When the Accord Hybrid first came out, it was a novel idea. Take the second best-selling car in the country, offer it with as many luxury features as possible, and soup it up to make it faster than any other family sedan on the market. This approach—using hybrid technology in a bigger engine such as the Accord’s V6—caught car reviewers and hybrid fans by surprise. Aren't hybrids supposed to be small, underpowered, econoboxes with great fuel economy?
One headline read, "Sips Gas. Hauls Ass." Environmentalists pinned the term "muscle hybrid" on the Accord. David Welch of BusinessWeek, as if shocked, wrote, "The car bursts onto the road. Yea, this car—an environmentally friend and fuel-efficient hybrid—really did burn a little rubber."
The removal of the Accord Hybrid from the market follows Honda’s decision last year to discontinue the Honda Insight, the first hybrid to enter the market. While the Honda Insight was the reigning fuel efficiency king for six years, the two-seat teardrop designed vehicle was not practical for many car buyers. Unlike the Toyota Prius, a runaway hit because it strikes the right balance between practicality, adequate performance and superior fuel efficiency, Honda erred with the Accord Hybrid by falling below hybrid-level fuel economy levels and with the Insight because of impracticality.
For that, buyers see an increase from 18 mpg city and 26 mpg highway with the new EPA estimating methods to 24 city/32 highway using '08 calculations (28/35 with old calculations) over the gas-only V-6. Although those are substantial gains, the majority of Accord customers buy four-cylinder cars, which already achieve a respectable 21 mpg city and 31 mpg highway for 2008. The hybrid costs six grand more than a loaded four-cylinder, which is a premium of more than 20 percent.
And from a visual standpoint, there was little to distinguish the hybrid Accord from the gasoline model, which doesn't play well for those aiming to make a statement with their purchase.
Honda last year stopped making the two-seat Honda Insight, the first-ever hybrid on the market, but the automaker has promised an all-new, smaller (think Fit subcompact size) dedicated hybrid (as opposed to a hybridized conventional vehicle) for the U.S. in 2009.
Posts
