school here, trying to get my A+ certification

Car looks good...congrats.

Good luck w/the cert. I got mine about 10 years ago before re-cert was necessary, so it's still valid although I'm now more on the network side of the house. It was pretty tough and I'm sure it's changed quite a bit in the past decade.

[beernpizzalover]

Well, I've finally did it.. No, not acquire a DeLorean, that's a WIP for later, I'm trading in my car for a generation 1 Honda Insight, the aluminum car. I get it this weekend and I'm quite excited. Wonder if I can take the paint off and brush the aluminum body panels? :tongue:

Just thought I'd share news that I'm so excited about with somebody. Oh and it's 5 speed.. No more of that snooze automatic for me.

My next 'daily driver' will hopefully make it to production next year:
www.eliomotors.com
Anyway, it's certainly a unique vehicle. And I got to sit in a prototype of it last week. :)

[Roman Legion]

My next 'daily driver' will hopefully make it to production next year:
www.eliomotors.com
Anyway, it's certainly a unique vehicle. And I got to sit in a prototype of it last week. :)

Yeah, my friend back in Vegas is planning to buy one and personally, I can't wait to see them on the road.. Just hope they have more hill climbing power than my Insight..lol

[Roman Legion]

So I left yesterday with half a tank and before I put the car up and took my ninja out to finish killing portals in Ingress, I took this picture while in auto stop which shows miles on the trip odometer, average MPG for the entire trip and how much fuel left in the tank.. Also a picture of the car and bike just because I can..lol When I got here yesterday, my average was at 65.5, but I hit a humongous hill this morning that took it down a little bit.

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[Roman Legion]

I'm rather pleased with my MPG this evening. I was playing Ingress a bit, so I tacked on over 40 extra miles before going North on I-81 and I filled the tank for $27 and reset the trip odometer, this is my result.

http://s25.postimg.org/5b0xzeqin/20140720_220351.jpg

I aimed for 75 MPG, but fell short due to a few long hills, but I did get 73.5 before the MPG hurting hills.

[NightFlyer]

I'm rather pleased with my MPG this evening. I was playing Ingress a bit, so I tacked on over 40 extra miles before going North on I-81 and I filled the tank for $27 and reset the trip odometer, this is my result.

http://s25.postimg.org/5b0xzeqin/20140720_220351.jpg

I aimed for 75 MPG, but fell short due to a few long hills, but I did get 73.5 before the MPG hurting hills.

If you frugally save up all of your fuel savings, you'll have the funds to purchase a decent DeLorean in no time :thumbup:

[Dangermouse]

Galleons had stick shift? I thought they were just made of sticks. :neener:
.

Of course they had.

The hard part was finding an ocean with a hill.

[TheDon]

There's a blue first gen insight for sale near me for $7k. It's probably only worth 5 in my opinion. If I had the cash to burn I'd buy it in a heart beat.

[Roman Legion]

There's a blue first gen insight for sale near me for $7k. It's probably only worth 5 in my opinion. If I had the cash to burn I'd buy it in a heart beat.

A citrus one like mine in good condition, $7k is reasonable, blue, depending on condition, I'd say $5-6k. I love this car, last time I filled up was over 400 miles ago and I still have 1/2 tank to burn..lol

I've only ever seen one other Insight 'in the wild', which is interesting considering how used to seeing other Mustangs, I'd always be like "Hey, another person out in their Mustang" but now I have a reason to be more excited if I ever run into another Insight. I got more compliments in the short time since owning this car than I ever did in the Mustang. My car now just looks strange, like the DeLorean, doesn't fit the look of the vehicles around it.

Someone in my class asked about my Insight and I showed them a picture of the MPG and trip odometer and how much fuel was still in the tank, and it just blew their mind. If this were 2000 when the car was new, I'd be able to fill it for around $11 based on the amount I pumped last time.

I'm planning on going to Frederick, MD this weekend to visit my friend, I really hope for three things, first being I-70 to be flat, little to no hills; second being, nobody hits my car, bunch of crazy drivers everywhere and last, I really hope for no traffic. I am wondering if in Virginia and Maryland if my Insight is legal in the HOV lane alone like it apparently is in other states.

I'm way happier with my manual transmission, rather than a boring automatic. I would love to put the rostra cruise control in, but it would really sap my fuel, resulting in worse MPG when I hit hills. Flat, wouldn't be bad, but on hills trying to maintain speed, no way.

[Roman Legion]

I'm trying to see if anyone on the Insight forums wants to break out the 120 grit and be the first person I've seen to drive around in a bare aluminum Insight. I hope someone over there goes for it, that would be pretty cool to see and would make their car stick out even more. :yoda:

Alternatively, if anyone here ever decided to get one, you could do it and park it next to your DeLorean for a photo. I like the citrus paint too much to remove it, maybe if the paint goes bad I will, but for now it's great, just a little fading is all.

[Roman Legion]

Wondering if DeLorean rims would fit on my Insight.. I'd think the DeLorean tires would be way to big for my car, but if it could fit, would make a nice picture.. :shocked:

[Dangermouse]

From jalopnik:

http://jalopnik.com/here-s-what-happened-when-i-went-hypermiling-in-a-honda-1621059406

including these great lines

The speed thing was especially a problem for us, because we conducted this test in Atlanta, where the speed limit is 55 miles per hour – a number we decided to stay close to for efficiency purposes. Unfortunately, no one in Atlanta goes 55 miles per hour. Little old ladies don't go 55. Church vans don't go 55. Even an illegal immigrant driving a stolen car with a trunk full of cocaine and human body parts would be pushing 70

[Roman Legion]

From jalopnik:

http://jalopnik.com/here-s-what-happened-when-i-went-hypermiling-in-a-honda-1621059406

including these great lines

The speed thing was especially a problem for us, because we conducted this test in Atlanta, where the speed limit is 55 miles per hour – a number we decided to stay close to for efficiency purposes. Unfortunately, no one in Atlanta goes 55 miles per hour. Little old ladies don't go 55. Church vans don't go 55. Even an illegal immigrant driving a stolen car with a trunk full of cocaine and human body parts would be pushing 70

If you're trying to hypermile, I just try to keep the average MPG in the mid 60's up here in the mountains and I'm for the most part able to keep up. Sure it gets passed alot, but it's a great car. Even keeping my MPG good going 5 over in this terrain, I can keep it in the 60's. I've never worried or sweated as the writer says, I have a blast in it and it handles so nicely and the steering is so light. The writer forgot about how great a feature the auto stop is among many other overlooked things.