Insight Wins Japan Automotive Hall of Fame 'Car of the Year' Award

Honda Motor announced today that the Committee of Japan Automotive Hall of Fame has awarded its Car of the Year 2009-2010 title to the Honda Insight. The Japanese automaker was appreciated thanks to its strategy of affordable pricing Honda used in marketing the Insight, the Insight’s driving and environmental performance, and the performance and fuel economy at cruising and higher speeds offered by the Integrated Motor Assist (IMA), Honda’s original hybrid system.

Honda took the opportunity to remind us of how well its vehicles are perceived in Japan. Being beaten this year by rival Toyota and its Prius, Honda took us down memory lane to give us a taste of what they achieved so far.

The Car of the Year Award was established in Japan in the 1980. Since then, a Honda model has won Japan’s Car of the Year award ten times, more times than any car manufacturer. The record is held by the Civic, which has won four titles, followed by three awards for the Accord and two for the Fit (called the Jazz in Europe), most recently in 2007-2008.

At the Tokyo Motor Show, Honda really took matters seriously and managed to reinforce its position in the industry and in the eyes of the journalists, particularly within leading awards schemes such as Japan Car of the Year as a result of its ongoing commitment to innovation, sustainability and manufacturing excellence. The Honda Insight was one of 10 finalists in the Japan Car of the Year for 2009.

This year Honda celebrates 60 years of success in Japan, and everybody expects them to add some new models to their expanding line up. The CR-Z model is expected to be a real breakthrough and maybe Honda will get the Car of the Year Award once again next year.

The annual Japan Car of the Year award is decided by a supervisory board, primarily made up of Japanese automotive journalists. The award is open to newly launched or redesigned vehicles released to the Japanese market between November of the previous year and the end of October of the current, with each award spanning two calendar years.