Like an on-off button for Auto-Stop

'00 Insight "Wazabi" -75,000+ miles
'03 Toyota Matrix - 81,000+ miles
'03 HCH-CVT-OSBM-41,000+ miles (retired 04-10-06)
"I'm very secure with my little Insight, no Prius envy here."

My friend (who decided to get the HCH after taking a ride in my HAH... he was coming from a 15 mpg GMC truck!) took me for a ride in his HCH, and I was surprised to see the A/C shut off during auto-stop!

Rigger: After seeing the pic of your Insight, love the name!! Wasabi, that cracks me up! Thanks for the info. That sucks about the econ button. I can see why it's useful, but wonder why Honda didn't incorporate the electric compressor into the HCH, like the HAH.

ahhhhh, but they have....but....it'll be on the 2006 HCH (which is already growing on me) Thanks for the compliment

'00 Insight "Wazabi" -75,000+ miles
'03 Toyota Matrix - 81,000+ miles
'03 HCH-CVT-OSBM-41,000+ miles (retired 04-10-06)
"I'm very secure with my little Insight, no Prius envy here."

My friend will be sad to hear that. I don't think he liked the fact that my car stays cool on auto-stop and his doesn't. We live in Phoenix. It's over 100 degrees. A/C is important. Knowing about the '06, he might have waited to get it. But nevertheless, he's now a hybrid owner (that now gets more than triple the distance on a gallon compared to his old vehicle!)... so he has nothing to complain about!

I have had the priviledge of meeting perhaps the premier Hybrid Dealer in the nation, Chris Schneider, the "Hybrid Guru" of Honda Motorwerks, La Crosse, WI.
We first came across him 2 and a half years ago when we bought our first Insight. They are the country's largest Certified Used Honda Hybrid Dealer in sales, selling more than the 2nd and 3rd largest combined. He even goes so far as to provide free hybrid technology seminars in the showroom every saturday morning, as well as several yearly events such as Earth Day where loyal customers and potential customers gather to celebrate their marvelous cars. I would, and do, reccomend Honda Motorwerks to anyone looking for a new or used Hybrid in the midwest unsatisfied with their local dealers. In the Milwaukee area there are about 4 major Honda Dealers, all of which lack knowledgeable hybrid salesmen. The Toyota dealers aren't much better, but of course the Prius sells itself. Hopefully I am not the only one who has encountered knowledgeable hybrid car salesmen, but I'm pretty sure I've dealt with one of the best in the business.

-Justin Fons
www.MilwaukeeHybridGroup.com

As I said in my intro thread, I did a lot of homework before going in, so I knew more about it than the salesperson, which he joked. However, that's not to say he needed training, it was just that he only knew the basics about it.

For example, he knew about the features of the A/N system, but not where the CD carosel was located, so I can't fault him for not knowing some of the little stuff that I learned here from people who actually own the vehicle, or in the owners guide after the fact.

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Read My Automotive Blog at Rich Rambles

The salespeople at the local dealer knew NOTHING about hybrids. The only fact they were sure of was that they didn't need to be plugged in at night. I did enough research prior to purchasing my HCH that the manager asked me to give his three sales drones a 15-minute mini-seminar on hybrid technology. The service techs don't know a heck of a lot about hybrids either. It takes them 7-9 hours to do an oil change!

My salesperson was pretty cool. He said that all the Prius buyers he had come across were extremely well informed, and so he just handed me the keys and off I went.

R2-E2, 2G Prius.
Highway/City/Husband/Wife MPG: 56.5, as of 12/2005, 26K miles

Jac Nasser, Ford President: "We are planning to launch a hybrid version of
this car [P2000] within this year [1998]. We will also make FCEV available in
2004."

I had a couple experiences, in the process of buying my HCH last fall.

The regular salesman was like most that I have encountered -- he'd only been on the job for about two weeks, didn't have a card, and didn't have a clue about hybrids. He was vaguely familiar with the idea that Honda sold them, but nothing beyond that. Every question I asked revealed that he knew nothing about hybrids.

The fleet dealer at another dealership, from whom I bought the car, was very cool and well informed. He just gave me the keys and pointed me towards the street and said 'give it a go.' He also advised me *not* to put my aftermarket 2002 Honda Civic Si (hatchback) tires and wheels on the new car, because he figured it would decrease mileage a bit. He must have been sensitive to complaints about HCH mileage, so he didn't want to increase the likelihood that I would be disappointed also. Pretty sharp guy.