Honda unveiled its next-generation hybrid, the Insight, at the North American International Auto Show on Sunday and said the car will arrive in U.S. showrooms this April, according AP. Honda's much-anticipated car is expected to compete head-on with Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius, which remains the top-selling hybrid in the U.S. Toyota is set to debut its next-generation Prius on Monday, along with a Lexus hybrid on Sunday called the HS250h. Honda said the 2010 Insight will have a lower price than the Civic Hybrid, which has a base price of $23,650. «With the introduction of the all-new Insight, we're opening up Honda's fun-to-drive, versatile and fuel-efficient hybrid technology to an entirely new group of buyers that previously may not have considered a hybrid because of either image or cost,» John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda, said in a statement. The Insight, a five-door sedan, is modeled after Honda's FCX Clarity fuel-cell car, the Japanese automaker said. It said the Environmental Protection Agency rates the Insight's fuel economy at 40 city miles per gallon (17 kilometers per liter) and 43 mpg (18.3 kpl) on the highway. The EPA certifies the Prius at 48 city mpg (20.4 kph) and 45 mpg (19.1 kpl) on the highway. Honda said the Insight will feature an onboard system, dubbed Eco Assist, designed to help drivers improve their fuel economy during trips. The system will have a color-coded speedometer display that gives drivers feedback on current fuel economy, and a function that gauges the car's fuel economy during a trip and for the car's lifetime. The Insight will have 10-kilowatt electric motor and a 10.6-gallon (40.1-liter) fuel tank, and Honda estimates its driving range at more than 400 miles (640 kilometers). Honda's debut of the Insight comes as hybrid sales have tumbled. The gas-electric cars sold briskly during the run-up in gas prices last summer but have since come down sharply as fuel prices collapsed. The auto Web site Edmunds.com reported that hybrid sales fell 43 percent in December and 50 percent in November. Sales of Honda's Civic hybrid fell an even larger 68 percent last month.
