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American Honda Motor Co. Introduces Insight, the First 70 MPG Gasoline-Powered Vehicle in History and the First Gasoline-Electric Hybrid To be Sold in America

18 November 1999

American Honda Motor Co. Introduces Insight, the First 70 MPG Gasoline-Powered Vehicle in History and the First Gasoline-Electric Hybrid To be Sold in America

    For 2000, American Honda will unveil its all-new Insight, the first
gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle to be sold in the U.S and the first
mass-produced gasoline-powered vehicle in history to achieve more than 70 mpg.
The Insight's breakthrough environmental engineering conserves natural
resources and produces ultra-low emissions.  The Insight can travel
600-700 miles on a single tank of gas.
    For Atlantans, that not only means less time at the pump, but it means
cleaner commutes in a city designated as a "serious" non-attainment area by
the EPA.  And one lucky Georgia resident can win a free two-year lease of the
all new Insight by entering Honda's sweepstakes at the 1999 North American
Electric Infrastructure Conference and Exposition '99 (NAEVI'99) on Saturday.
Consumers also have the opportunity to test drive the vehicle at the event.
    Robert Bienenfeld, Manager of Advanced Environmental Vehicles, American
Honda Motor Co., will be in town Wednesday, Thursday and Friday -- he is
available for live, in-studio or taped interviews on Wednesday and Thursday,
and the Insight is available for reporter test-drives.
    On sale in Atlanta this January and priced below $20,000, the Insight
utilizes Honda's innovative Integrated Motor Assist (IMA(TM)) hybrid system in
combination with a rigid and lightweight aluminum body structure, world-class
aerodynamic design and advanced ultra-low emissions technology.  The Insight
is the cleanest and most fuel-efficient gasoline-powered vehicle ever offered
to American consumers.
    Robert Bienenfeld is available to discuss the future of environmental
technologies and alternative fuel vehicles and all the breakthrough features
of the new Insight, including:

    --  Light and rigid aluminum body, almost 50% lighter than a comparable
        steel body with world-class occupant protection
    --  The world's most aerodynamic mass-produced automobile
    --  The lightest, most-compact, 1.0 liter 3-cylinder gasoline automobile
        engine in the world
    --  Electronic power - the Insight never needs to be plugged in like
        electric vehicles on the market today
    --  Honda engineers have applied for more than 300 patents on the Insight
    --  Honda's environmental heritage, beginning with the 1974 Civic, the
        first vehicle to meet all Clean Air Act standards while running on
        regular gasoline
    --  The future of environmental technologies and alternative fuel vehicles