Another daffy Insightman TMI story:
Way back in 1999 I drove my boy-racer Honda CRX Si to the Detroit auto show. On display at the show was the Honda VV Hybrid prototype, which became the original Insight for the 2000 model year. I thought this streamlined car looked pretty nice and I was impressed with its all-aluminum construction and novel drivetrain.
Because I loved my two CRX Si speedsters, I'd been wishing Honda would make another 2-seat hatchback (the Del Sol didn't do it for me). I realized this hybrid prototype wasn't meant to replace the CRX Si, but instead the CRX HF (the most fuel-efficient Honda). Could I convert from a ticket-risking, high-speed driver to someone who gets enjoyment from a big number on an MPG read-out? Could I become a hypermiler?
I came up with an experiment. Instead of driving home at 80-95 mph the way I'd arrived, I tried going 55 mph in the right-hand lane of I-94. It was incredibly painful, but I endured. The other cars on the road didn't appreciate my attempt to maximize my fuel economy. Many drivers would try tailgating me in an attempt to get me to speed up. Failing in that, they would angrily pass me, always shooting me a nasty look (and sometimes a hand gesture) as they went by. I soon learned other drivers will leave you alone if you stick yourself behind a semi truck. However, I also learned that if you follow a semi truck too closely, they'll purposely drift right onto the shoulder to kick up debris onto your car.
I decided I could change. With the help of a gauge that analyzes my efficient driving behavior, I could learn to slow down. The next day I placed a $500 deposit on what would eventually be called the Honda Insight. While I waited a year for my Honda Insight, I worked hard to talk myself into a new driving mindset. My friends with Jaguars, Mustangs, etc. got tired of hearing me talk about going slow and saving $2 gas and they told me so. My wonderful wife, however, understands me--she had my birthday cake decorated with the image of an Insight.
Then, just a month after Honda unveiled the production Insight in late 1999, the company loaded a single Insight (#221) into a small enclosed truck and drove it to Ann Arbor--the first one in the Midwest. My new motto became, "Nobody can out-slow me!" My friends correctly classified me as crazy. I convinced only one of them to come over to "the slow side," but he went with a Prius.
Now our Clarity PHEV is causing me to alter my driving style yet again. After spending 19 years of carefully conserving gasoline, I'm driving a car that hasn't been to the gas station since we bought it in December. Wasting a little electricity to go a breathtaking 80 mph on the expressway doesn't bother me a bit (of course, those speeds in the big, smooth Clarity don't seem nearly as fast as they do in my tiny Insight). After years of carefully logging every gallon pumped, I'm ignoring the number of kWhs our Clarity is consuming. It's a new kind of car and a new kind of driving (OK, I admit I always drive in ECON Mode and take care never to press the accelerator past its detent).
Whee-haw, look at me, I'm speeding again!
Last edited:
I used to take that for my allergies. (Well... actually it's spelled "Claritin", but who's counting? 
)
