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Guy's, these new gen II's look great on paper but you don't want to be the first one riding around town on a brand new platform, trust me I learned my lesson with all the issues I had on my 2003 Accord when they first came out. The best thing about our Gen I Fit's are they have been time tested about five years before we got them. So hang in there a while let the other folks work out all the kinks in the new ones, then buy a gen II like two or three years down the line. We got an awesome vehicle now, enjoy it, it will hold it's value...just my 2 cents.
Guy's, these new gen II's look great on paper but you don't want to be the first one riding around town on a brand new platform, trust me I learned my lesson with all the issues I had on my 2003 Accord when they first came out. The best thing about our Gen I Fit's are they have been time tested about five years before we got them. So hang in there a while let the other folks work out all the kinks in the new ones, then buy a gen II like two or three years down the line. We got an awesome vehicle now, enjoy it, it will hold it's value...just my 2 cents.
This is an excellent point about Honda. In Japan, it is well-accepted that whoever buys an all-new model from Honda in the first year is beta-testing for the company. Honda cars change all the time, esp. in areas that you cannot see. The new Fit will likely be modified in about a year after its release in Japan (and again and again). North America will not have to go through this beta test year, thank God.
This is an excellent point about Honda. In Japan, it is well-accepted that whoever buys an all-new model from Honda in the first year is beta-testing for the company.
It isn't just Japan, and it isn't just Honda. All car makers have the same issues. My wife bought a first-year Neon (hey, we were giving the US makers a chance for a change) and it was buggy as all get out.
It's not because the manufacturers aren't doing their best. It's because cars are sufficiently complex devices that no matter how much you test, once hudreds of thousands of them actually get out in the real world unexpected issues are bound to crop up.
+1 on the advice to avoid a first-year platform, no matter who makes it.
By the same token, it's a safe bet that a car that's reaching the end of its lifecycle will have all the issues worked out and be pretty darned good, even if it got a bad rep because of early quality problems. I understand the Fiero (remember that?) actually was decent by the time they killed it.
Me, I'm on track to buy a 2010 Fit. By that time my Focus will have 200k on it and be ready for the scrapyard. My wife just took delivery of an 07 and it's a Goldilocks car...just right.
I'm liking the new one. Don't forget that we're looking at a Japanese-spec car. The US car will have a different nose because of our different collision requirements, just as the current North American Fit is different from the Jazz.
It isn't just Japan, and it isn't just Honda. All car makers have the same issues. My wife bought a first-year Neon (hey, we were giving the US makers a chance for a change) and it was buggy as all get out.
It's not because the manufacturers aren't doing their best. It's because cars are sufficiently complex devices that no matter how much you test, once hudreds of thousands of them actually get out in the real world unexpected issues are bound to crop up.
+1 on the advice to avoid a first-year platform, no matter who makes it.
By the same token, it's a safe bet that a car that's reaching the end of its lifecycle will have all the issues worked out and be pretty darned good, even if it got a bad rep because of early quality problems. I understand the Fiero (remember that?) actually was decent by the time they killed it.
Me, I'm on track to buy a 2010 Fit. By that time my Focus will have 200k on it and be ready for the scrapyard. My wife just took delivery of an 07 and it's a Goldilocks car...just right. I'm liking the new one.
To some extent I agree with you about all manufacturers' first-year model, but there is a difference among them as to the extent of changes that happen during the same period. Toyota, for instance, does not do running changes much in the first year (an effective cost- and quality-control measure), whereas Honda does it all the time. Auto critics in Japan often call Honda a company whose idea at sunrise changes by the sunset. In one way, you can say Honda is improving their cars all the time. But how about the people who bought those cars in their early part of the model life? Some of that bad experience repeated over the years is reflected in the fact that Honda, as of 2006, had only about 11% market share in Japan, when Toyota had 45% (Nissan about 20%).
When you work at a Honda Cars dealership (that's the dealer brand name in Japan) and try to order parts, it is not enough to know of which model year the particular Honda is. You have to know which lot that car belongs to, or which chassis number that particular car has, or you will get wrong parts precisely because Honda changes things so all the time. That is virtually never required with other Japanese makes such as Toyota or Nissan, or for that matter Subaru or Suzuki or whoever. By the way, I am referring to JDMs - manufactured in Japan and sold in Japan. The same companies often employ different running change philosophies for vehicles built offshore.
Incidentally, the Neon was buggy all the way until the end of the model life. Chrysler never figured out how to put it together. It was just even buggier in the early days.
This is an excellent point about Honda. In Japan, it is well-accepted that whoever buys an all-new model from Honda in the first year is beta-testing for the company. Honda cars change all the time, esp. in areas that you cannot see. The new Fit will likely be modified in about a year after its release in Japan (and again and again). North America will not have to go through this beta test year, thank God.
I see this in my reliability results at TrueDelta.com. New designs often start with high repair rates, but then these sometimes fall quickly as the manufacturer identifies and fixes design flaws. I promptly update the reliability results quarterly, so it's possible to quickly learn of any improvements.
With the 2009 Fit, I'm liking the exterior, but the interior is a mess. Way too many circles, and what's with the tumorous bulge on the passenger side of the IP? Organic interior contours are so mid-1990s.
__________________ www.truedelta.com
More useful reliability research
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What I'm really waiting for is Honda to begin offering twin clutch transmissions. I'm jealous on how fun the Gti DSG is. These slow manumatics are good but not as good as twin clutch systems.
perhaps it's just me, but i think the current generation's headlights are much better looking (less bug-like... i didn't even think it WAS possible to get more bug-like.)
i like the body color under the lens of the headlights, it's got a bit of ferrari and new generation corvette flair to it... that was honestly my favorite feature on the exterior...
not to mention an interior that rivals mercedes in it's look and feel...
here's to having a collector's car! ::cheers!::
PS - please tell me there will be a spoiler available for it... there's way too much droopage in the butt without one...
Last edited by barelyinaudible; 10-08-2007 at 01:35 PM.
that would be a remote key, like the one available in the versa... you just need to have it in your pocket to unlock the doors and turn it on... pretty snazzy if you ask me...
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The 10 cupholders sounds good too.
Linear Mode
