Honda's pricing strategy for its second-generation Insight reflects the company's eagerness to remind hybrid buyers there is an alternative
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Honda has used the Australian International Motor Show to pull the wraps off its Aussie-spec Insight hybrid. Reflecting the strategy it's used in Japan and the US, the company is using razor sharp pricing to snatch buyers away from Toyota.
On the car's early December launch, the base Insight VTi will start at $29,990 – a full $10K inside the base Prius.
The upspec VTi-L, starting at $33,490, reflects a more prosaic approach to the top shelf than Toyota's Prius i-Tech, forgoing tour-de-force technology upgrades with commensurate hefty price premiums for a simple package of auto headlights, rain sensing wipers, foglamps, leather wheel, reversing camera and satnav.
Starship Enterprise-like controls notwithstanding, the Insight is overall a simpler machine than the Prius. It uses Honda's power-assist hybrid powertrain, marrying a 1.3 litre i-VTEC four with Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system putting power to the front wheels through a continuously variable transmission (CVT).
Honda claims a creditable 4.6l/100km combined, with emissions of just 109g/km.
The IMA is essentially an oversized starter motor designed to supplement petrol engine power and boost torque. Unlike full hybrids such as the Prius, it's not designed to get the car games off the line alone, although in this incarnation the package does deploy the Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) tecameshnology Honda uses in the V6 Accord to allow the ECM to shut down all four pots during low-speed cruising.
Honda has concentrated on reducing engine friction at every possible point and has substantially improved the electric motor, slimming it down to make the whole package smaller and lighter.
The Insight includes a driver-activated ECON switch, through which sends the car's management system into a ‘super economy' mode, monitoring driver behaviour and recalibrating its settings accordingly to reduce power, modify CVT and throttle actions, boost brake energy regeneration and reduce the air-conditioning system's incursion on the energy supply.
How do they do it for the price? A hint of an answer lies buried in the specs sheet. How long since you've seen a halo model from a primo brand like Honda sporting... rear drum brakes?
For our full coverage of the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney visit our minisite at carsales.com.au/aims
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site,
Thứ Hai, 2 tháng 4, 2012
AIMS: Holden Barina Spark – or fizzle?
Baby Holden gets $13,990 drive-away price but no automatic
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Holden Holden’s small-car sales revival may have had its handbrake pulled before it begins.
The highly anticipated Barina Spark, a Korean-made five-door designed to take on fellow Korean cars and the new wave of Chinese hatchbacks, has a sharp starting price of $13,990 drive-away. But you can only drive-away if you know how to drive a car with a manual stick shift. An automatic version is still 18 months away. Up to 70 per cent of buyers in the Light Car class opt for automatic transmission, although Holden disputes this figure.
“Our data shows us it’s a 50 per cent auto market,” the boss of Holden Mike Devereaux told the media at the Sydney motor show this morning.
Even on Holden’s estimates, this means the Barina Spark is missing out on half of potential car buyers in the Light Car class.
“We will still have a competitively priced Barina auto for those who want an auto,” he said.
Barina is an aging vehicle; including its previous life as a Daewoo it is more than 12 years old. The Barina Spark, however, is an all-new model.
And Holden will let you design your own Spark. The carmaker has enlisted the help of eight models as brand ambassadors, who are volunteering their services to the campaign in return for the exposure in the campaign. Charlotte Dawson from Australia’s top model helped unveil the car today.
The Barina Spark is powered by a 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine and comes with a five-speed manual transmission only. It is due on sale at the end of the month.
By contrast, the next generation full-size Barina is due mid-way through next year.
For our full coverage of the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney visit our minisite at carsales.com.au/aims
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site.
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Holden Holden’s small-car sales revival may have had its handbrake pulled before it begins.
The highly anticipated Barina Spark, a Korean-made five-door designed to take on fellow Korean cars and the new wave of Chinese hatchbacks, has a sharp starting price of $13,990 drive-away. But you can only drive-away if you know how to drive a car with a manual stick shift. An automatic version is still 18 months away. Up to 70 per cent of buyers in the Light Car class opt for automatic transmission, although Holden disputes this figure.
“Our data shows us it’s a 50 per cent auto market,” the boss of Holden Mike Devereaux told the media at the Sydney motor show this morning.
Even on Holden’s estimates, this means the Barina Spark is missing out on half of potential car buyers in the Light Car class.
“We will still have a competitively priced Barina auto for those who want an auto,” he said.
Barina is an aging vehicle; including its previous life as a Daewoo it is more than 12 years old. The Barina Spark, however, is an all-new model.
And Holden will let you design your own Spark. The carmaker has enlisted the help of eight models as brand ambassadors, who are volunteering their services to the campaign in return for the exposure in the campaign. Charlotte Dawson from Australia’s top model helped unveil the car today.
The Barina Spark is powered by a 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine and comes with a five-speed manual transmission only. It is due on sale at the end of the month.
By contrast, the next generation full-size Barina is due mid-way through next year.
For our full coverage of the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney visit our minisite at carsales.com.au/aims
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site.
AIMS: Petrol and diesel Amarok for launch
Volkswagen entrant into the Sydney Ute muster will beat Mazda and Ford to the punch - with a choice of powertrains
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Volkswagen
Volkswagen's new Amarok one-tonne utility will beat Mazda and Ford's new beaut utes to the market by up to six months -- and will arrive with a choice of drivetrains.
Unveiled in Sydney today, the full-size utility is a key launch for Volkswagen in Australia. Though demand in initial launch markets including South America has delayed its Australian launch until March 2011, the upside for Volkswagen Australia is it will be able to offer both petrol and diesel powerplants from day one.
A range of 2.0-litre powerplants will power the solely dual-cab Amarok launch range. Volkswagen will offer a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, as well as two 2.0-litre turbodiesels -- one a 120kW/400Nm twin-turbo version -- to local buyers.
All three engines will be matched to six-speed manual gearboxes. No automatic option will be offered on Amarok until 2012, Volkswagen Australia staffers revealed.
Volkswagen will also offer a choice of drivetrains from launch. In addition to a road-oriented two-wheel drive version, Amarok will be available in two distinct all-paw variants. For heavy-duty offroad use a 4x4 version will feature a dual-range transfer case. For users requiring more general all-wheel drive ability, a full-time 4MOTION single speed version will be launched.
Amarok may beat BT-50 and Ranger to more than the showroom. The new Volkswagen is expected to be the first vehicle in its class to earn five-stars in ENCAP crash testing, although unlike the Mazda/Ford twins the German vehicle does not feature curtain airbags or a rear vision camera among its expected suite of safety aids.
For our full coverage of the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney visit our minisite at carsales.com.au/aims
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site.
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Volkswagen
Volkswagen's new Amarok one-tonne utility will beat Mazda and Ford's new beaut utes to the market by up to six months -- and will arrive with a choice of drivetrains.
Unveiled in Sydney today, the full-size utility is a key launch for Volkswagen in Australia. Though demand in initial launch markets including South America has delayed its Australian launch until March 2011, the upside for Volkswagen Australia is it will be able to offer both petrol and diesel powerplants from day one.
A range of 2.0-litre powerplants will power the solely dual-cab Amarok launch range. Volkswagen will offer a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, as well as two 2.0-litre turbodiesels -- one a 120kW/400Nm twin-turbo version -- to local buyers.
All three engines will be matched to six-speed manual gearboxes. No automatic option will be offered on Amarok until 2012, Volkswagen Australia staffers revealed.
Volkswagen will also offer a choice of drivetrains from launch. In addition to a road-oriented two-wheel drive version, Amarok will be available in two distinct all-paw variants. For heavy-duty offroad use a 4x4 version will feature a dual-range transfer case. For users requiring more general all-wheel drive ability, a full-time 4MOTION single speed version will be launched.
Amarok may beat BT-50 and Ranger to more than the showroom. The new Volkswagen is expected to be the first vehicle in its class to earn five-stars in ENCAP crash testing, although unlike the Mazda/Ford twins the German vehicle does not feature curtain airbags or a rear vision camera among its expected suite of safety aids.
For our full coverage of the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney visit our minisite at carsales.com.au/aims
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site.
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