Honda bringing more Fits stateside
The Honda Fit is selling like candy in the U.S. Sales of the subcompact car from January to May have increased by 64 percent, compared to the same period last year. Honda originally planned to sell between 30,000 and 40,000 Fits a year, but then increased production to 60,000. The marque is planning almost 80,000 units of the new model, which is going on sale on October 1st.
Global capacity for the Fit is more than 500,000 units. All U.S. units are imported from Japan, where the new generation is already in production (Americans still get the first generation models). The reality is that Honda USA will have to compete with other markets to get more units stateside.
[Source: Automotive news (sub's req'd)]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Serge 9:27AM (6/26/2008)
Xavier: any info there on what to expect for fuel-economy and showroom availability of a 2009 model? The February article is mentioning 45 mpg on Japanese cycle (http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/02/22/09-honda-fit-to-make-us-debut-in-new-york/), which is quite an improvement over the current one mid-30s figure.
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Xavier Navarro 9:52AM (6/26/2008)
Serge:
The Japanese and the EPA fuel consumption cycles are very different. The EPA is harder, actually. Always take these figures with a pinch of salt and use them as reference.
As soon as we get information about the U.S. specifications, we will publish them here, so stay tuned.
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Snowdog 10:07AM (6/26/2008)
The fit MPG better improve. It is not very good for a car it's size. The civic beats it on the highway.
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2003 Civic Hybrid Owner 10:34AM (6/26/2008)
So far I've only seen "fall" as the timing for next-gen Fit sales in the US, is Oct 1st an official date? (I'm also anxiously awaiting info on the MPG numbers to try to determine whether to go ahead and get the 2008 Fit or wait for the 2009 Fit or wait even longer for the Honda hybrid).
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Matt 10:33AM (6/26/2008)
From everything I've read, and I think one source was even from Honda, is that the '09 will get basically the same gas mileage as the current one. The new car is slightly larger and heavier (a couple inches longer and 22 pounds heavier) and has a revised engine architecture creating something like 9 additional hp. When all is said and done, I'm not expecting a significant fuel economy change.
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Jude Brown 12:02PM (6/26/2008)
I'm in Northern Ontario. While there are 2008 fits left for sale in Canada - dealers won't give them up for obvious reasons. Our local market is all about trucks and SUV's - when I went to the Honda store they had NADA. Dealer suggested I try Toronto (14 hour drive going well 1 way) or wait for the 09's this fall. I've driven the Fit all over the US and parts of Canada - phenomenal vehicle if you need the versatility. If I was all about a second car just for running around town I'd pick up a Toyota Yaris.
On a side note - compate US MPG estimates with Canadian MPG estimates. The Canadian one is a joke. I don't even use Canadian dealer sites for MPG/ or L/100 estimates they are so out of whack.
Dealer sticker on a Yaris (Gov of Canada approved) claims 40mpg city and 50 highway.....right.
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MikeW 12:12PM (6/26/2008)
Well supposedly the new Fit has 'i-VTEC', what ever that means.
If it has the same inverse half-VTEC that the Civic R18 engine has, the mileage could improve 1mpg city / 2 mpg highway. (it has improved aerodynamics)
But does the new fit have a spare wheel?
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armmat 12:49PM (6/26/2008)
The reason why the new Civic beats the current Fit in mileage and efficiency is because it's got a newer engine. The current Fit has the older Civic engine which, 7 years ago, was fine. I used to get 38 MPG out of my Civic DX Coupe (2000). Great car it was...fun too.
But in current form, the current Fit pollutes more, has a higher smog index (considerably higher), and all these panic driven idiots are going out and buying them.
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DS 3:58PM (6/26/2008)
Aren't the Canadian MPG numbers based on imperial gallons? Since we're supposed to be metric, we should be using l/100 km, but all the commercials I see on tv use mpg.
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MikeW 4:54PM (6/26/2008)
'The reason why the new Civic beats the current Fit in mileage and efficiency is because it's got a newer engine.'
No, it is because the CdA is much greater than the civic coupe and still greater than the civic sedan. The Fit still beats the civic in city driving (got electric power steering?)
You can take off the 'i-VTEC' and the mileage drop would barely be noticeable on the civic. It still has eEGR
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Derek 10:05PM (6/26/2008)
I just got an '08 Fit back in May after I crashed my Acura RSX. I drive 66 miles to and from work from Lansing, MI to Ann Arbor. In the mornings, I take the freeway at 70-80mph. In the evenings I take the backroads, topping out at 61mph (well I try to, sans cruise control). So far I've been able to average 40.2mpg. If I took backroads both ways, I'm sure I'd see more. At this point I only have 8000 miles on it, so we'll see if it improves as the engine breaks in.
I achieved 38mpg in my RSX on the same commute, but it was shortly after that that I crashed it. The great thing about the fit is if I drive 70-80mph on the freeway on long trips, I still average at least 36mpg, compared to the 32mpg in the RSX. What really puts the Fit over the top is its cargo capacity to size ratio.
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Gene 2:20AM (6/27/2008)
2008 Civic Hybrid. Most tanks are 47 mpg. The worst was 44 mpg, the best 62!
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