plain and simple, the insight was ahead of it's time.
if it came out spring of 2008, it quite possibly could have been the best selling car of our generation. instead, people who wanted fule efficiency were cornered into a prius.
Americans are always behind the curve in technology and consumerism.
i do agree the insight was ahead of its time... but i dont think it coming out in 2008 would have made it fare much better
it was a marketing failure on Honda's part... end of story
the original insight was sold through model year 2006... gas prices were topping $3/gal through 2005 and 2006... doubling from where they were just a year prior, people were flipping the hell out wondering how they could ever survive, and people still didnt buy it
no one knew anything about them, other than that it was a small electric "hybrid" car
no one knew about them... hell even when i went to check out the one i ended up buying, one of the first things i said to the dealer was that i wanted to drive it to see if it could get out of its own way or if it was going to be like the old 3cyl geo metros
we pulled out of the lot and i accelerated into traffic, and was pleasantly surprised... it got up to speed without any problems... then i took it to some twisties and put it through some turns... again i was pleasantly surprised... took it through some hilly roads and again was pleased... i went back and signed the papers
it got the best MPG of any car out there... real world as well as rated
it was faster from a stop light than SOHC civics
it handled on par or better than most factory hondas
the interior was plenty roomy for 2 adults
the seats were comfortable for long drives and still supportive enough for spirited driving and autocross
it cruised at 80+mph with no problems
mine topped out at 113mph
it did well driving in inclement weather
it had REAL CUP HOLDERS
the hatch area had plenty of room to carry cargo (for instance: a 13'x15' dome tent, a queen sized air mattress, a bicycle style pump and a battery powered pump for the air mattress, sheets blankets and pillows, camping lanterns, a 30qt cooler, 2 camping chairs, 2 medium sized duffel bags filled with clothing and such, 10"x8"x14" box of other random shit... and some other stuff but you get the point... all fit in the hatch area without blocking the view out of the rear view mirror)
while i owned my insight i came in contact with several prius owners who were PISSED THE FUCK OFF when they found out that i was averaging 65MPG driving like an asshole, and they were barely able to break into the mid 40s driving like normal respectable people... they'd really flip out when i told them that when i did drive it easy i managed to average 73.2mpg for that tank
they bought their prius for the same reason i bought the insight... commuting, daily driving, saving money on gas, etc... they payed more money, got 2 extra seats that they had no use for, and got 20 less miles per gallon...
mostly because they didnt know anything about the insight prior to buying the more popular and better marketed prius....
now sure a lot of the blame belongs to the uneducated consumer, but even when i went looking for information about the insight, there simply wasnt any to be had other than some tidbits about the specs and half assed explanations of some of its features
you never saw them advertised on TV or in magazines
you never saw them featured at dealerships
they never had demo days
marketing FAILURE
i think i wants one! 
