I’d agree in in principle in both cases, tho’ the gen 1 Insight’s spec was predicated on the fact that an absurdly high percentage of car mileage (somewhere in the 90s-%) feature just the driver or at most one passenger. Admittedly, that required a huge change in buyer conceptualisation which was never going to happen, and in fact instead we all apparently want bigger, fatter, taller cars than ever, right at a time when lightening cars would be optimal… The next car to be called “Insight” was hugely more conventional, but also, shit - and the model name vanished forever from most markets soon after. Kudos to anyone that can even remember what it looked like it was so forgettable…
Ironically, the thing that notionally killed the A2 is just as true of most cars nowadays - insurers write-off almost new vehicles with some remarkably trivial damage due to the pisstake-cost of parts, and the large crumple zones required for crash-test compliance…
The pursuit of mediocrity seems to be economically expedient.
Excellent at moving mayors, brides and the families of the recently deceased around, Daimler churned them out between 1968 and 1992. All of them- be they fully built or chassis only, were on a 141 inch wheelbase. Apparently though, right at the start, Daimler considered making a coupe version which new owners Jaguar nixed as it wasn’t needed. However, someone has gone to enormous effort to show that Jaguar was actually saving the roads from an abomination.
The colour scheme doesn’t help but it’s the most unfortunately proportioned car since the Triumph Mayflower and has all the decorum of a clown orgy. Thankfully, it’s thousands of miles away where a dealer wants a laughable $60k for it.
