When the Honda Insight meter moves from CHRG to ASST and back, the color surrounding the digital speedometer also changes.
What I find surprising is how often it goes green, even at higher speeds.
Here's a video because I love making videos.
In the last bit (the part in the daylight) you'll see an illustration of what Bryn mentioned in her last post when autostop switches off.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
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altimadude00 says:
06:23 PM, 10/28/09
On topic: I would find the green-to-blue-to-green very irritating. Not only is something changing color in my field of vision (especially at night), but it's actually telling me how to drive. One commenter said something about cars are beginning to impinge on the driver's right to speed/break the law. I'm beginning to agree with them. Maybe it's an egotistical reward/punishment for the die hard hypermilers out there, but for an average driver like me, it's a slap in the face. Maybe I want to burn a few extra dinosaurs today.
Off topic: An editor (or somebody) needs to address the list of the current long term fleet. Several questions regarding the status of the 2007 Ford Edge (which hasn't been specifically posted on since May 27, 2008), the 2004 Toyota Prius (no specific posts since March 14, 2009), 2006 Lexus RX400h (last posting on September 15, 2008), and the 2008 Smart Fortwo (which left the fleet at the end of August) has been raised. Two of these cars (the two hybrids) were being kept to see if they died in your care. The Smart clearly was sold. The Ford Edge kind of wafted away like a fart in the breeze.
Please devote a post to clear up these seeming inconsistencies in your long term fleet.
brn says:
06:53 PM, 10/28/09
"What I find surprising is how often it goes green, even at higher speeds."
You mean like 54mph? From the video, it's green for deceleration and extremely light acceleration. That's peachy and all, but I fail to see why it's surprising.
hybris says:
07:37 PM, 10/28/09
+1 altimadude00 the color change and ordering around would get annoying very quickly.
sodaguy says:
08:33 PM, 10/28/09
@altimadude00
Use the "contact editor" link in the upper right-hand corner of the page to send Scott an e-mail. I'm sure he'll get back to you.
mikept03 says:
08:04 AM, 10/29/09
I don't find it annoying at all, but I don't really use it much either. You can easily turn it off though.
matt310 says:
08:43 AM, 10/29/09
Oh my god, was that a BMW 3 Series driver moving into your lane without signaling? No way. Impossible. I've never seen that happen before.
matt310 says:
08:44 AM, 10/29/09
Wait, now oh my god times ten. He actually *did* signal! *passes out from shock*
bodyblue says:
09:44 AM, 10/29/09
Altima........I agree with your off point-point. I sent a letter to the eds asking about such things. Maybe if we all do the same, we might find out something.
cr_driver says:
10:03 AM, 10/29/09
Yes donna, u like to make videos, and I like watching those videos. But your voice mas missing from this video....next time dont fail, ok?
Another reason to not buy this type of cars if you really arent into the -green- lifestyle.
We should sent more letters so they can change back this website design.....!!
bkochuk says:
11:31 AM, 10/29/09
if the car made the kind of angelic/electronica music playing at the beginning of the video every time the screen went green...that would be so cool!
frazier500 says:
12:53 PM, 10/29/09
Looks annoying, and I'd really like to hear the story on the Lexus RX400h.
corey415 says:
08:44 PM, 10/29/09
The ambient lighting for the speedometer is not annoying at all. It actually is one of the better things about the Insight. It is provides immediate feedback which can be used to improve your fuel economy. Honda should implement the same system for the Civic hybrid. It is much less distracting in my opinion than others displays that hybrid drivers are offered. And as mentioned before you can shut it off as well as turn down the overall brightness of the IP lighting.
mheikka says:
01:02 PM, 10/31/09
Pleased to see a more objective post on the Insight that doesn't try to disparage it by stating it should behave exactly like a Prius.
As another poster said, the speedometer backlight is very clever and very helpful. All you have to do is be slightly aware of the color and you'll begin driving more efficiently. Every car (including non-hybrids) should have this feature as a driver-switchable option. Driving style is the largest variable in fuel economy, and having a simple, non-intrusive feedback mechanism is great. As a result, I get better fuel economy on all vehicles I drive now.
With gas at $2.60-2.70 gallon, few care about this stuff right now, and the gearheads will call the feedback (which you can easily turn off) a gimmicky nuisance. Give it a year and we'll see if the opinions improve. I predict all 2012 cars will have some sort of feedback systems to encourage more efficient driving behavior.
e34bmwlover says:
11:05 AM, 11/16/09
Wow that's a lot of shaking over 50MPH, is it the roads or a harsh suspension?
Anyway I find blue/ green feature annoying, and I am not a big fan of digital speedometers.
Besides, bmw has similar technology, called instant mpg meter on most non-m models. Almost every BMW made in the last 20 years has it. I use that feature on long highway trips. However driving economically is mostly common sense: accelerate/ decelerate smooth, keep a good distance, plan ahead, and keep proper tire pressures. I don't need stupid lights flashing at me saying that I killed X amount of trees while merging to I-95