A Breath of Fresh Air!

I'm driving a pre-production Honda Insight as the Pace Car in the Pasadena
Tournament of Roses Parade (TM) January 1, 2000. I test drove it this last
week. The model will be released for sale in the next couple of weeks. The
car, a sporty two-seater, has an unique electric motor close-coupled to a
three cylinder, 1000 c.c. all-aluminum gas engine. It reportedly has a seven
hundred mile range and gets over seventy miles per gallon. I can't verify
that; I don't pick up the car for the Parade until 12/22. What I can verify
is that the car has the acceleration of an Accord, with 0-60 in ten seconds
or so, the handling of a sports car and looks that rival the S2000. Besides
the obvious economy of the car, it has some unusual characteristics. When
you stop (the Pace Car has a standard transmission; I don't know if an
automatic will be available for sale) and leave the car in gear with the
clutch depressed, the engine shuts off! When you accelerate up again it
INSTANTLY starts up much like a gas-driven golf cart. Also, because of the
unique torque qualities of electric motors, you up-shift through the gears
at about half the RPM of conventional cars. A wonderful, user-friendly
control panel has up and down arrows to indicate when shifting should be
done. It also shows a real-time miles per gallon and a historical (since the
car was new) miles-per-gallon. An additional indicator displays whether the
battery pack (about 80 pounds of nickel metal-hydride batteries that's
guaranteed for 10 years) is charging (during deceleration) or draining
(during acceleration). Whatever the technical sophistication that went into
the car, it's a dream to drive: quiet, powerful and responsive. Anyone who
is considering a two-seater sports car should consider the Insight. It's a
joy to drive. Watch it January 1st as it leads the Rose Parade (TM) down
Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, CA. I have no ties to American Honda, so my
opinion is unbiased. But this car is going to be a breakthrough.

Footnote: I drove the car in the Rose Parade at 2 1/2 miles per hour for just over two hours. It got, according to its instrumentation, 47 miles per gallon and behaved flawlessly. It got applause (and many approving comments afterward) at intersection after intersection. I wished I didn't have to turn it in the next day!