Speaking of automotive rivalries, there’s one going on right now (on the opposite end of the automotive spectrum from the pony car battle between Chevy and Ford) between Toyota and Honda for #1 over the hybrid market. The Prius is the reigning hybrid champion, but Honda is hoping it can unseat the incumbent with the newly re-released, lower priced, Insight. It will be a hard fight to win for Honda. Reuters reported that four days before the 2010 Toyota Prius officially launched, there were already 75,000 orders.
The Insight launched in February and has been much more popular than Honda anticipated, selling more than 20,000 units in the past three months.
Both sides have a legitimate claim to the title of hybrid king. Honda introduced the world to hybrids with its strange-looking, two-seater insight, but Toyota made it accessible and popular with the Prius.
