(Bold added.) These are probably related. Why would they spend money on incentives or marketing for a car they can't build fast enough to meet demand as it is?

 

From what I have gathered the Fit is considered a niche market, which means smaller expected sales relative to other Honda brands and limited marketing. They save their advertising budgets for the big guns.

But I disagree about supply/demand. I think supply has been pretty consistent overall, though there may be problems in pockets. If there is a shortage it's with the 6MTs; I definitely think there are fewer on the lots today than there were six months ago. A glance at the numbers seems to say GK5 monthly sales averages overall look to be about the same as the previous generation over five years. Also if you could trust the quotes in the prices paid thread, many Fits are being sold at significant discounts to MSRP. If supply was constrained and/or demand was greater you wouldn't see that.

 

And yet, except for a couple of ads that aired briefly when the car first came out last summer, Honda hasn't advertised the car at all. Something doesn't add up here. I suspect Honda really doesn't want to "push" the Fit, fearing it will take sales from larger, more profitable cars.

This also might have something to do with sub $3.00/gallon gas, I suspect. After all, we know "cheap" gas is here to stay, right?

 

I don't get why all you guys are upset with the lack of advertising and promotion. Honda has positioned the Fit as a niche market car. That means they believe it will appeal to only a certain small segment of buyers, and they think the people who want these cars already know about them. Sales seem to be doing OK, though there's a bit anecdotal evidence (a very small bit) that dealers are disappointed (probably because they can't demand high premiums). If you want to reject the niche assertion and argue for a sustained advertising campaign, according to the basic tenets of advertising you will get increased demand. But can Honda really meet a big jump in demand? I say it cannot, as I believe supply/demand now is close to equal overall (and in fact some in this forum already believe supply is lacking). The outcome of sustained higher demand without supply would lead to higher prices overall -- for everyone -- and real frustration for a certain segment that couldn't find what advertising tells them they could get. That frustration would lead to negative association with the Fit and trouble for Honda.

Frankly I'm kind of glad the Fit is under the radar. I kind of like driving a car that you don't see at every stop light.

 

I was hoping to get a good price by catching the tail end of the 2015's, but I missed it. All that's left in my area are 6MT's. Now I have to wait for the 2016's. I don't expect good pricing after a three month drought of Fits.

 

Get the 6MT it's the better choice!

 

Here it is October and still no Japanese Fits on the radar. I checked Cars.com where a lot of dealers post vaporware cars that they have not yet received. Not a "J" VIN in sight and darned few Fits there at all. 859 Mazda 3s, 777 Nissan Versas, 529 Ford Fiestas, 478 Kia Souls, 37 Honda Fits.

Does Honda want to sell cars?

 

The downside of this is my fear that Honda will just drop the car in the US market. I just bought this car and will most likely have to drive it for 7-10 years. If Honda drops the car here, what happens to parts availability? Honda is not known for keeping out of production parts available.

 

I'm in for 7 to 10 years myself (probably more like 10 to 14) but I'm not worried. However, your parts concern was one issue that kept me from going with the Fiat; in my online travels I saw complaints of long waits for some repairs because of problems with parts.

 

Just found the following VINs reported as in transit to several different dealers in the state:

JHMGK5H7XGX000**6
JHMGK5H76GX000**7
JHMGK5H57GX000**8
JHMGK5H71GX000**3
JHMGK5H78GX000**2
JHMGK5H51GX000**5
JHMGK5H50GX000**8

 

which dealers? I'm waiting on J VIN models to hit Hawaii.

 

IIRC, Pacific and Windward. Check their web sites.

 

I checked their websites and saw no J VIN numbers, but I only checked what they had in stock. How did you check on in transit cars?

 

pachonda.com: Search. Select year 2016. Select model FITEX or FITLX. (Problems in their data here as they are not coding the EX and LX as trims instead of models.)

hondawindward.com: (similar issue) Search. Select year 2016. Select model FEXA or FLXA.

Too bad King is still swimming in high-lot-time 2015s.

 

Thank you. I see them now.

Yes, King asking a ransom for their cars is the problem. Are you looking to buy a 2016, too?

 

Know what King is asking, crazy money and packed besides, not sure what they are actually taking. Have bought 8 new Honda/Acura cars since 1986. Never once bought a packed one and never paid MSRP. Not about to start now.

Was getting very interested in a 3rd gen Fit, and was kinda ready to try to see what they'd part with a 2015 for, but then wife drove one and did not like. Was really negative about the sail window blind spot. Not sure where I go on that next. I liked the HR-V. She's not a huge fan of *UVs in general and we already have a '07 CR-V so that would be two of "same kind" and that was also frowned upon. Have been following 2016 Civic sedan news. Think I'd get an approval vote there. I'd think a '16 Toyo Taco would be OK too, but her, not so much. Have been down to just one car since we moved here. (Sold a '12 Focus 5dr and an '09 135i rather than move them.) Saving money. Frequently at home sans wheels.

 

Picked it up last Thurs night. Love the car. You may be overthinking the "where built" phenomena. Mine is hecho en Mexico. So were the last two cars I've owned and both got me to 200K+ on nothing but oil changes.

The only bad part of the experience was the "Finance Guy" trying to push the extended warranty. I had to tell him we were leaving in 10 minutes. If he wanted us to buy the car he should stop his selling. It worked.

Does a replacement key fob really cost $400.00?

 

I'm glad you've had no issues with your three "Hecho en Mexico" cars. This is my first. My last car was "Hecho en Tennessee" and was really good. Was your "Finance Guy" also hecho en Mexico?

Yes, the new keys are part of the auto immobilizer, which has a computer chip inside that is supposedly hard to beat, but $400 is a lot.

 

To anyone looking for Japan built 6 speeds, it's looks like you're outta luck. It's physically impossible to select Japan and 6mt in the parts catalog. Only lx and ex(not ex-l) cvt's are japan built.

 

Try owning my 1988 Daihatsu Charade. Now that's a tricky car to find parts for

Anyway, had a look at a Japanese made Fit this past weekend and it felt pretty well built, at least the interior panels lined up better than my '15, and the back hatch trim didn't feel as flimsy. One weird observation was that it smelt different; not bad or good, but just a different new car smell. Anyone notice that?