New Honda hybrid, bolder hybrid plans

Honda appears interested in challenging the success of the Toyota Prius hybrid car, and has announced a new, family hybrid that will be priced less than the Civic hybrid. Rumors have been running wild that the Fit will be converted into a hybrid utilizing the Insight hybrid powertrain, but Honda did not name the vehicle. Even more interesting, is the expectation that Honda believes the vehicle can achieve U.S. sales of more than 100,000. In the past Honda has been much more bearish regarding hybrid vehicles than Toyota, but such a move seems to indicate that Honda is afraid to give Toyota too big a lead in hybrid production.