Car Moon

The modestly improved for the 2011 model year Honda Insight hybrid with chassis and trim level changes has arrived at Honda's UK showrooms. Normal pricing starts at £16,325 for the SE model, however, the Japanese automaker is running a special deal until the end of December offering the hybrid model at £14,995 OTR.

Irrelevant numbers aside, hybrid registrations in the States are falling. Some of the 17% drop between 2007 and 2009 has naturally been blamed on the recession, but the Wall Street Journal proposes a few other factors that may have affected interest in the smug-mobiles (specifically in the San Francisco/San Jose/Oakland area).

The new Insight hybrid has only been around with us for a little over a year, yet Honda's UK division has just announced that the five-door hatch received a series of improvements that include suspension changes to enhance ride and comfort, and upgrades to the interior trim levels.

In a press statement, the Japanese automaker said changes made to the Insight "are in direct response to the comments received from early customers and the media", adding that the initial focus was on the car's suspension to address "negative feedback on ride and comfort levels."

In order to improve ride, handling and stability, Honda's engineers went ahead and performed a series of upgrades to the Insight's suspension including, adjusting the recoil rate of the springs, altering the rear camber angles, changing the V-shape rear suspension brace and adjusting mounts.

The headline grabber: Italy's Lamborghini Murcielago has been named and shamed as the most polluting car of the nation by the UK's Environmental Transport Association (ETA), being five times as worse than the greenest automobile of 2010, Japan's 99g/km Toyota iQ.

"With emissions five times worse than the greenest car, the Lamborghini is the bull in an environmental china shop," said Andrew Davis, director of the ETA. "Thankfully, there are very few on the roads and there is an increasing choice of environmentally-sound cars."

The group said it examined over 5,000 cars sold in the UK ranking them for their power, emissions, fuel efficiency and the amount of noise they produce. ETA also said that a poll of 1,500 British drivers found that Scots were most inclined (42%) to buy a smaller car in order to reduce their motoring costs, while drivers living in the north of England were the least inclined (34%).

Most, if not all taxis on the other side of the pond run on diesel or LPG, but Honda believes it might be able to convince some European cabbies to try out its Insight and Civic mild-hybrid models. Both cars come in appropriate exterior colors and are equipped with pre-installed roof brackets and a mounting for the taxi-meter on the dashboard as well as some other special equipment such as heavy duty floor mats.

A tricked out Insight hybrid that looks like it came straight off the set of a cheesy sci-fi B-movie will be the crown jewel of Honda's fleet of cars at this week's Tokyo Auto Salon 2010. The largest aftermarket tuning show in Japan will be held from January 15 to 17 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba.

The Insight Sports concept has been modified by Honda's own Modulo customization brand and features numerous aero parts that glow in the dark along with a set of oddly styled alloy rims.

The hybrid model's interior has been upgraded with bucket seats trimmed in Alcantara, while the same material is also found on the three-spoke steering wheel.