HONDA INSIGHT: A HYBRID WITH A BUDGET PRICE

Honda (HMC) revealed the look and name Thursday of its new hybrid-only car to go on sale in the U.S. next spring. It is expected to be one of the cheapest cars in the next generation of gas-electric hybrids.

"They will crack the under-$20,000 barrier," predicts John O'Dell, senior editor of Edmund's Green Car Advisor. "It's a new generation of a more affordable hybrid."

It will be called the Insight, reviving the name of the first hybrid in the U.S., sold here by Honda from 1999 to 2006. A concept version of the new Insight, of which a photo was released Thursday, will be unveiled next month at the 2008 Paris International Auto Show.

Honda spokesman Sage Marie says the concept is "close" in appearance to the production model. It has a design that borrows heavily from the look of Honda's FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle.

While the Insight appears stylish and should post high gas mileage figures, Honda engineers appear to have stressed holding down the price, having squeezed extra cost out of a hybrid powertrain.

Honda's new hybrid comes as Toyota (TM) is about to unveil the next generation of its top-selling Prius hybrid, which currently has a base price of $22,000.

The most the original, two-seater Insight sold per year in the U.S. was 4,726 in 2001. It got 53 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving.

The new Insight is a five-door hatchback, larger than Honda's Fit but smaller than Civic. Up to 100,000 a year are headed for the U.S.

It "seems like the right car for the right time," says Bradley Berman, editor of HybridCars.com.

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