Finally. That’s the first thing that popped
into my head when I heard that Honda is considering bolstering their hybrid
line up with low-cost models. The news comes courtesy of Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, wherein Honda President Takeo
Fukui reportedly states that the automaker is hard at work on two new hybrids that
will cost less than Honda’s current offering, the Insight ($19,800). The move
would be a reactionary one against less-than-stellar sales of the Insight (Honda
figures to miss projected sales of the Insight by as much as 30 percent), as well as a move against the popularity of rival’s Toyota Prius. So,
what do these new hybrids look like?
AutoBlogGreen speculates that one likely
candidate is a hybrid version of the Honda Fit (pictured above). This
diminutive automobile would be able to provide great fuel efficiency based on
its compact design. And with a rumoured price of just $15,800 it would be one
of the most affordable hybrids on the planet. Such a move, it is hoped, would
mark the beginning of an affordable, entry-level hybrid market, one that both
cash-strapped citizens and environmentally conscious drivers are in dire need
of (the all electric market, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter).
The second model Takeo Fukui referred to
could be the CR-Z hatchback (pictured below). This hybrid coup is speculated to sport a 2.5-liter
four cylinder engine with direct injection and is currently slated to join the
Honda line up in 2011. However, it would be difficult to believe that such a
sleek, sporty vehicle would fall into the under-$20,000 range. That being said,
few other hybrids are in the system at Honda, at least that we know about.
Either way, this has the potential to be a
watershed moment, not just for those waiting for affordable hybrids but for the
environment as a whole. It’s time to divest the words ‘hybrid’ and ‘status
symbol’ once and for all, lest the two get too comfortable with one another.
