I know what you mean- I remember over 30 years ago- going with a fellow USAF serviceman from Elmendorf AFB (I was a USAF SGT 1976-1980) stationed at Elmendorf for 23 months- downtown and he was looking at a Mazda RX-7- talk about MSRP+ but then again- we didn't get live TV- TV shows were delayed a week from CONUS.

 

I saw this car in Torrance. February manufacture date. Minimal orange peel. Dealer let me rev the motor. Not allowed to drive it. Took it up to 3600 rpm. Very smooth will minimal noise. I am
67 inches tall. Sitting "behind myself" left a comfortable 8 inches between my knees and front seat back. Texture of cloth, dash,etc top notch. Very impressed. Very curious to see how much interior noise at freeway speed.

 

Per Honda Pro Jason, Honda of Japan is inspecting every vehicle being produced out of the Mexico plant. He called this an extraordinary commitment by Honda to ensure a problem free US launch. This will delay the launch until mid May.

 

I'll be looking for mine mid to late June. Hope I won't have to go elsewhere, because I'll need a car right away. I'll settle for the Focus if I have to.

 

Boy, I am really not sure how I feel about this news. While I am pleased that Honda is taking Quality Control from its new assembly plant very seriously. In some ways this news beckons back to the days of Detroit, when American manufactures put together shit cars on the assembly line and then "inspected" each car coming off the line for defects to fix.

The Fit has been the most trouble free car in America and the Japan assembled Fits that we have enjoyed since its introduction into America have been assembled to a very high standard. Particularly for such an inexpensive car. While I have full confidence that Honda can get the new assembly plant meeting the same standards, the fact that they are delaying the release of cars, would indicate that they have not been meeting those quality standards yet.

This QC delay could explain why I have seen only 688 new fits show up in dealers online inventories, while more than 6800 fits have been assembled so far, as evidenced by the highest sequential VIN numbers that have shown as incoming.

 

Well, this is the internet; it might not be true.

 

Mid May is basically just two weeks away. I think we are splitting hairs here. There's always a few bumps in the road.

 

Am hoping you won't have to settle with the Focus as you'll also have to settle for Ford's renowned depreciation. However, if your leasing it then its a no-brainer as Ford will gallantly subsidize the Lease rate as well as the residual so you'll win no matter what!!!
Happy driving and will catch you on the FocusFreak forum!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I saw around 700 2015 Fits on Cars.com national inventory. Are they on sale or are they holding them until the actual release date? The Honda site still shows the 2013.

 

About 20 2015 Fits a day have been getting removed from cars.com, so I would assume these removals represent actual sales. But what is significant is that cars.com shows the inventories for 800 Honda dealers and only 200 have any Fits listed so far, despite 6800 Fits having been built. (All CVTs). Whether the 6100 Fits are sitting at the factory awaiting inspections or have been shipped to distribution centers awaiting shipment to dealers is unknown.

Still no yellow, whites, or blue Fits have been manufactured. Any only a few LXs mostly all EX CVTs and EX-L CVTs so far.

 

We visited an Ohio dealer yesterday who had three 2015's listed on both cars.com and their own website. Not only did they not have the 15's but didn't have any of the 13's they claimed to have, so I would take any internet inventory lists with a grain of salt.

Is Honda always this close with information?

 

Yeah, the majority of the ones listed on their inventory were EX and EX-Ls too. Well, I did hear somewhere from here that they are delayed now... But the weird thing is that the many of the car reviews from various web sites were testing the yellow and the blue ones, so it's weird that they haven't been manufactured as much.

And I believe the internet inventory always seems misleading as well. I've seen many that says they will offer more incentives, such as clearance prices on the 2013 Fits at the dealer we got our car, and when I actually go to the dealer, they say they don't know anything about that.

 

Oh, I wouldn't read too much into this other than the fact Honda knows this is a brand new facility and knows it's reputation is on the line and wants to ensure each Fit coming off the assembly line is top notch. I applaud Honda for this!

 

The Focus is a super nice car! I test drove a new 2014 Focus SE hatchback with Sport pkg last night and was blown away. Quality and craftsmanship inside and out is outstanding, ride and handling is fantastic as is performance! The Focus is a very, very nice car! I would wait for the 2015 Focus coming out this fall as it is receiving a significant exterior and interior update. The '15 Focus looks much, much better all around.

My parents own a 2007 Focus 5 door hatchback and they absolutely love it! My stepdad says it's one of the best cars he's ever owned and he's owned a LOT of cars in his lifetime.

 

Not to get too far OT, but the Focus SE with manual and nothing else can be had for mid 18K. Particularly because it's about to be updated, I'm sure I could do even better.


I'd rather the Fit, but it's up to Honda to have it available when I need it by the end of June.

 

Oh yeah, you can get kick ass deals on '14 Focus' right now! I saw a Focus Titanium (fully loaded - no moonroof, though) hatchback auto for $19,795 (sticker is $24,795). SE hatchback auto without sport pkg going for $16,495. Personally, I would wait for the refreshed '15 Focus. The '15 looks so much better inside and out. You will still be able to get a great deal on a '15 Focus but maybe just not right away. You'll need to wait until all the '14's are gone first.

The '15 Focus, besides a restyled front and rear will also have new wheel options and new seat fabric. The interior gets a new and better steering wheel and the center stack and console have been streamlined and simplified with less buttons and clutter. The steering and rear suspension have been recalibrated also. It will just be an all around better Focus.

 

Sales people on the floor at dealerships are the least informed people in the auto industry. Saying, "I went to my dealer and he told me this" is generally the least reliable information that you could ever get about a car.

The listings on cars.com do NOT necessarily represent cars sitting on dealers lots, it represents both the cars they have on their lots and the cars that are in shipment and expect to arrive in the next 45-60 days. Some of these cars may well be pre sold. And sometimes sold cars do not get removed from the inventory promptly. Usually the sales manager or general manager know in advance exactly what cars are arriving. But often do not share this information with salesmen, because they want them selling what is already there. But your salesperson may well know what is coming in, but will generally lie to you in an effort to sell you what he has.

 

To those who are looking at the 2015 Fit Inventory/ production...please keep in mind that the new Mexican production facility is suppose to be able to produce 1.92 Million units per year or 5,260/ day

I'm sure Honda is checking to see what if anything needs tweeking before they turn all the robots on and start to produce at even a fraction of full capacity.

I have no doubt that once Honda is happy with the new production line that there will be more than enough new Honda Fits in every color and configuration that they offer. The US release should be Weds or Thus. this week. :>)

 

No quite! Honda produces 1.92 million vehicles per year from all of its North American plants in total. The new Fit plant has a max capacity of 200,000 cars per year when it gets to full capacity in a year or so. right now, it is probably producing at a rate of about 100- 150 cars per day.

The factory has been in production since February 24.

Where are you getting the Wednesday-Thursday release date?

 

5260 Fits/day is like one every 16 seconds lol sounds a bit high