Honda is expecting that its new Insight hybrid won’t meet its sales target because it’s to small. That, at least, is the opinion of Honda Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo, who told Bloomberg, “I think we compromised too much on size in pursuing fuel efficiency.”

Honda had expected to sell as many as 200,000 units during the Insights first year on the market, but managed only 130,445 in 2009, with sales beginning in the automaker’s home market of Japan in February. Honda had expected the car to be a particular success in the U.S., where it had planned to sell 90,000 (almost half) of its Insights worldwide. Instead, Honda managed to move just 20,572 units.

Kondo also admitted that considering the how well the Fit has done in the marketplace and the prohibitive cost of making a hybrid version of the car, it might not look at building a hybrid Fit after all. “Our engineers are really struggling,” he said.

Interestingly, Kondo didn’t touch on the fact that it might not be the Insight’s size, but rather its fuel economy numbers (well, below those of Toyota’s Prius), that might be a contributing factor in the car’s unpopularity.

[Source: Bloomberg]

While many Japanese aftermarket tuners are taking on the newest models including many of them turning towards European applications, J’s Racing has stuck to what they know best: Hondas. The company’s booth wasn’t overwhelmingly large, but it was clear that J’s Racing is aware of the new Hybrid-tuning craze, displaying its own version of a tuned Insight, complete with light-weight RAYS wheels, an aero kit, lowered suspension and some nice Recaro seats inside. It even featured a unique combination of decals that gave it a widebody look.

Next to this Insight sat a car that represents the other extreme at Honda, the now out-of-production S2000. This model featured the J’s Racing widebody kit that is anything but subtle and has appeared on more than a few cars and more than a few magazine covers on this side of the Pacific.

GALLERY: J’s Racing Honda Insight and S2000

Honda announced a production version of its CR-Z hybrid concept will be introduced to North America in the second half of 2010.

As the second version of the CR-Z concept was unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Show, Honda announced the production version will be a sporty 2-seat hybrid, the first hybrid car set up with a manual transmission.

Power for the CR-Z comes from a 1.5-liter gasoline engine mated to an electric motor. This 200cc of added displacement over the 1.3-liter engine found in both the Civic Hybrid and Insight should help put more of a focus on performance.

The production version of the CR-Z will debut in January at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.

GALLERY: Honda CR-Z Concept

Ford is closing in on its Japanese rivals in the hybrid sales race. So far in 2009 the American automaker has posted a 73 percent gain in its hybrid sales with a total of 26,016 vehicles sold.  That number is roughly 4,000 short of Honda’s total hybrid sales at 29,958 units, but the percentage of gain should have the Japanese automakers worried. Honda, a distant second to segment leader Toyota, has managed only 8 percent growth so far this year.

Toyota’s hybrid sales this year in the U.S. total 144,351 units, although sales of the Prius are down 19.4 percent. The Pirus is still the top hybrid model, followed by Toyota’s Camry Hybrid, the Honda Insight and Civic Hybrid and then the ford Fusion and Escape hybrids.

Much of Ford’s surge can be attributed to the Fusion Hybrid, which uses technology similar to Toyota’s to deliver 41/36 mpg (city/highway). This two-mode hybrid technology is more advanced than the setup Honda is currently using.

Honda isn’t about to give up it’s second place spot, however, and has announced that the Insight will get improvements in fuel-economy and ride quality. Ford, however, is planning it’s own attack, with the 2010 Murcury Milan Hybrid due out soon, which should give Ford a slight increase in its overall hybrid sales numbers.

[Source: The Independent and LeftLaneNews]

Honda has just announced that a revised version of its CR-Z hybrid hatchback will debut at the Tokyo Auto Show next month. Honda has already produced a concept version of this car, but the new one (shown above) is as close to production as concepts get. The design has been toned down just ever so slightly, while the interior is as road-ready as a Honda Fit’s. In fact, the car looks deliciously CRX-like.

A production version of the car is expected in Japan next year with sales in North America the year after.

Power for the CR-Z comes from a 1.5-liter gasoline engine mated to an electric motor. This 200cc of added displacement over the 1.3-liter engine found in both the Civic Hybrid and Insight should help put more of a focus on performance. Apparently, the car will also be offered with a six-speed manual gearbox, as opposed to a CVT transmission – a first for a hybrid.

Let’s just hope the CR-Z is more Fit-like than Insight-like and that the Japanese automaker known for its engine building prowess can make the company’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid system a bit more competitive with Toyota’s setup.

GALLERY: Honda CR-Z Concept

We still have more than half of 2009 to go and already the list of 2010 North American Car & Truck of the Year nominees have been picked. That’s because the list is essentially a list of every new model for 2010.

Nominated for car of the year are: the Audi S4, BMW Z4, BMW 335d, BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo, Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon, Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Fusion, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Ford Mustang, For Mustang GT500, Ford Taurus, Ford Taurus SHO, Honda Insight, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Kia Forte, Kia Soul, Lexus HS250h, Lotus Evora, Mazda3, MazdaSpeed3, Mercedes E-Class, Nissan Cube, Nissan 370Z, Porsche Panamera, Subaru Legacy, Suzuki Kizashi, Toyota Prius, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Golf TDI.

The 2010 North American Truck of the Year list is only slightly shorter and includes: the Acura ZDX, BMw X5 xDrive 35d, Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Transit Connect, GMC Terrain, Honda Crosstour, Land Rover LR4, Lincoln MKT, Subaru Outback, Toyota 4Runner and Volvo XC60.

Many off these vehicles have yet to be officially released and some (like the Honda Crosstour) haven’t even been officially named yet.

Jurors will now begin the lengthy process of making a short list, with the final winners chosen at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Last year’s winners were the Hyundai Genesis and the Ford F-150.

[Source: Edmunds]

Toyota is expected to release pricing for the new 2010 Prius tomorrow and the cost of ownership will be 21,000. This is $1,000 less than the current model.

Bloomberg is reporting the drop and citing an unnamed source.

This news comes several weeks after Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported Toyota made a similar move in it’s home market of Japan. At that point, doing just the basic Yen to dollar comparison showed a Prius priced at $20,750 – so the $21,000 price expected to be released tomorrow isn’t far off.

The cost is still above the Insight, which starts at just $19,800, but the Prius does offer superior fuel-economy with 51/48 mpg (city/highway) compared to the Insight at 40/43 mpg. The Prius is also roomier as it is technically classified as a mid-sized vehicle as compared to the Insight, which is a compact.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Honda has just announced that the starting price for a new 2010 Insight hybrid will be $19,800 – making it the lowest-priced hybrid for sale in the U.S. The Insight is set to go on sale March 24th.

The $19,800 price is for the LX model, which includes front, front-side and side-curtain airbags; an anti-lock braking system; climate control, a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT); Eco Assist; tilt and telescopic steering; manual driver’s seat height adjustment; power windows; a four-speaker AM/FM audio system with a CD player and auxiliary audio input for external digital music players.

For $21,300, Honda will sell the EX model, which includes all the features of the LX as well as alloy wheels; stability control; cruise control; steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters; an upgraded audio system with six speakers; a USB audio interface; a center console with armrest and storage compartment and heated side mirrors with integrated turn signals. A navigation system will be optional.

All models will receive the same Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system, which uses a a 1.3-liter i-VTEC gasoline engine and a 10-kilowatt electric motor for a fuel-economy rating of 40 mph city and 43 mpg highway. The Insight also features Honda’s Eco Assist system, which allows for improved fuel-economy by giving feedback to the driver about their driving style with a color changing background. The color changes from blue to green to reflect how “green” the driving style is. This information is also stored with plant-leaf graphics, which can be earned for fuel-efficient driving over time.

The Eco Assist system also includes an ECON button that can further enhance fuel-economy by varying the operation of the throttle and CVT transdmission, as well as the air conditioning and cruise-control settings.

More on the Honda Insight after the jump:

According to a report in Automotive News, Honda Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo is looking to sell the new Insight hybrid compact-car for under $20,000 in the United States – undercutting Toyota’s Prius by $2,000.

At the launch for the car in Japan, Kondo stated that while the company is reviewing its goals and forecasts in this dire economic climate, it still hopes to introduce the Insight to the United States in April at less than $20,000 - a price that they expect will bring an annual sales volume of 100,000 units.

Achieving the MSRP goal as well as the production goal could, however, be difficult. The Insight, as well as Honda’s Civic Hybird, is produced in Japan at Honda’s Suzuka plant and is, therefore, subject to changes in the value of the U.S. dollar versus the Yen.

Hitting the 100,000 U.S. sales target could also be difficult as hybrid sales are on a downturn. In 2008 hybrid sales dropped 9.9 percent compared to 2007.

Another move Honda President Takeo Fukui is considering to keep production costs down is moving Insight production to the United States - something that would only occur if sales volumes exceed the 100,000 mark. By Honda’s sales predictions, green vehicles will account for 10 percent (up from the current three percent) of global auto sales before 2015.

[Source: AutoNews]

Honda already makes a Civic Hybrid, but Toyota has a stranglehold on the Hybrid market do to the clever idea of building the Prius as a standalone platform. Named the “greenest automaker” by the Union of Concerned Scientists in 2007 for the fourth straight year, Honda is eager to make sure the world sees it as an environmentally responsible company. Enter, the Insight Hybrid, set to debut at the 2009 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

Obviously, Honda is also interested in selling more cars and the Insight Hybrid might just do the trick. Annual sales are expected to be as high as 200,000 units with 100,000 Insight Hybrids being sold in the U.S.

We expect the Insight Hybrid to use a 1.3-liter gasoline engine paired to an electric motor. Honda says it will also use the company’s new and interactive Ecological Drive Assist (Eco Assist) System.

Honda Insight Hybrid Concept:

Official release after the jump: