HONDA HOPE NEW HYBRID WILL REPEAT INSIGHT SUCCESS

       Honda is hoping to repeat the success of its Insight with another hybrid-only model, the CR-Z, and Japanese automarker is once again promising affordable prices.
       Honda stunned the industry with the low pricing of its Insight hy brid car, which went on sale in January at 1.89 yen million (Bt706,000) in Japan, and under US$20,000 (Bt669,000) in the United States.
       A version of the CR-Z that's close to the commercial model that will go on sale in February next year will be shown for the first time at the Tokyo Motor Show, which opens to the media on October 21 and to the public two days later. However,reporters got a preveil at the show,including the CR-Z, which stands for "compact renaissance zero."
       The Insight became a hit, selling more than 65,000 units globally, mostly in Japan, where ecological tax breaks and cash-for-clunkers programmes have boosted hybrid sales.
       The arrival of the Insight also helped pressure rival Toyota to keep the remodelled Prius hybird, which followed a few months later,at a relatively cheap price, starting at 2.05 yen million in Japan and $22,000 in the US.
       The CR-Z has a 1.5-litre engine and is bigger than the Insight, which has a 1.3-litre engine, but smaller than the 1.8-litre Prius.
       Honda appears to be keeping the prius in mind when setting the CR-Z's price.
       "If this costs as much as 2.7 yen million, no one is going to take another look at this car," said CR-Z engineer Takashi Nagura, while declining to give a price.
       The new model targets singles and childless couples, rather than families, with its curvaceous sporty design. It also doesn't have much back-seat room.
       Honda will also be showing a tiny retro-looking electric vehicle called the EV-N at the Tokyo Motor Show.
       Designers usually like to give a cube-like shape to electric vehicles to accentuate tha fact that they don't have a petrol engine and don't need to look like a typical car. But Honda has deliberately given the EV-N a front that looks like it can accommodate an engine, although all that's beneath the hood is luggage space.

       A HYBRID CR-Z is shown in a Tokyo studio on September 18. Honda is hoping to repeat the success of its Insight with this new hybrid-only model.