3rd generation Honda Insight Concept reveals ultimate Civic Hybrid

I couldn’t tell you why Honda constantly blows the suspense of a pending new car reveal. Much like a father or a doting spouse that can’t hold a secret, Tuesday finds AHMC leaking a darkened siloet of the reinvented Honda Insight -- the car that took gasoline /electric hybridization mainstream in America way back in 1999.

You still see them from time to time running the city streets of North America. The original near micro sized streamlined Insight Hybrid has become a bit of a cult classic in the automotive world. Honda Insight was America’s first mass produced hybrid electric car. The 3rd generation Insight will mainstream Honda electric. Today, we have this car.

Back to the future: Insight Hybrid will try it again

I drove my last plastic wrapped new 2nd generation Honda Insight 3 years ago, prior the the Insight’s North American market exit. As an avid auto electrification junkie, I found Insight to be intriguing, relatively fun to drive, and unique looking. What Insight lacked in horsepower and torque, it gained in quirky good looks, and hatchback utility. And, its price point was right. At that time one could find a dealership willing to part with a new Insight for under $23,000 -- that will not be the case with the reinvented, top of the Civic lineup, 3rd generation Insight.

Honda Insight Hybrid to sit at the top of the Civic trim walk

Honda vows to electrify 2/3rd's of the maker's automotive lineup within 12 production years. Insight, destined for U.S. markets in the Summer of 2019 will help the maker achieve that goal. Earlier in the month Torque News reported on the 3rd offering in the Clarity electric trilogy -- an astoundingly well rounded electrified vehicle that steels more than a bit of thunder from Honda Accord Hybrid.

Looking to the darkened profile photo of the 3rd generation, 2 motor 2019 Insight Hybrid, the 10th generation Honda Civic is revealed. However, without details from Honda. I can only speculate, that as in generations past, the pending Insight will come to market in 5-passenger hybrid form.

Insight Hybrid to share drive components with Honda Accord

The current Honda Accord hybrid is destined for U.S. sales sometime in the early spring. For 2018, Honda Accord hybrid is manufactured in the U.S.. Honda tells us that the reinvented Insight will also be manufactured in the U.S., sharing a manufacturing architecture with Civic and CR-V. Here’s what Honda tells us: "With its sophisticated styling, dynamic stance, ample interior space and best-in-class performance, the all-new Insight embodies Honda's approach to creating electrified vehicles without the typical tradeoffs," said Henio Arcangeli, Jr., senior vice president of Automobile Sales and general manager of the Honda Division, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "You won't have to be an electrification advocate to appreciate the new Insight – it's a great car in its own right, independent of what's happening under the hood."

Look for our report from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, January 2018.