Honda’s new Insight hybrid went on sale in Japan earlier today, accompanied by a minisite covering the history of their ecologically-minded vehicles. Starting with the Super Cub motorcycle’s OHC four-stroke motor in 1958. The first car is the kei-class N360 of 1967, followed by the 1972 Honda Civic CVCC, which stands for Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion and made the Civic the first car to meet US 70s emission standards without a catalytic converter. Interestingly, there’s then a 27-year gap between that and the 1999 Insight. Surely they could have inserted a CR-X HF or something in between, right? The Insight goes on sale in the US on Earth Day, April 22.

Although hybrids may still seem like new-fangled technology, they’ve been around the block. And we’re not just talking about how the Prius, which debuted in 1997, is already over a decade old. No, let’s go back 31 years to when roller discos and Star Wars were still cool and Toyota debuted its first hybrid.

Based on the Toyota Sports 800, the GT Hybrid concept did away with a conventional internal combustion engine and was powered by a gas turbine instead. But rather than scooting down the highway like a taxiing airliner, the GT Hybrid used the jet engine as part of a series hybrid configuration. That means the turbine powered an electric generator, which in turn charged the hybrid’s batteries and powered an electric motor that turned the driveshaft. When bursts of power were needed, the energy stored in the batteries provided an extra jolt. Unlike the far more common parallel hybrids of today, the turbine never drove the wheels at all. This pre-Prius was shown at the 1977 Tokyo Motor Show as a concept but never produced. Still, the knowledge gained proved invaluable when development of the Prius began in 1994.

The Wall Street Journal has turned its attention to White Zombie. Not the band, but the 1972 Datsun 1200 that can run a sub-12 in the quarter mile and smoke a whole gaggle of V8-powered muscle cars while getting terrific gas mileage. Its secret? Electrons.

Owner, builder and racer John Wayland of Plasma Boy Racing Frankensteined the beast by putting two electric forklift motors and an array of 36 12-volt storage batteries into the diminutive doorslammer. Rather than a torque curve, zap-juice motors have a torque wall that goes instantly from zero to full blown, giving the Dat the ability to use all of its available lb-ft right off the line.

As a result, these cars were banned at many drag racing venues, deeming them too fast for safety. This prompted the formation of the National Electric Drag Racing Association, whose rules were eventually adopted by the NHRA.

Source: [Wall Street Journal via Jalopnik]

We are just back from the Big Apple and the New York International Auto Show. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much news about nostalgics, like Detroit had with the 1974 Safari Rally Lancer, but here’s a few blurbs about some cars that owe a lot to their predecessors:

Honda revealed the last (at least for the AP1 chassis) and latest in its abbreviated line of S-cars, the S2000 CR which stands for Club Racer. Limited to only 2000 units, the lightened and tightened version of high-revving roadster comes with a quicker steering ratio, tweaked suspension, no a/c or radio in the base version, chassis stiffening, and functional but garish aero parts. The Honda accessories aluminum hardtop comes standard; gone is the motorized softtop. The US-only edition will has no engine mods, but will come in 4 colors, the Apex Blue on the show car being exclusive to the CR.

Toyota had on display their 50th Anniversary Toyota Camry Hybrid, celebrating the marque’s half century in the States, which comes with a Blizzard White paint scheme and 16″ wheels unique to the special edition.

Nissan showed a gorgeous example of the latest NISMO-tuned 350Z, replete with special suspension tuning, aero parts, chassis stiffening, wheels and elongated nose. Four colors – red, silver, black and white – from the standard palette will be available. No engine mods on this on either, but a NISMO exhaust will surely accentuate the already hearty exhaust note.

Nissan’s upscale brand Infiniti took the wraps off the next generation Skyline coupe, or G37 in American-speak. Naturally, the car looks beautiful and the extra 0.2 liters will give it an estimated 330hp and 270 lb-ft of torque.

And that about does it. Rain fell incessantly during Day 1, a condition not at all remedied by the leaky roof of the Javits Center. Audi looked as if plastic buckets of water would play a key role in their 2007 lineup. Speaking of leaks, how many New York Subway stations smell like urine? Answer: All of them.

In Japan, Toyota has come out with a 10th Anniversary edition of the class-defining hybrid, the Prius.

Although the technology-laden eco-car is nowhere near becoming a nostalgic yet, it’s hard to believe that hybrids have been with us for a decade! Remember the good ol’ days when the word “hybrid” meant a B18 in your Civic?