Honda Insight

With gas prices continuing a steady upward climb, you may be headed to the dealer in search of something less thirsty at the pump. But which cars' sticker price gives you the most bang for your buck? We asked Edmunds.com to look at the vehicles with the lowest sticker price per fuel-economy rating. The math was simple: divide the car's base price by its EPA rating for combined fuel economy. The result gives a look at how much each mile per gallon will cost you. Photos: Top 10 cars with lowest cost per mpg Topping the list is Ford's C-Max Energi.

Although the number of hybrid models in the U.S. continues to grow, few people who own one are sticking with the technology when they go to buy another car. Only 35% of hybrid vehicle owners chose to buy another hybrid when they returned to the market in 2011, according to a study by R.L. Polk & Co., the automotive consulting firm. About 75,000 hybrid owners went new car shopping last year. If you factor out the super-loyal Toyota Prius buyers, the repurchase rate drops to less than 25%. Consumers in regions such as Southern California and Seattle, where hybrid sales are strongest, are no more likely to be repeat customers than buyers in other parts of the nation, according to the Polk study.

The type of vehicle you drive can ease both the expense and pain of a long commute, according to the American Automobile Assn. Mindful of how wearing commuting can be on drivers, the auto club evaluated hundreds of vehicle models and compiled a list of autos that make good cars for commuters. It evaluated vehicles on practicality, safety, comfort, fuel efficiency and affordability Nationally, the average motorist spends about 41 minutes a day traveling about 22.5 miles round trip to and from work.

Segment winners Subcompact: Honda Fit Compact: Honda Civic and Honda Insight (tie) Midsize: Honda Accord Large: Ford Taurus Minivan: Chrysler Town & Country — Top 5 brands Lexus Honda Acura Mercedes-Benz Mazda — Bottom 5 brands Dodge Suzuki Mitsubishi Volkswagen Mini Source: J.D. Power & Associates U.S. Initial Quality...

Honda Motor Co.'s much-anticipated Prius fighter may double as a recession fighter. The Japanese automaker said Tuesday that when the 2010 Honda Insight hybrid hits dealer lots in two weeks, it will carry a base price of $19,800. That put an end to months of speculation over just how much less expensive the new Honda would be than the Toyota Prius, currently the top-selling hybrid in the U.S.

Frances Anderton wonders why the small, attractive, economical and environmentally friendly [part-electric, part-gas engine] Honda Insight is not more popular ("Green Dream Comes True," June 21). Sad to say, a valid reason to refrain from buying any of these small cars is that in an accident involving one of the ubiquitous SUVs, your chances of death or serious injury are enormously greater than if you were driving a larger vehicle. RICHARD BLACKER Santa Monica [The Honda Insight]

The two-seat Honda Insight hybrid car officially went on sale Dec. 15, but shoppers trying to find one at a Southern California Honda showroom will have about as much luck as a Yeti hunter in the Pacific Northwest. It's not that the Insight, with its dual gasoline and electric motors and 70-mile-per-gallon fuel rating, doesn't exist. It's just that every one that Honda Motor Co. has shipped to the U.S.

As a child growing up in the Georgian city of Bath, England, my fantasy environment was the futuristic America of skyscrapers and McDonald's milkshakes and fast, gutsy cars, like the Jolly Green Giant Chevrolet owned by my father's rich friend, Bob, in London. But later, as a bicycle-riding architecture student, my fascination for American machine-age culture was tempered by repugnance at its wastefulness and excess.

Segment winners Subcompact: Honda Fit Compact: Honda Civic and Honda Insight (tie) Midsize: Honda Accord Large: Ford Taurus Minivan: Chrysler Town & Country — Top 5 brands Lexus Honda Acura Mercedes-Benz Mazda — Bottom 5 brands Dodge Suzuki Mitsubishi Volkswagen Mini Source: J.D. Power & Associates U.S. Initial Quality...

I enjoyed Preston Lerner's article on hybrid cars ("Revenge of the Nerdmobiles," Aug. 29). My 80-plus-year-old neighbor traded in his 2001 Honda Insight for a 2004 Toyota Prius. His license plate reads "66 MPG," which he had on the Honda Insight as well. He claims he got 66 miles per gallon driving it from Sacramento to Chico. My friends facetiously said, "Did he mention it took him three days instead of three hours to get there?" I figure his combined outlay of cash for the two hybrid cars is about $50,000--to get more like 35 mpg. Go figure.

The type of vehicle you drive can ease both the expense and pain of a long commute, according to the American Automobile Assn. Mindful of how wearing commuting can be on drivers, the auto club evaluated hundreds of vehicle models and compiled a list of autos that make good cars for commuters. It evaluated vehicles on practicality, safety, comfort, fuel efficiency and affordability Nationally, the average motorist spends about 41 minutes a day traveling about 22.5 miles round trip to and from work.

The days may be numbered for hybrid car owners who have enjoyed traveling solo in California's carpool lanes. The stickers granting that privilege to 85,000 hybrid owners are set to expire Jan. 1, 2011. There are proposals in Sacramento to extend the deadline, but they would exclude most of the vehicles that originally qualified for the program, such as the Toyota Prius, the Honda Civic hybrid and the original Honda Insight. "We're bummed," said Cathy Margolin, president of the 250-member Orange County Prius Club.

Honda's Prius-killer is looking a lot like road kill. When it debuted in March, Honda Motor Corp.'s retooled Insight hybrid looked to be the first serious challenger to the Prius, Toyota Motor Corp.'s ecological wunder-car. Graced with a low price, 40-mpg-plus fuel economy and the Japanese automaker's reputation for quality, the Insight even looked like the Prius.

Honda Motor Co.'s much-anticipated Prius fighter may double as a recession fighter. The Japanese automaker said Tuesday that when the 2010 Honda Insight hybrid hits dealer lots in two weeks, it will carry a base price of $19,800. That put an end to months of speculation over just how much less expensive the new Honda would be than the Toyota Prius, currently the top-selling hybrid in the U.S.

In the style of the Pentagon -- where generals prepare to fight the last war, rather than the next -- Honda launched a salvo at the Toyota Prius this week, only to discover the enemy had moved. The car is the 2010 Honda Insight, a slope-nosed four-door hybrid hatchback that looks nearly identical to the Prius.

Japanese vehicles dominate the government's annual list of vehicles with the best fuel economy, but Ford Motor Co. can claim the most fuel-efficient pickup and sport utility vehicle. The manual version of Honda Motor Co.'s hybrid Insight tops the list of 2005 vehicles, with 61 miles per gallon in the city and 66 mpg on the highway, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Department said Thursday. Eight of the top 10 cars are made by Honda and Toyota Motor Corp.

Although the number of hybrid models in the U.S. continues to grow, few people who own one are sticking with the technology when they go to buy another car. Only 35% of hybrid vehicle owners chose to buy another hybrid when they returned to the market in 2011, according to a study by R.L. Polk & Co., the automotive consulting firm. About 75,000 hybrid owners went new car shopping last year. If you factor out the super-loyal Toyota Prius buyers, the repurchase rate drops to less than 25%. Consumers in regions such as Southern California and Seattle, where hybrid sales are strongest, are no more likely to be repeat customers than buyers in other parts of the nation, according to the Polk study.

The days may be numbered for hybrid car owners who have enjoyed traveling solo in California's carpool lanes. The stickers granting that privilege to 85,000 hybrid owners are set to expire Jan. 1, 2011. There are proposals in Sacramento to extend the deadline, but they would exclude most of the vehicles that originally qualified for the program, such as the Toyota Prius, the Honda Civic hybrid and the original Honda Insight. "We're bummed," said Cathy Margolin, president of the 250-member Orange County Prius Club.

I enjoyed Preston Lerner's article on hybrid cars ("Revenge of the Nerdmobiles," Aug. 29). My 80-plus-year-old neighbor traded in his 2001 Honda Insight for a 2004 Toyota Prius. His license plate reads "66 MPG," which he had on the Honda Insight as well. He claims he got 66 miles per gallon driving it from Sacramento to Chico. My friends facetiously said, "Did he mention it took him three days instead of three hours to get there?" I figure his combined outlay of cash for the two hybrid cars is about $50,000--to get more like 35 mpg. Go figure.

California's tough emissions rules, which are more stringent than federal standards, helped spawn a bumper crop of environmentally friendly cars and trucks, according to an annual study released Wednesday. Topping the list of 2003 models is Honda Motor Co.'s Insight, a two-seater, gas-electric hybrid with an electric motor that boosts the performance of its small, three-cylinder gas engine, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in Washington.