A Case Of Prius Envy

Meanwhile, Honda, with its practical engineering culture, was dutifully developing a “suite of hybrids” aimed at three distinct buyers—the Insight for the hard-core tree-hugger, the low-key Civic for the introverted environmentalist and the racy Accord for the horsepower jockey who wanted a guilt-free power trip (and only modest mileage improvement). By dropping hybrid systems into its popular family cars, Honda figured it had a formula for taking the technology mainstream. Then war broke out, gas prices soared and Al Gore let us all in on the inconvenient truth. As Honda’s sales sputtered, it learned its own inconvenient truth: hybrids are as much about posturing as propulsion systems. “Owning a hybrid is all about saying ‘Look at what I’m doing for the world’,” says auto analyst John Wolkonowicz of Global Insight. “If you can’t say that, the whole purchase is a waste of time.”

Now you can find Honda’s hybrid engineers tooling around the streets of L.A. at night under cover of darkness, test-driving what they hope will be their comeback car. “We see the Toyota guys driving the same course,” says Honda’s Mendel, laughing. They may share the same road, but Honda and Toyota still have different ideas when it comes to hybrids. To Toyota’s Press, “everything will be a hybrid someday.” But Honda is hedging. It will put hybrid systems only into its smallest cars; the rest of its lineup, starting in 2010, will be outfitted with high-mileage “clean diesel” engines.

Will tire kickers ever swoon over Honda’s hybrid? Only if it sends a clear message that it’s the greenest car on the planet. “Most people don’t even know Honda has hybrids,” says Virginia management consultant Mike Freidberg, whose family has outgrown the two-seat Honda Insight he bought in 2003 as a way to strike a blow against terrorism by helping our oil independence. He’s considering a Ford Escape hybrid, but he’d prefer a “swoopy” Honda hybrid that gets noticed. “I’d be interested in Honda’s new hybrid if it lets me preach about not funding terrorism.” Now there’s a model that might finally be the answer to the Prius: the Honda Preacher.

With Mary Chapman

© 2007