The Right Fit
By
Taro Koki
The Honda Fit outsold the Toyota Corolla in Japan last year to take the coveted "Best-Selling Car" title. Thanks to Spoon Sports, the Fit is also a candidate for "Cheapest and Most Likely to Kick Ass in a Japanese Enduro" crown. Best Motoring International's Taro Koki queries Spoon prez Ichishima-san.
Spoon president Tatsuru Ichishima is actually the kind of the guy who throws you off guard whenever you think you understand him. It scares me to imagine what it's like for non-Japanese-speaking folks to even have conversations with him. It's not rare for me to walk out of meetings with him and have no idea what went on for the last 90 minutes. And I'm fluent in Japanese!
I actually think it's one of his ploys to cover up his image in a mysterious cape so you never know what's really going on inside Spoon. Then again, how dull would Spoon be if everything were laid out in front of us for all to see?
The whole idea of Spoon fixing up the Honda Fit (aka the Honda Jazz in certain areas of the world) was another one of those "Huh?" things that Ichishima-san threw at me from way out there. The Spoon Sports I know doesn't modify grocery-getters. It mods up real racers like the Type-R and S2000. It's Spoon, one of the baddest, hardcore Honda tuners in Japan! Its yellow/blue Civics eat Toyota MR-Ss for breakfast. Its S2Ks rule the Super Taikyu Series. What's the deal? Why the Fit? Only one way to find out.