honda insight

[Joe_Black]

Anything prior to '86 in generally the sweet-spot for MB diesels as the 6-cylinder that followed the 5-cylinder was prone to it's head developing cracks. The 5-cylinder 3.0L diesel is just a joy to work on as you couldn't get much simpler. It's like the Ford Falcon of German cars! And you will see a lot of high mileages on the ones that were well maintained. I've currently got an '80 300SD (W116 chassis) that has almost 600K miles on the clock and runs strong still with the original engine. The couple I purchased it from had been running it for years on soy oil they bought in bulk from a local discount center, which made it run much quieter until I started blending regular diesel back into it then the normal diesel clatter returned after the soy ran out.

Just remember to stick to the turbo cars for the extra power and economy. Actually, if you don't mind a little body and interior work I'm looking to part with an '82 300D Turbo that's been converted to 4-speed manual. It's very quick and an absolute blast to drive! If interested shoot me a PM and I'll get you the details.

[JHarris1385]

Ok I think I got it now. Anything prior to an 86 with a turbo on the diesel. I was under the impression that all were turbos but now I got to make sure to watch for that. Is there anything in particular that I should look for? I assume one of these with more than 100,000 is not too bad after all? I would heavily consider your car for purchase but I plan to watch these for a couple months and buy when my income settles (just started a new job yesterday actually + getting married in a few months). If it is still around Ill pm you for sure.

[nater]

Joe, I think you've been misinformed. If it's the "Hummer is better" story, that's been debunked, but keeps getting posted all over the Internet.

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/8/27/124134/961

I now have the following vehicles in my driveway:

-2000 Isuzu Trooper (rarely moves)
-2004 Toyota Prius (moves occasionally, wife drives it)
-Extremely rare 2002 RAV4 EV, my daily driver. This car is a pure electric. It uses 1/4 the energy of a gasoline RAV4, and less than half the energy of the Prius. I charge it at home from wind power, so it is carbon free.

Our electric bill is an additional $25-30 per month for 1200 miles, and we spend about $25 to fill the Prius every six weeks. The Trooper of course takes about $65 to fill up. I filled it in August and again in January.

Our net fuel cost is around $50 and our carbon footprint has hit the floor. Diesels are popular, biodiesel is cool, but the emissions are still miserable.

The Insight has indeed been discontinued. Honda's system is parallel only, it doesn't scale like the Toyota and Ford systems. They use serial/parallel hybrid systems for better power an efficiency. The Insight got better mileage than the Prius because it was so small. The smart cars get worse mileage than the Prius, and I could tow one with my RAV4 EV.

There's a reason the Prius is so popular. It's a very good car, it's quite peppy, gets great mileage, and is large enough to actually haul people. I get about 45 MPG overall, even driving it hard. Of course, my electric RAV4 has 65,000 miles and counting, without a drop of gasoline.

Nate

[Bulldoggie]

nater;
I started a new thread, not wanting to hyjack this one.
a two part video of local EV racers, smoking Corvettes.
I think you might like it.



http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=12747

Glad to see you have one of the Rav4 EV's
I'm sure you saw the Doc. "who killed the electric car" about the GM EV's taken from their "Owners", who still wanted and Loved them, and were destroyed.
No salvage allowed.

[nater]

Not only have a I seen the film, I know the stars.

Here's an article about me.

http://www.evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=1117

(moving to the EV thread).

Nate

[nater]

To sum up, people love their Insights, but many of them are needing batteries. It looks like Honda didn't quite have the battery management of Toyota and Ford. The Ford Escape seems to be the best, with actual A/C cooled air going across the batteries.

Also, avoid the 2000-2003 Prius. Its battery is not intended to last the life of the car, the 2004 and newer Prius battery is.

Good luck with your choice.

Nate

[Joe_Black]

Joe, I think you've been misinformed. If it's the "Hummer is better" story, that's been debunked, but keeps getting posted all over the Internet.

Oh no, not into that line of thinking at all. Behemoth show-n-go diesels like Hummers and mega-pickups don't ring my bell. But I feel that gasoline hybrids have been over-hyped and aren't all that they're touted to the general public. Key word here: Gasoline. There are a number of diesel hybrids in the pipeline that are much more promising. But again, this isn't new technology as hybrids were here and in production 100 years ago through the 1940's.

As some have mentioned an ideal would be 100% electric, but our greatest challenge is to change our driving habits and continue to develop improved storage technologies for electricity. My biggest personal interest is for American energy independence, which I believe would then lead to increased competition and research for improved energy technologies. Biofuels is but just one part of the greater equation, but the one I feel with the great immediate impact and viability. This would be a foundation for other technologies to stand on and garner additional support among the greater unthinking American public, who get behind what's put in front of their faces by the media moreso than anything learnable.

Unfortunately all the viable building blocks of our own energy independence have devolved into little greedy special interests that seem to spawn studies and rumors debunking each other trying to grab the spotlight for themselves. This infighting makes for a lot of confusion and uncertainty, keeping that same ignorant public at the gasoline pump.

As an aside, nice score on the RAV4 EV! I got outbid on two on eBay a while back and pretty much gave up on trying to get one, although they're likely the best production EV currently around. Been keeping my eye out for a VW Vanagon to convert to an EV as it could easily support a solar panel "roof" with enough output to significantly enhance the range in a daily-driver application. Then again, I''ve got enough projects.

[Spike]

Driving an Insight, reminded me of driving one of those Cal tech creations, only.... the wires weren't dangling, and it all worked...sort of. It was a horrible car. An experiment, a toy, a distraction....ok. Something I'm driving every day....no way. You want looks? Resurrect an old "Citicar" They're still around. Some Optima's is all they need. Citicar is easily as crappy as an Insight, probably even MORE dangerous in traffic, and even weirderer looking. Smart will be near you soon. In the city, that micro is the way to go....unless you can hold out for the new Fiat 500. 11 grand is %75 of a Smart. I'd almost move to a city to drive one.:bwgr:

A Citicar used to be spotted in West Chester PA several years back.. yea... looks like someone cut the back end off...

You want looks? T-Rex ... but... no doors. so.. its a fair weather vehicle...

[Spike]

http://www.dailytech.com/Honda+CEO+S...ticle10147.htm

The comments after the article with attached links pretty much covers all these debates.
Enough to convince me to stay away from all hybrids except the Prius.
I did own a diesel rabbit, and I must say it's a great feeling to go 530mi+ between fueling.
Both sides of this argument are valid, I like to keep an open mind to future Tech. An indie Japanese Prof. has developed an all electric 8 wheel drive (motors in the wheels) 370kmph+ car-----Think slot car fast ... the Eliica
http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...eID=8754&vf=23

P.S. Why post if your opinion doesn't matter.
IMHO, some posters seem to want the last word on EVERY topic.
it must be great to know so much.

I wouldnt touch a Prius with a 10 foot crankshaft ... ashes to ashes study shows it is more damaging to the environment than a Hummer... (ashes to ashes = from the time the materials are gathered to build it until the day it gets crushed/recycled. )

Plus they are hideous looking... and in my personal experience, their owners are often extremely arrogant... to the point of wanting to ban plastic testicles from the back of vehicles in Maryland. :P

Aside from all of that, forget changing your own oil. Do it wrong, engine starts up right after you drain it, and you just siezed up your engine...

Oh yea.. and dont bother trying to put a supercharger on one :P

[johnnyapollo]

Hey Spike - that "study" has been debunked. Seems the setup of the Hummer factory was left out of the equation as "unavailable" or some-such. If you'll do a search on it you'll find that's it's an attempt at misdirection.

-- John

[Spike]

Hey Spike - that "study" has been debunked. Seems the setup of the Hummer factory was left out of the equation as "unavailable" or some-such. If you'll do a search on it you'll find that's it's an attempt at misdirection.

-- John

Ok, but the rest of my comments were valid...

oh... speaking of the 500... here is one taking a ride on a train!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aciPS...eature=related

[Ldub]

I wouldnt touch a Prius with a 10 foot crankshaft ... Plus they are hideous looking... and in my personal experience, their owners are often extremely arrogant... to the point of wanting to ban plastic testicles from the back of vehicles in Maryland. :P

See "Smug" episode of South Park.

[Spike]

See "Smug" episode of South Park.

http://www.southparkzone.com/episode...ug-Alert!.html

ROFL! Never caught that one... SO much truth!!!

[nater]

You wanna see smug? The Prius drivers have got nothing on me in the EV!

Joe is right. The Prius is merely a high-efficiency gasoline powered car, albeit a relatively big and powerful one. I will be trading it for a plug-in hybrid as soon as they come to market.

Foreign oil is the biggest problem our country faces. Wars are not fought over electricity.

As for changing your own oil, you can do it without a problem. Just make sure the car is off. You wouldn't change the oil with the key on in the VX, would you? You make it sound like the Prius is "Christine" or something. There are fewer moving parts in a Prius than in a Vehicross. No starter, no alternator, no slushbox, no transfer case, no second differential.

The Prius has its flaws. But it is the most environmentally friendly (new) car you can buy besides the Tesla Roadster.

Anyway, I digress.

Nate

[Ldub]

You wanna see smug? The Prius drivers have got nothing on me in the EV!

Foreign oil is the biggest problem our country faces. Wars are not fought over electricity.

The Prius has its flaws. But it is the most environmentally friendly (new) car you can buy besides the Tesla Roadster.

Anyway, I digress.

Nate

You did get the memo about smug not being a good thing, right?

Also, you say wars are not fought over electricity?...I seem to recall a pretty good row between two dudes named Edison & Westinghouse. ( IIRC, Tesla & Kelvin were the corner men...can't remember the name of the ring girl)