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Here's some engine info I found on the L series which powers the Fit/Jazz.
Does anyone know what Honda will show at the NY Auto Show?
The latest info that I have is that this car will be available early in 2006 as an 07' model. That is just too long.
Toyota is bringing a redesigned Yaris hatch that is very similar to the Fit in features, styling and gas mileage. (called the Vitz in Japan) http://toyota.jp/vitz/exterior/bodycolor/index.html At 2$ a gallon for gas the first car manufacture to mass produce an affordable efficient hatchback that gets 40 mpg will get rich.
The new Vitz should be coming to Canada (where the current one is selling extremely well). I wish Honda would hurry up with the Jazz to give the Echo hatch some real competition.
But seriously folks, they must do these focus groups in Wyoming or South Dakota because anything that comes to the US is so dumbed down and boring that the fun is completely sucked out.
I'll be in the market for a new car in 2006 and I'm watching Scion, Toyota, and Honda. The requirement that has to be met is that it must get better mileage than my current car (crappy ford focus, 29mpg) and have cruise control (hurry up Scion!!). The problem is, despite gas prices, engines just get bigger and bigger with each model year. 2.4L seems to be the big thing now.
I just want me car to LOOK really fast, but not necessarily be fast :-)
; ^ )
I think the traffic gridlock of LA and NY are setting the pace for focus groups, and the "dumbing down" of European cars.
Nissan has 3 cars coming out next year, rumored to be the Cube, Sentra, and a new hatchback. Toyota already has several hatchbacks and more on the way.
Is it that difficult for Honda to understand that not everyone wants a boring Civic sedan or a Buicky Accord in the Honda boring color collection?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Honda used to have the Accord wagon. They stopped offering it here because it wasn't selling. Its tough to make a business argument for something you've already tried and failed with, ya know?
On the other hand, the Mazda3 5-door, I believe, seems to be doing fairly well. Go figure. Us american buyers are a fickle bunch.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I highly doubt many people in middle and mid-western america want anything to do with cars smaller than an Accord. You may be an exception to the rule, but that IS the rule.
The rear seats both recline and fold flat, and the passenger seat can fold forward, for a "long" transport option. The driver's seat is also adjustable in height. Not quite "magic" seats, but it's something.
There's also the option of Sirius Satellite and/or a navigation system.
Oh yeah, and you can get it with AWD.
For its size, I would say it's more of a competitor for the Civic, so it'll be interesting to see how well it does.
In my post, I specifically said 5 door Civic.
The Civic Si hatch: manual transmission, 3 doors, and MSRP of $19K. Who would buy that?
Toyota has the Matrix, Prius, xA, xB, all 5 door hatchbacks, of which only the xA doesn't sell that well. So now Honda wants to sell a xA sized Fit. Someone at American Honda is asleep at the wheel.
The Fit will sell better than the xA, imho, but Honda is thinking that one size fits all. What about people who would like a Civic sized hatchback?
Honda does not get it, but most consumers don't either. Maybe the higher gas prices will bring people around.
Honda--I want the Fit, NOW!!!!
The distance between the floor and the ceiling (according to the Honda Japan website) is bigger than the CR-V, Element, and MDX, even though those vehicles are taller. Although the floor is low, the driver sits rather high up, since they are sitting over the fuel tank, which was pushed forward when the car was designed.
The Jazz had a rating of 4/5 stars in the Euro/NCAP crash test. Out of the more than 50 cars tested in the category, only 2 have 5/5 star ratings. Also, based on the more stringent test ratings, the Jazz and the new 2005 Suzuki Swift (European model) were the only ones to achieve 3/4 ratings for pedestrian safety. Of course, these test are assumed for collisions between small cars. So Honda used their crash test center and conducted a collision between the Jazz/Fit and the Legend (US: Acura RL). The Jazz actually performered very well considering the size and weight of the Legend.
Question: When Americans speak of not liking small cars because of the "big cars on the road", are they refering to the large commercial trailers and lorries that move around the country, or the huge SUVs like Ford Excursion and GM Suburban?
Having given up on Honda, for me the holy grail is my newly acquired Scion xB: HUGE interior, 155" long, high gas mileage, and about 65" from the back of the front seat to the rear hatch. In other words, very similar to the Civic wagon. Keep in mind that the 151.4" length of the Fit that you mention is without US standard bumpers.
If you are OK with the styling of the xB, then it could be an excellent replacement for your 91 Civic wagon.
Is it that difficult for Honda to understand that not everyone wants a boring Civic sedan
and just wanted to make sure you weren't overlooking the hatch that is in their lineup. So, now that that's cleared up .... moving on.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I don't know how much the bumpers on the Fit would have to change for the US market given that a car only needs 2.5 MPH bumpers these days.
Initially my family hated the xB's styling, but as they have come to appreciate it's uniqueness and vast interior, the styling has grown on them.
To me, the xB is less about being hip, and more about practicality.
Aside from just bumpers, the emissions standars are different, location of side marker lights is different, the aim of the headlights is different (no biggie). In europe a directional signal on the fender is mandatory, and rear directionals must only be amber, never red. European cars dont' have parking lights, they have "city lights" that glow white. The yellow blinkers are never lit except when turning. Ever take a look at the FMVSS? It's insanely long and a manufacturer has to meet them all.
If you have a more expensive car, like a Mercedes or even VW, you can build one car that has mostly all the same features. But when you're building an economy car, you'll want to delete anything that is not required by the standard (like rear fog lights).
My Accord replaced the very first Civic 4WD wagon (1985) which I also adored, and that car replaced a 74 Civic hatchback. So there is a lot of history here. All cars have had manual transmissions and all, even the Accord, have averaged 30-40 mpg (the Accord drops to 23-24 with AC on in city driving). The first two were retired due to rust and crumbling bodies more than anything else.
Until I read rumors about the Fit I despaired about finding a fourth Honda that meets my obvious requirements. Perhaps members here can help me with two things: first, how accurate are the couple of statements from American Honda that the Fit is arriving within a year, and second, those of you who own Scions, Matrixes etc.--how have they compared in terms of reliability to any Hondas you've owned? I'm sure they're fun to drive, but for me mechanical soundness is more important. Thanks, all.
My Scion xB, the same size as a Civic wagon has been in production in Japan for the last 5 years as the Toyota bB. I would like to think that any Toyota, particularly a model that has been sold mostly in Japan for 5 years is about as reliable as you can get.
Given a choice between the Fit (which I checked out on a visit to Japan) and the Scion xB, I would still choose the xB because the xB is a lot roomier, like a limo.
If you are refering to the HondaPreview.com article from 1/26/05, it's old news.
This thing gets 16 mpg! Gas is approaching 2.5 dollars /gallon, when are the car manufactures going to get it?
We need more fuel efficient car options and we need them NOW! The rest of the world has had the Honda Jazz for 3 years, and we don’t get it in the U.S. because consumers just keep on buying gas guzzlers every time we go to the dealer.
I will not buy another car that doesn’t get at least 40 mpg. If only 25% of my fellow Americans would make the same patriotic commitment, gas prices would fall, and we would stop funding the coffers of people in the Middle East who would like to do bad things to America. Bring the Honda Jazz/FIT to the US NOW. Don’t wait for a new model. This is indeed a matter of our country's economy and national security!
I read an article in Motor Trend last week titled "Momentum Shifting in U.S. Auto Industry" It talks about the US car companies loosing market share to foreign car companies. But what blew me away was "GM officials won't confirm it, but the plant is being retooled to assemble the next generation of Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade SUVs in 2006 -- and officials expect sales of the vehicles to increase dramatically."
If we continue to purchases these gas-guzzling behemoths, well, I guess you know the rest of the story.
It will be a tough road though - SUV's make so much profit, and are advertised so heavily that people will be slow to change their minds. After all, you never know when you will suddenly find yourself driving up a boulderstrewn hill during a snow storm on your way to the hospital.
I agree that we need to reduce consumption of gasoline while alternative methods of powering vehicles are found. Personally I like the idea of bio-diesel and ethanol which could be renewable.
The major problem to reducing usage is there are not many vehicles which focus on it. We have the Hybrids now, which are selling well. Either because of the fuel economy or else just for the chic aspect of owning one.
When the Fit arrives it will be one of the only small, fuel efficient vehicles that has a boatload of usable space for its size. The Scion xA and xB are here, but have funky styling. I the Fit will sell well when it arrives especially with gasoline nearing the $2.50 mark. I think that with the Fit more people will consider smaller cars with roomy interiors such as hatchbacks over an SUV.
There is another Honda model, I think it is called the FRV, alongside the Fit would round out Honda's lineup nicely. I just hope Honda hurries up and brings those models here, then maybe other manufacturers would be more willing to bring their own small economical cars here.
http://www.honda.co.jp/AIRWAVE/
I would think it would compete very well against the Scion.
anyways, as with most great jdm hondas, we won't be getting it, right?
While the Accord wagon (which already exists...there would be no reason for another one) is 400mm (15,6 inches) longer than the Airwave.
Using the interior features of the NA Accord to compare is probably not the best way to determine the origin of this Japanese model.
The Airwave might appear to have a few styling features of the Accord, particularly because most of the pictures so far are with the wheels that look like small Accord wheels. However, the body structure is much closer to the Fit Aria (shorter hood and body relative to vehicle height). The Airwave also has the ULTR seats found in the Jazz/Fit, as well as the fuel tank located underneath the front seat.
This vehicle is too small to be Accord derived.
Compare the Airwave to the Fit Aria, and the similarities are quite noticeable.
http://world.honda.com/news/2005/4050407.html
Honda's Press release on the Airwave. You'd think this would be our FIT. Guess time will tell.
Honda wants to compete with the Scion xA and xB. Both those have funky styling and are small looking on the outside. The Airwave looks like a mini van, and boring, not at all like the Fit or Jazz. Please Honda, don't bring that nere and expect to bring in young customers. You will fail and make other companies less likely to bring good small cars.
The real problem bringing the Airwave over here is that Honda makes a good profit on Odysseys, Elements and CR-V's. You are supposed to buy those. Honda has the goods, but no reason to mess with their profitable line-up.
-Jaz
With gas pushing $2.50/gallon I refuse to buy another car that gets less than 40 mpg!