TOKYO, Japan, November 6, 2009—The Honda Insight hybrid vehicle has received the Good Design Gold Award¹ 2009 from the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO). This marks the fourth consecutive year a Honda product has received the Gold Award and the second consecutive year a Honda automobile has been so honored, with the Monpal ML200, HondaJet and FCX Clarity winning in 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Introduced in February 2009, the Insight features an athletic, aerodynamic exterior design that reflects its responsive performance and an advanced, futuristic interior design that heightens the hybrid driving experience. Helping make possible a compact body, the Insight’s lightweight, compact hybrid system combines exceptional fuel economy with fun-to-drive performance, while the Insight’s affordable pricing has put high-quality hybrid transportation within reach of a greater number of people.

In selecting the Insight, the judges cited the simple, efficient design of the hybrid vehicle’s compact body and driver-friendly interface, among other factors, and described the Insight as a benchmark for the coming era of hybrid and battery electric vehicles.

*The Good Design Awards is a comprehensive program for the evaluation and encouragement of design organized by JIDPO. Further information on the awards may be found at
http://www.g-mark.org/english/aginfo/index.html.

¹Based on originality, physical form, applicability to the future and other factors, the judges selected the Good Design Award 2009 BEST15, announcing them at the awards ceremony on November 6. Then, both the judges and award recipients voted to select the winner of the Good Design Grand Award, the top prize. The remaining fourteen BEST15 winners received the Good Design Gold Award. Further information on the winners may be found at
http://www.g-mark.org/english/archive/2009/award-best15.html.

The inaugural Frontier Design Award² went to Honda’s walking assist devices, Stride Management Assist³ and Bodyweight Support Assist.⁴ Honda began research into walking assist devices in 1999 with a view to providing more people with the joy of mobility. Currently, the devices are in the feasibility testing stage. The judges commented favorably on the advanced devices’ achievement of natural, user-centric control of assist; compact, reassuring external design; and status as frontier technologies.

²The Frontier Design Award recognizes ambitious initiatives intended to create a sustainable society and a society centered on ordinary citizens. This award was newly created in 2009 to reward proposals and experiments that have not yet been implemented. For more information, see http://www.g-mark.org/english/aginfo/agi_05.html.

³Stride Management Assist is designed for people with weakened leg muscles due to advanced age or other causes but who can still walk on their own. Based on Honda’s original cooperative control technology, the device helps lengthen the user’s stride as compared to his or her normal stride, thereby making it easier to walk.

⁴Bodyweight Support Assist is designed to assist people who can still walk on their own, supporting bodyweight to reduce the load on the leg muscles and the joints in the hips, knees and ankles when the user is walking, crouching or going up or down stairs. Honda’s original technologies help the assistive power match the user’s center of gravity and leg movements, allowing the device to provide support during a wide variety of user activities and in many different user postures.

Good Design Long Life Award⁵ winners:
Komame F220 and
Puchina FG201 mini tillers

⁵The Long Life Design Award highlights design for products that have developed new approaches to manufacturing and personal lifestyle. This prize is awarded to those endlessly cherished implements and devices over the years, that have earned the public's longstanding support and been recommended by users. For more information, see
http://www.g-mark.org/english/aginfo/agi_05.html.