Honda touted the Insight as the “first production gasoline-electric hybrid automobile sold in America” when it entered the market in late 1999, seven months before the first Prius. This first-year, 25-year-old Citrus Yellow 2000 Honda Insight with a five-speed is posted here on craigslist in La Center, Washington, and they’re asking $8,900. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Curvette for the tip!
The rarest color is Citrus Yellow Metallic, and collectors typically jump on these fairly quickly. I don’t know if we’ve seen a gas-electric hybrid vehicle here on Barn Finds yet, is this the first one? If so, it’s the perfect one since it’s literally the first line of hybrids sold in America (sound of 304,833 keyboards feverishly trying to find one that was even earlier…). If you can find one, let’s hear about it! Remember, it has to be a production gas-electric hybrid, not Uncle Randy’s neighbor’s cousin who built one out of a ’49 Nash in his backyard.
Honda offered the first-generation Insight from late 1999 for the 2000 model year until the end of 2006, and they came in this one body style, a two-door two-seat coupe. I’ve always wondered what a four-door sedan may have looked like… Oddly enough, the second-generation Insight only came as a four-door sedan. Hmm.. I wonder what a two-door may have looked like… Enough of that, back to this one! The seller is on the fence as to whether these wheels go with the sale or not. I like the original ones shown in the first photo myself.
Not only is this car Citrus Yellow (i.e., lime green), which isn’t a big thing to most of you, I’m sure (but it’s a big thing for Insight fans), this car also has a five-speed manual. That’s also a very big thing in the Insight world. I looked at one exactly this spec a couple of years ago, but it was tired, had a few cracks on the plastic front fenders (yes, they’re plastic!), some decent surface rust underneath, and had 250,000 miles. I’ve wanted one for well over a decade, but I’m glad I didn’t get that one. The driver’s seat has some fabric issues that should be fixable without too much trouble, but the rear cargo area looks perfect.
Honda’s IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) hybrid system consists of a 1.0-liter SOHC inline-three (yes!) along with a small electric motor, adding another 13 horsepower for a total of 73 hp and 91 lb-ft of torque going to the front wheels through that five-speed manual. The nickel-metal hydride batteries add to the mix and help this 13-foot, 1,900-pound car get around 60 mpg on the highway. The five-speed manual makes it fun to drive even with just 73 hp. The seller has an extensive list of maintenance and modifications that they’ve done, so please check out the craigslist ad. Anything to do with “battery-powered vehicles” isn’t big here on Barn Finds, where rusty muscle cars rule the day, but there are a lot of us who love these things and the technology that goes along with them. What camp are you in?
Manual with a traditional clutch …never knew a hybrid had a manual available.
Thanks SG.
They’re surprisingly fun to drive, as most manuals are, Stan!
Spent some time in one of these when it was new. Around town, it was fine, but on a long-ish upgrade on a SoCal freeway, the little engine and smallish battery pack couldn’t pull the thing along at more than 35 mph or so. Even the far-right lane was dangerous, as semis had to change lanes to pass me.
Other than that, I liked it, but wondered if the engine from a Civic could be slotted in.
Fine grocery-getter. If you don’t have to climb any hills to get to the market.
That’s surprising to hear, RayT. My business road trip car used to be a 2002 Saturn SL-1 four-door sedan with a 5-speed manual, and it got 42 mpg. The trouble was that it had 100 horsepower, and I’d be in the right lane with truck drivers most of the time, going up long hills, there was just no reserve power at all. Still, 42 mpg with a regular gas-powered four-door car was amazing.
Conversely, I had a co-worker who owned and raced(!) a ’98 SL-2. It had the twin cam engine and could definitely get out of its own way.
Scotty…… Is that a picture of you Hyper Miling your Saturn down that hill?
Sorry. Just had to ask….. lol…..
Driveinstile, ha! That’s the steepest street in Duluth, MN, a city known for steep streets. It’s nothing compared to San Francisco or probably many other cities, but I thought it’d be a good photo-op if the emergency brake held long enough to get a pic.
I thought these were (are) really neat when they came out I always liked how Honda designed it to be a stick even with the electric motor. I loved that line Scotty….(sound of 304,833 keyboards feverishly trying to find one that was even earlier…). I didn’t bother to look. I’ll take your word for it. You’re very good at doing research. I also liked the 4 door version you came up with too Scotty. It looks good. I like the other rims and tires the owner has on it as well. And they even fit under the fender skirts ( which I like as well). Nice write up Scotty. I enjoyed it. Hopefully someone who can really appreciate this little Honda buys it.
Thanks, Driveinstile! I never know if anyone clicks on those weirdo photoshop exercises or not, thanks for mentioning that! I could spend more time tightening them up, but I figured if nobody clicks on them anyway, why bother? It’s good to know, thanks!
Here’s the one I looked at in 2019. I should have grabbed it, it was also a 5-speed, and I think it was $4,500 or something like that.
I like the 2 door second gen.! The 4 door 1st gen is o.k., maybe a ‘lil long.
Prius lover here! Neat car though!
Same here, thanks for chiming in!
This is the vehicle that slapped us square in the noggin’, change was afoot. The styling caused much ruckus and ridicule, and for many, like me, a harbinger of things to come, much to my dismay. Time moved on, and I feel this is the best solution for a non-EV compliant area, like where I live. I think it was pretty silly, Honda had to incorporate such a radical style car, as if to mandate this is what should be next. I feel, this is the answer, dem’ hybirds[sic], and ditch the EV altogether. It really is something how “Madison Ave” is pushing EVs, everybody jumping on the bandwagon( sound familiar?) even though studies show a downturn in sales, and with govt. rebates ending, guess what? Many are simply going back to the tried and true piston engines. We’ll worry about oil later, apparently. Some folks think there might shame in driving a hybrid, I say, THEY are the smart ones. Great find.
You may be onto something, Howard. It’ll take something beyond what any of us can even imagine to turn the tide against having gas stations on every corner. It was planned well over 100 years ago, even before I was born, if you can believe that. Until changing battery packs at “gas stations” in five minutes becomes a thing, EVs will most likely never really become a threat to fuel-powered vehicles in this vast country. I almost ran out of gas once (my own fault) even though I had 60 miles left. There just wasn’t a gas station for 60 miles on a stretch of road in Wyoming, something I never even considered.
Was just reading an article about EVs in China that can pull in to a battery changing location, sit in the car while the battery is swapped by robots. Whole process takes about 10 minutes. So, it’s coming.
I always thought that if automakers like Honda and Toyota didn’t make the first hybrids so darn odd looking they would have really taken off and more cars today would be hybrid. Even GM’s Volt was like they were trying to kill the concept before it could get market share. Me I’m holding out for a Lincoln MKZ hybrid to get below twenty grand, used.
I agree. I don’t understand why there aren’t more hybrid minivans, pickups, SUVs, sedans, and vehicles that people actually use on a daily basis.
I think the biggest thing is fear. Right in line with that is people just fed up with regulations, and quite often regs put in by a bunch of misinformed officials. But there’s something that a lot of people don’t think about:
Maintenance! Where are you going to go when you need to major them?
My older brother is a (retired) electrical engineer. He had a Lexus SUV that he drove and drove, until the day he ventured out in the AZ heat. He was downwind and he got a whiff of deteriorating batteries. That didn’t alarm him until he found out what replacements were going to cost. Then what to do with the old ones.
He couldn’t get any straight answers from anyone. All the dealer would offer is to take the SUV in trade for a new one. Well, he had an opportunity to sell the Lexus and his wife’s Accord (?). He went back to a Ford Power Stroke and bought his wife a Mustang.
Now, Scotty, I know you’ve used a hybrid for a long time so you might be able to dispel some of the skuttlebutt. In the meantime my brother, and others, really got scared and won’t go near a hybrid (or especially an EV) again. I know I’m nervous…
I’ve heard nightmare battery stories about SUVs, Geo, like Audi’s pack being $40,000, and maybe the same with Lexus, but I’m not sure if that’s fake news or a scare tactic or actually how much they cost. My last hybrid did 375k miles in 11 years on the original battery pack with no issues at all. It was the head that had a small crack in it, so it started puffing white smoke. It wasn’t worth $5,000 to change it out along with the plugged intake and whatever else, since everything else had 375,000 miles on it. I more than got my money’s worth out of that tough little car.
How about diesel hybrids! I believe some European countries were making them at one time. These were supposed to get phenomenal MPGs!
Great write up. That four door is…interesting. I have been driving these daily since 2014. They have their quirks, but mine has 230k and I would not hesitate to drive it cross country tomorrow. There is a learning curve to driving one and getting great mileage. Get a stick, it makes them fun. Not fast, but they can be quick. Insightcentral is an active and helpful forum. Some parts are getting a little scarce, but they are worth the money IMO. My best tank (very topped off) was 930.1 miles at 83.2 mpg. All highway mileage, not using ac. Best of all, it offsets all the v8s and big sixes I have.
Ha, thanks, Andrew. Yeah, some of those “Photochops” are just for fun, not structurally sound (or even halfway good-looking) by any means. I agree about hybrid mileage offsetting the other vehicles. My winter SUV had 500+ hp and got 14 mpg and wasn’t something I was going to use for my cross-country business road trips. I took it to Orlando once for a photo gig and the gas costs alone were $1,900, ouch.
I had one after it went through a 2 year lease. I got the tax credit! $7500.
My neighbor just down the alley had a black one sitting out front, sans its fender skirts. I don’t know if it ran, it never moved and then one day it was gone. FWIW it’s worth, when Toyota came out with its Prius, its system was totally different from what Honda used.
I find it odd that I’m attracted to cars that look like shoes. This is one for sure. The first hybrid is one of those things like the Baracuda beating Mustang to the market. A dubious distinction. This would be a fun mileage maker. The opposite of the Chevette diesel.
I think a modern equivalent would be the Toyota Yaris hybrid. 50 mpg.
I’ve always thought these were so cool because they were so different looking. And the fact that you can get 80mpg out of them when driven properly to me is amazing. As you may have guessed from my screen name I’m a fan of americas sports cars and have owned 15 of them over my adult life (I’m old, born in ‘54) along with 10 other various muscle cars. But I’ve always daily driven small cars too like mini coopers and GTIs until we bought our first hybrid, a Chevy volt. Plug in hybrids are the way to go for me as we rarely drive more than 40 miles a day and when we do you just go to gas operation for as long as you want. Since the volt we’ve had bmw plug in hybrids and I think they’re great. I saw this Insight on the Seattle Craigslist and sent it to barn finds and am going to try and go look at it. Great write up Scotty.
Thanks for the great tip, Curvette! I agree, unless I’m heading out on a 2,000 to 5,000 business road trip, which I do several times a year, I’m doing 20 miles a day, 30 tops. A Comuta-Car would work for me, but a modern plug-in hybrid would be the way to go. They rarely make them in AWD, though, and living in snowy Minnesota, that’s a handy feature – or it used to be when we actually got snow.
Prius has an awd model SG. I remember reading about it. Very lite duty mind you. The rear wheel motors only kick in/operate at low speed if I recall, sounds like it’s designed to get you out of a sticky spot, etc.. I could be wrong too it was some time ago I read the article.
You are correct as always, Stan! They’re on the second generation of AWD hybrids now. I got a new one about 18 months ago for my business road trip car… and I hate it. They made it much lower (4″, I think) and harder for old, tall guys like me to get into the thing. It’s my business vehicle, my white pickup, what a contractor would use for their business vehicle to haul building supplies, except all I haul is camera and drone gear, so I don’t need a pickup.
My last one went 375,000 trouble-free miles in 11 years (never have driven it in the winter, so seven months a year) until the head developed a crack and it was time to get rid of it. I drive them hard so I’m not “that guy” in a Prius. The biggest Toyota dealership in MN said they’ve never replaced a battery pack in a Prius since they started selling them 25 years ago, and they’re about $1,500 to $2,000 if you ever do need one.
I have a 2003 Insight with the CV drive. Bought it very used. After a year we put a new GreenTech IMA battery in it. That was about 3years ago. The bodies are aluminum and plastic. With the IMA boost it is a peppy little car. Has no problems with doing 80 mph on the highway. If the IMA fails you do lose a good bit of torque as the engine is only .9 litre in size. Love the little car. Honda only made 17,000 of the Gen 1 Insights over the 6 plus years of production. Parts are a minor problem as the owner’s group is quite helpful. The biggest problem is finding a qualified shop to work on them as even Honda has few techs versed in their repair.
Dennis Quaid drives one of these in the movie “The Day After Tomorrow.” Same color
The first electric car I drove was a Honda Civic! It was a conversion performed by one of my customers. It was a 1976 if I remember and it had so much torque that you could start out in 3rd gear. Anything lower like first or second would spin the tires! This was back in about 1979 or ’80. He only got a out 100 miles per charge.
I have two of them, one with 70k, the other with 250k miles. Both the IMA batteries long since died so I disconnected them, and now just drive with the 3-ctylinder gas motor (last I checked it was 2-3k$ for a “rebuilt” battery pack). The car is gutless without the electric motor boost so I shift a lot, but I still regularly get 55mpg in normal driving. They have reached something of cult status, and other Gen1 Insight drivers flash their headlights in greeting!
We had two of them (wife’s was silver, mine was red), then the kids came along and we switched to Elements. The electric motor is in line with the ICE so they can’t be run separately as the Prius does. The electric motor is just there to boost the torque. The battery pack is made from special D size batteries in sub packs. Honda replaced our battery packs several times under warranty, it was a learning curve the industry needed to go through 25 years ago. There’s an entire hobby of swapping Honda K series drivetrains (think Civic Si) into the little sports cars. (search up K-sight if interested)
Honda hosted many of us owners out to an event at Angel Stadium for an Insight gathering on Earth Day 2009.
http://www.insightman.com/homecoming/homecoming.htm
I tried to get a similar looking vehicle on lease on the GM EV1 but didn’t qualify, never found out why. When we bought the used Insight near Sacramento it showed lifetime 56 mpg and about 70 for a r/t to LA. My driving style down in the Bay Area was…different, perhaps flogging would be more appropriate but it was a lot of fun. I think I usually skipped fourth gear, ended up brining lifetime mpg down to a respectable 46. I am a strong opponent of hypermiling, especially in front of me, so my mileage was more a passing interest than a goal. BTW, my 2022 X5e shows 42.3 lifetime right now, but a different kind of fun.
I had a local shop that specialized in Japanese vehicles including the Inisght and they sourced a used tranny when the input bearing failed, changed the clutch at the same time.
Honda didn’t tack the Insight name on to its successor, instead decided that CR-Z was more appropriate; not sure why they didn’t. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CR-Z?wprov=sfla1
I’ve always dug these. I think if the car is hybrid and funky enough, bring it on! There’s only so many ’69 Camaros and 1990 Mustangs that I care to look at…
Listing update: the seller lowered the asking price by a grand to $7,900.