Honda unveils cheapest hybrid car

Even Honda Motor Co. officials acknowledged the timing was tough for the Insight gas-electric hybrid, which hits showrooms in the middle of a devastating slump, especially in the North American market that's the main target market.

Also, oil prices have tumbled from their peak last July, detracting from the appeal of gas-sipping hybrids. Insight gets as much as 30 kilometers a liter, or 43 miles a gallon, according to Honda.

"If the Insight had gone on sale a half year earlier, it would have been such a sure hot-seller," Norio Ano, who oversees auto development at Honda, told The Associated Press.

Text & Images: AP

Image: Journalists examine Honda Motor Co's brand-new Insight hybrid car during its unveiling in Tokyo on February 5. The price of the five-seater hatchback, powered with a combination of a 1.3-liter gasoline engine and an electric motor, starts at 1,890,000 yen ($21,000) in Japanese market.

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