New Car

[San Onofre Guy]

I bought my first new car in over a decade. A 2013 Honda Insight with Navigation. Since the 2014'sare coming out I got it for $3,000 less that I thought I would have to spend. Also the payment is much less than the car allowance I get as of three weeks ago!

[JaneV2.0]

Excellent! Do you get to keep the difference?

[San Onofre Guy]

Yes I keep the difference. The requirement for those with a car allowance is the ability to carry four people in the car. I traded in my 1995 Mercedes for $500. I bought that car 5 1/2 years ago for $4500 with the idea that I would only drive it for two years. It has an electrical issue such that I unhooked the battery each time I stopped for any length of time for the past six weeks. It was due for a smog check and registration. I will like doubling my gas mileage and not having to burn high test.

[Tanglefoot]

Congrats!

I like seeing the 1st-gen, boat-tailed Insights around. The new ones sure are more refined and roomy though.

Are you going to hypermile it? You should be able to use just about any of the techniques except pulse & glide with the IMA. See if you can beat the EPA estimates!

[San Onofre Guy]

I plan to hyper mile when alone as it drives most passengers nuts. I have always been an efficient driver long before hyper mileling came into vogue. I always coasted to lights and stop signs but more for saving brakes than fuel.

[SteveinMN]

I plan to hyper mile when alone as it drives most passengers nuts.

I just let my passengers go nuts. If they can't handle my timing traffic lights and coasting to stops, they can drive themselves!

[catherine]

Wow, I remember when the Insight first came out--man did I have car-envy! The Prius was the #2 hybrid back then--somehow they did a better job of meeting market demand than Honda at that point.

So, congratulations! So glad Honda figured out what to do with the Insight. I LOVE my hybrid car (Prius). I really do. I fill it up twice a month. I bought it in 2007, it's paid for, it has 88,000 miles, so I figure it's good for another six years at least. When I'm ready for a new car, it will be interesting to see what's available at that point in time, but I will definitely be shopping for another high-efficiency car.

[redfox]

I drove a first gen Insight for several years, and loved it! I bought it used, and sold it to my sis, as she is an on-call worker, and drives all over a big, rural county. She needed the high efficiency way more than we needed a second car. I miss it, and always love riding in it when we carpool to family events. Enjoy your new friend!

[Gardenarian]

Cool. What color is it?
I've tried hypermiling but found that what really counts is slowing down on the highway - driving 55 or 60. Does your car come with one of those meters that tells you how much gas you are using? I always thought it's be neat to have that.

[Tanglefoot]

2007 Pri here as well. I'm hoping it'll be my last car...at least until gasoline is no longer available. Maybe there'll be a nice full-electric retrofit kit for them then...

Hypermiling is good fun....over-inflate the tires, try not to use the brakes, obsessively study traffic flow, slow on the summit, fast on the downstretch, set up a long-draft on the highway, take the race-line through the corners...it's addicting!