August Motor trend has a nice 3-way comparrison of the Fit vs. the Yaris, and the Versa (Fit comes in 1st.) The 8 page advert. has good copy, but it looks like it was designed to appeal to inner-city teenage drift-racers. Is this the market Honda wants to go after? Even my son asked me what I was doing buying such a 'cool' (the A/C works fine) car? My wife loves to drive the car, but she is totally turned-off by the style of Fit adsvert's and brochures. I ignore them as I realize Honda (in error) is trying to go after the Scion market instead of Main St., USA (where Honda's 'bread-and-butter' customers are located.)

 

Yes, if you look at the Fit brochure it advertises its 16inch wheels in the back by showing them off on a red one atop of a highrise building surrounded by 20 somethings who are all havin fun..

 

The only way Honda will realize they're marketing to the wrong group, is if we old farts keep buying the Fit, and ignore the advertising.

 

When I talked to a rep from Honda America, I mentioned the broad demographics. The 20-something FitFreak members discussed early on that the advertising is an insult to them, too. Plus Honda only advertises the Fit on the more quirky cable channels (like SciFi) and the internet, not on regular network t.v. They don't even show the Fit in the commercial that runs through the whole Honda lineup. I have a hunch that in 2008 an American Fit will be on the market and we'll be seeing conventional advertising. Right now they don't have the inventory to support a big advertising campaign. My guess is that they're shooting for first-time buyers to build Honda loyalty. They know us old folks already love our Hondas.

 

I would say that is a good guess.

Plus, once the car's been out for a while, it will probably keep winning praise in reviews against its competitors and then they can get the exposure to launch it broader in 2008. Spending a ton on advertising for a car that is already hard to get may not be very cost-effective.

 

Fit wins no matter what.

 

I think aside from appealing to first time buyers, young adults, it also carries an appealing price tag. Although that's the demographic this car is geared towards, I'm sure people buy it for different reasons. I love the variations of interior space for different season sports (biking, snowboard, etc) while older people might see it as an alternative to paying $40k for a gas-saving Prius.

 

I was at my dad's office, sitting around in the waiting room waiting on something, and I opened up Motortrend (because let's face it, every waiting room in America has Motortrend magazine) and there was the Fit! Glad to see it keeps getting such GOOD publicity.

What's with the mullets in the big fold out ad's though? haha.

 

Japan's marketing "gurus" leave a lot to be desired. A long time ago (1986 to be precise) I was looking at the new 4Runner, so new that all the dealership had was the sales guide, no literature. Leafing through the guide, I came across the target sales group: under 25-year old couples with two children and an annual income of $30K. How many families that meet this description could afford a $20K (this was 1986, remember) vehicle?