By Ben Schaffer

The Real JDM

Normally a post with a title like that would have an ! or some other method to convey excitement. What can I say here… Top Secret has been hard at work on two new cars for their tuning line-up. The ZE2 Honda Insight and the ZVW30 Toyota Prius. (yes I name dropped the chassis codes…one day when the ZE2 and the ZVW30 both become Tsukuba Circuit time attack record holders we’ll affectionately call them by these codes like we do R35s and S15s…or not).

All sarcasm aside, Top Secret has put in some considerable work to be appreciated by the eco-loving hybrid drivers out there that perhaps also own a Top Secret tuned Supra or GT-R. Both cars feature Top Secret original aero kits designed both for looks and also for aerodynamic efficiency (better miles per gallon er… kilos per liter). The cars both run RAYS eco drive wheels designed for maximum weight reduction, in this case the 15″ RE30 Volk is fit for duty of cranking up the ECO further. Continue reading at The Real JDM

By Ben Schaffer

The Real JDM

I find myself to be in the minority when it comes to the use of car pictures…I almost always find the rear of tuned cars more fascinating than the front. Despite knowing that is wrong from a media perspective, (magazines almost always feature the front of the car primarily), I rarely care about convention and I find myself almost always featuring a rear shot first and a front shot later on. Most of the cars I’ve had a hand in building I also prefer the rear to the front as well (my S2000 for certain I prefer the rear profile over the front).

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Honda Insight Aero Tuned" »

By Ben Schaffer

The Real JDM

The next generation of Hybrid cars are officially out and as expected the Japanese tuning scene is already hard at work to stylize and tune them!

The lead off image features my favorite design of the bunch by Exclusive Zeus. I really like how the painted the grill and center area of the bumper in black, it really helps give an aggressive front profile. Check out the rear under spoiler, its pretty damn nice! Very sporty for an Insight!

The usual acts are getting back into the game as well. Kenstyle has two new kits coming out, one for the Insight and one for the Prius. Continue reading at The Real JDM

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

Earlier this month I posted a couple of the dress-up tuned vehicles that were done by Noblesse in Japan, but Noblesse also tunes Hondas for the track. Their latest project is a bit unconventional but I’m quite excited about it – a Honda Insight circuit car. With just coilovers, wheels and tires, and brake pads from a Fit RS, the Insight recorded a 51.428 lap time at Mihama Circuit. For comparison’s sake the tuned Noblesse Fit RS recently ran a 51.806 lap on the same track. Once the weather cools down, they plan to go at it again with some bolt-on exhaust and intake upgrades. To me, the idea of building an Insight for the track captures the original spirit of hot rodding – transforming a run of the mill hybrid car into something functional and unique.

I’ll certainly be keeping an eye open to see how this project develops.

By Mike Garrett

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

As more and more major automakers jump on the Prius bandwagon, expect mainstream hybrids to get smaller and cheaper. Nissan’s been showing off its JDM electric Cube and toying with the idea of bringing it stateside, while Hyundai, the quintessential cheap-car producer, is debuting its own hybrid “Blue-Will” at the Seoul Motor Show. It’s funny that just a few years ago, proto-green rides like GM’s EV1 and the first-gen Honda Insight spooked consumers by being too petite. But today, the exploding popularity of the smart car and the horde of startup companies showcasing pocket-sized EVs have beaten a path to consumer acceptance of the “small is beautiful” credo. Meanwhile, Honda’s revamped Insight hybrid, while appearing to be a Prius copycat, will be a couple of inches smaller than its competitor in both height and length, and will undercut Toyota’s iconic hybrid by several thousand dollars–the Insight can be had for under $20K. Toyota, rattled by the Prius-killing potential of this development, has responded by announcing a new “dedicated” hybrid based on the ultra-econo Yaris subcompact platform. Suddenly small is the new black, and it kind of makes you wonder if this race to the bottom is going to make a stillborn out of GM’s comparatively chunky, $35-$40K Volt–but with all the problems in Detroit, maybe that issue is moot. Stay tuned.

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

After the drapes were pulled off the new Honda Insight, it had to be moved to its final position on the show floor for public days. I overheard two Cobo workers saying that apparently the giant “H” on the steering wheel wasn’t enough information for the driver, who decided it belonged in the Toyota booth. It doesn’t look that much like the Prius, dude.

Continue reading "Insight Goes Where?" »

So, everybody knows that Coca-Cola was originally spiked with Bolivian marching powder—but 7-Up also had a secret ingredient! As it turns out, the company’s "Never had it, never will" slogan doesn’t apply to lithium. Today, lithium is used to treat bi-polar disorder, but back in the roaring ’20s, it was just a hangover cure. Damn, I knew I was born too late. Anyway, here’s the news:

• Honda has released images of the new Insight, and it looks very similar to the Prius, which means it’s hideous. So what’s the deal? Must hybrid cars be visually repellent to function? Is this why Tesla can’t seem to get its act together? Autoblog
• Yesterday, a Reno woman got wasted and hopped behind the wheel. Then she filled her tank and drove away with the pump’s nozzle dangling. The kicker? She mistook an ambulance for a police cruiser and pulled over. At least nobody got hurt. The Weekly Vice via Jalopnik
• With the Big Three begging for government loans and auto sales in the toilet, it’s easy to see Hummer as doomed. But while its fate seems certain, there’s a chance the Ruskies might save the beefy brand. Seriously, ever seen a Russian "road?" New York Times
• If somebody stole my moped—not that I’d ever own one—I guess I’d be pretty stoked if the thief tried to make right. Of course, I might be a little pissed if it took him 25 years. Reuters

This week’s Showrooms Showdown wasn’t pretty. Less than half of the people who commented picked the Honda Insight. But as far as I can tell, only two people opted for the Prius. More people preferred to take a bullet to the head. There were also a significant number of votes for neither, or walking. So the Insight takes this one by a landslide.

There’s a new battle being fought in the automotive world. It’s kind of like the pony car wars, only much more boring. It’s the hybrid war. The two main contenders are the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight, which will both be be fresh and new for 2010. It’s funny how they look kind of the same, isn’t it? Ok, so I know a lot of you guys couldn’t picture yourselves driving either of these cars, let alone buying one. But pretend for a moment that you have a gun to your head, and that you have to take one for your daily driver. Which would you choose?

As hybrids go, I always liked the original Honda Insight a lot better than Toyota’s Prius. It’s way less awkward-looking, its little truncated rear references the CRX, and its fender-skirted roundiness almost makes it look like it should have its own mouse pad. Plus, after the Insight was killed off a couple of  years ago, owning one took on a kind of renegade flavor—something about it says true geek car, whereas the Prius just aims to placate sanctimonious suburban know-nothings.

Well, now Honda’s bringing back the Insight, and it looks exactly like… the Prius. The all-new Insight will share nothing with Honda’s original, and while Honda was the first major manufacturer to put a production hybrid on the road, it seems that for the new car they’ll be taking all their styling cues from the ultra-successful and ultimately ho-hum Prius. The new Insight will be bulkier than the original, but smaller than the Civic, and Honda hopes to keep the price below $20,000 to make it competitive with both current hybrid offerings and small gas-motored cars. But it kind of sucks that, in the race to the middle, they’ve taken away everything that made the Insight cooler than the Prius in the first place. Watch for it to be unveiled next month at the Paris Auto Show.

Source: Car & Driver.

Continue reading "Honda Brings Back The Insight" »