The original Honda Insight is one of the world's most extraordinary cars. Boasting an all-aluminium body and incredible aerodynamics, the Insight was also a full hybrid. When released, it was the world's most fuel-efficient car - and by a huge margin. This book looks at the anatomy of the Insight, and its modification. The modifications range from the very simple (improving the quality of the gear shift by changing the knob) to the most complex (fitting programmable engine management and a turbo) – and everything in between. It also covers what you need to do to keep the high voltage battery alive, and how you can add manual control to the Integrated Motor Assist electric motor. Written by a hands-on owner who is also a former automotive journalist, this book is a must-have for anyone with a first generation Insight, or anyone interested in the history of automotive technology. OK I'm a bit biased as I contributed a small amount of stuff. But hats off to Julian it's a great book. Loads of content, much bigger than I thought it was going to be. A must for every Insight enthusiast. - Peter Perkins, Insight expert Very well done and great for reference and daydreaming. Every Insight owner who cares anything about the car should have one. - Sam Sharp, Insight owner YouTube author video: youtu.be/U3SM-tBD1O8 I have been interested in cars all my adult life, and have been writing professionally about their technology and history for three decades. And over that time, one thing's become clear - there are very, very few cars that in the last 120-odd years have been really significant. The Benz Patent Motor Car, the NSU Ro80, the Model T Ford, the Chrysler Airflow, a number of Citroens. And the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. I've been lucky enough to own both of these first-generation hybrids, and I admire both immensely. But it is the Insight that stole my heart, a car of such bravery that we have seen so very rarely in automotive history. With its two doors and sporty manual 5-speed transmission (CVT too), it didn't sell as well as the Prius, but it's also sooo much more fun to drive! Add to that a much greater ease of modification, and we have one of the greatest of eco-modification cars, ever. This book is completely hands-on, written by someone who has got his hands dirty every step of the way. It attempts to place the car in its historical content, but also to show how this most unique of all cars can be modified and tweaked. It's a car that continues to inspire, capable in standard form of fuel economy that is still quite extraordinary, and with modification also capable of being both fast in a straight line and from point to point. It certainly isn't perfect (and I also cover some of the car's deficiencies), but in automotive history, the Insight can hold its head high as one of the most significant cars, ever. Julian Edgar started his working life freelancing for photography magazines. He then worked as a secondary school teacher for eight years, teaching senior humanities, before leaving teaching and becoming a full-time automotive writer. He edited a national Australian automotive print magazine before becoming editor of AutoSpeed, an online car magazine. Along the way he wrote extensively for Silicon Chip, an electronics hobbyist magazine, while contributing articles to technical and automotive publications in Australia, the UK and the US. He first drove the Insight as a motoring journalist, then subsequently bought two, with one substantially modified. That car is covered in the third section of this book - it is probably the quickest 1-litre Insight in the world and yet still gains excellent fuel economy. Julian lives in a hamlet 80 kilometres north of Canberra, Australia. He spends much of the week playing in his home workshop - for the rest of the time, he works for a company providing training in high-level writing skills.