that "prius-like" shape is the result of wind-tunnel testing. the sweeping front end has low coefficient drag and is supposed to help fuel economy.

i could have bought a civic for it's better gas mileage, but i bought the Fit because of it's fun-to-drive factor. i'd bet my first-born that the Insight2 won't be as fun to drive as a Fit

 

$18k minus a (very) likely $2k-3k tax credit makes the Insight very appealing.

 

You are dreaming. There is no way this will come in cheaper than the fit. Probably will be a small step up from the Civic too.

 

x2 on that one.

 

When I was researching the Fit a few weeks ago, I came across an article about the redesigned Insight. According to the article, they are specifically going for cost-friendly hybrid, so the pricing projection might very well come true.

My uncle who works for Toyota as a master mechanic said that Toyota sold the Prius for $20k for quite some time while it cost them $30k to produce. Now, they are up around the $30k mark. Who is to say that even if it cost Honda more to produce this car, they might drop the price just to get the name out in the market.

As an aside, if it drives anything like the original Insight (cute design other than the rear wheels, looked like a CRX) it would not be fun. That car felt like it had too little power.

It's kind of funny. I asked an Acura salesman a few years ago when Acura/Honda would bring out another hybrid. His response was that they were working on technology different from what is currently being used. If this was their intention, they must have realized they need to act while the iron is hot--not just when they're ready.