Hey Guys,

I have been told that as of today Honda has paused production of the 2015 Fit in its Mexico plant, in order to focus solely on HRV production for the next few months.

They are expecting large demand for the HRV and want to have a good launch, avoiding the delays they experienced with the Fit launch last year.

2016 Fits are expected to arrive sometime this Fall (probably September), with no changes year to year.

With that being said, current 2015 model availability will be what is on the ground and in-transit to your local dealers. So if you have plans of buying a Fit these coming months, you will have more color/trim choice now rather than later.

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up.

 

Well, Honda is the business expert, but drying up supply of a good-selling car that is just hitting its stride in favor of a micro-SUV that may or may not do well doesn't seem like a great idea! More buyers off to Mazda and Ford.

The HR-V is interesting to me, but there doesn't seem to be much differentiation between it and the CR-V. Not much wiggle room on price, either.

 

From a dealer standpoint, the Fit launch was poorly handled by Honda last year. They should have just made the release official for Fall of 2014 to avoid giving everyone headaches waiting week after week for them to arrive. They are trying to correct that mistake, however, so we will see how that goes.

As far as the small "wiggle room" on price, while it doesn't benefit the salesperson (not much you can earn from a mark of $400 like a Fit), it does make the buying process much easier for the customer. This also allows the car to retain very high resale values.

Cars with high markups and additional discounts (like BMW), depreciate at very high rates. I saw this first hand when I was selling Lexus and I had customers coming in with anything from BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Land Rover. That's why its always best to lease one of these cars instead of buying, if you really want the most value for your money.

Honda tries to make the buying process easier than others by not having options/packages to add to a trim, and small mark ups.

Its not perfect for everyone, but most of our customers tend to feel its better than their experience buying other brands in the past.

And in regards to the difference between the HRV and CRV, if you see them both next to each other, there's a big size difference. With the magic seats, however, the HRV is still very practical, plus its offered with a 6 Speed on the FWD.

I feel the HRV will be a good addition to the Honda lineup. Will just wait and see.

 

I will reserve judgment on the HRV until I see it. I can't even open the HRV page on the Honda website. The page takes so long to load the animation that my graphics card thinks there's an error and causes the entire operating system to crash every time I try to open the HRV web page. Not an auspicious start in my book.


So, let's see, Honda completely bungled the roll-out of the new Fit, after promising us that moving production to Mexico would end the shortages and supply bottlenecks. Now, a year later, with supply still nowhere near meeting demand, they abruptly halt production of the Fit to tool up to roll out another car? Way to go, Honda!


This confirms what I've believed all along, that Honda isn't really serious about selling the Fit in North America-probably not enough profit margin. I'm sure the HRV will be more profitable if enough customers can be upsold.

 

the launch HRV will not be the turbo 1.5L 6MT version, correct?

 

Well, I guess the reality is that they don't have the capacity in place yet to satisfy demand for both cars so it makes sense to temporarily switch to the HRV and not miss the window for this year. Also, although I haven't seen any prices for it, the HRV undoubtedly sells at a higher price and a higher profit margin than the Fit and it's pretty hard to say no to that.

 

Not to mention that Americans currently have a healthy love affair with CUVs. Additionally, shrinking (in size) CUVs are gaining popularity as we speak. You have to go where the money is if you want to compete in this market, it's unfortunate but true. Today's auto manufacturers are all about growth and market share.

 

I don't understand the appeal of CUVs, myself.

 

Curious, would the 6MT be available in AWD and not just FWD? If it is I may just be taking a gander at it.

 

I wouldn't say that Honda completely bungled the release of the 2015 Fit. I wasn't even looking at Honda cars and I bought a Passion Berry Pearl.

That seems like job done in my book!

 

Do you mean as opposed to cars or SUVs? My wife drives a CUV because she likes to sit higher in traffic. I prefer a car because they are generally lighter in weight and offer better fuel efficiency.

 

I seem to hear this a lot. When I was shopping for a GE the first words out of the salesman's mouth was "I don't make much on these" and that pretty much ended my desire to buy a car from him or that dealer. Selling that car was part of his job regardless of how much he makes and any issues with his payment were between him and his employer. If he had kept his whine to himself he might still have made a pretty good hourly rate for his time with me, even on a Fit, as I don't require a lot of selling. Instead, my daughter and I took a cursory look and left.

The HRV with magic seats comes pretty close to the CRV in room which tells me that it will draw sales away from the CRV. Automakers tend to want to move customers to more expensive vehicles if they can. That's why most manufacturers have eliminated station wagons and hatchbacks in North America in favor of bloated SUVs. I'm not sure what Honda's goal is, but perhaps the CRV will move upsize in the next generation.

Honda doesn't have an exclusive on excessively blingy web pages. Most manufacturer sites are too complex for their own good.

Nope, it'll be the 1.8 port-injected engine from the Civic. 13 HP and 15 Ft-lbs stronger. Not exactly a performance upgrade from the Fit with the added weight.

Done right, they can be a very practical car. Many folks like the upright seating position, better headroom, and roomier interiors. For people in snow country added ground clearance is a plus. Unfortunately, they can be done wrong as well, yielding a car with SUV style but no additional room.

 

Bummer. Looks like I'll end up sticking out my current lease now if selection will be slim. I was thinking about July as a possible early termination point.

I'm still interested in the Fit (pbp) but my husband has seen YouTube videos on the HR-V and is strongly suggesting I check out the AWD (mulberry) version due to the winter weather we have here.

Lots of time to think!

 

It looks like the 6-speed is available on both the LX and EX 2WD only, based on this just released price list.

https://scontent-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...29&oe=55DFCC1A

My concern with the HR-V, is the lack of towing capability. I'm also still not sure you can add a roof rack to the thing (I have heard it both ways). So, from this perspective, it really is just a Fit that sit's higher off the ground, with slightly more cargo room (it does preserve the magic seat concept), but takes a hit on MPG over the Fit.

I do like the idea of AWD however, something the Fit does not have. I also like the higher ground clearance and the fact you don't need to fall into and climb out of the thing (add the ability to tow and add a roof rack and you have a CR-V).

A wise friend has advised me to consider the Subaru Forester, as Subaru does AWD better than most. Good thing I don't need to make a decision anytime soon!

Another favorite friend has also given me his permission to like cars other than the Fit...despite the fact I do really like the Honda Fit, and this is a Fit forum.

 

One has only to read the many threads in this very forum over the past year regarding lack of availability, long waits for delivery, and build quality issues with the new Fit. The '15 Fit was SUPPOSED to be available over a year ago. I've been looking for an EX MT in yellow for almost that long. I still have only seen one, and that was after I gave up and settled on a white Fit this spring. I still haven't seen a "passion berry pearl" car yet in these parts.

To be fair, once I actually SAW the yellow, I'm glad I went with the white, but that's really beside the point.

 

Consumers Reports has just posted a preliminary look at the HRV:

Driving the 2016 Honda HR-V ? Consumer Reports

They don't have their test vehicle yet so this is very preliminary but as I read it no compelling reasons to favor the HRV over the Fit.

 

Yep. We have an CR-V, and for the almost identical price, it is a better deal. Getting 32 mpg in town with it. My Fit is getting 38-39 in town.

 

Same here. I looked all over for the yellow, and once I saw it...dropped the idea. Got silver instead.

 

Unless you are in deep snow, the FWD should be sufficient. I had one when I lived in Michigan...and never had a problem in any snow.

 

Isn'the it nice to have gracious friends?

I think the H-RV is going to kill in the marketplace. Bad news for deals, good news for resale. I totally understand why Honda would put this over the Fit for rollout.

I still wouldn't trade my Fit.