Honda Canada says some internal tinkering will soon allow one of the company's better-selling models to qualify for a $1,000 government rebate after barely missing the criteria under a controversial federal program earlier this year.

Apparently Honda was able to squeeze out a few more MPG's (or Km/L) for the Fit built for the Canadian market. The company's engineers have improved the fuel economy for the manual-transmission model so consumers can get the federal rebate. Unfortunately they were not able to do the same for the automatic version.

Hey Honda, how about you do the same for the U.S. model?

TheStar.com - Business - Manual Fit soon fit for $1,000 rebate

 

Hmmm interesting but doesn't really specify what this "tinkering" will be and how it affects performance. I just drove 1190 miles from California to Colorado. Avg speed clocked on my Garmin 660 GPS was 70 mph, highest speed reached is 90 mph. This was with AC on about a third of the drive, and some uphill sections (where the Fit's 109hp had to strain to keep up, so I just dropped back in speed for the uphill sections).

After all was said and done I got a total of 37 mpg.

 

By Jove, they've done it! Honda adds a few more MPGs to Canadian Fit - Autoblog


Anyone wonder how they did it? Maybe gear ratio? I hope they mention it. BTW, this mileage improvmenet is only for MT, not AT. So maybe the improvement has to do with the stick shift drivetrain.

 

I'd like to know too - just bumping up the gear ratios slightly would do it for sure, though I suppose a minor tweak to the ECU could do it too. (They only had to get the milage up 0.1 liter/100 km for the MT if I remember right....)

I'm guessing they didn't do it for the AT because they had further to go to hit the target - that may have involved more than a bit of tweaking.

 

Honda Canada's web site now lists the "new" fuel consumption of the 2008 Fit:

2008 - 7.1/5.7 L/100 km (city/hwy = 33.1/41.3 mpg US)
http://honda.ca/HondaCA2006/Models/Fit/2008/Specs?L=E

compare to...

2007 - 7.3/5.8 L/100 km (city/hwy = 32.2/40.6 mpg US)
Honda Canada

Gearing/final drive ratio info isn't available on the site. Anyone know any more about this yet?

Other stuff...

1) I've yet to read anywhere that the change will be applied North American wide. Though I'd be surprised if it wasn't also destined for US Fits.

2) The fuel economy figures are based on Transport Canada's testing methods, which are similar to the EPA's pre-2008, uncorrected values. (They'll have to harmonize with the EPA's revised calculations eventually to avoid mass confusion, but haven't gotten around to it yet.)

3) If you do the math, the Fit's "improvements" put the new 5-speed at 6.47 L/100 km combined. The threshold for the federal rebate is 6.5 L/100 km, based on a combined 55% city/45% hwy calculation.

 

Are the HP and torque numbers the same? Did they just lean it out a bit?

 

Same, according to the links above. 109 hp @ 5800 / 105 ft.-lb @ 4800

I don't think they would have tried to lean it out - it would have increased NOx emissions.

My money's on gearing changes.

Someone else suggested higher tire pressure ratings.

 

But does anyone have a firm confirmation that the '08 Fit will get the Gov't. rebate? And will this mean the OTD price will not include the Honda $1,000 rebate?

 

Not that I know of (to question 1). But I suspect they're in like Flynn. The feds will not hear the end of it from Honda Canada otherwise.

That is one of the automakers' legitimate complaints about the ecoAUTO program: they have had no assurance from the government that the rebate/feebate thresholds are solid & stationary. If they had that assurance, they'd have more confidence trying to massage products to benefit from the program's structure.

Honda has made this complaint in the media. Even Toyota Canada execs have said similar things, and they've generally benefitted from the program.

 

Hmmm... A look at Honda's fuel economy figures for the US market Fit show no change from 07 to 08.

2007 5-speed - 27/35 mpg (US)
Model 1 Vehicle Characteristics

2008 5-speed - 27/35 mpg (US)
2008 Honda Fit - Environment - the Official Honda Web Site

 

I'm still betting on an ECU change. This would be easier to implement in just Canada (Canada already has a different electronics because of DRLs) than something as significant as a gear ratio change.

I think if they just re-tuned the drive by wire throttle map and the V-TEC crossover point they could get that. That would increase efficiency without effecting the engine at the peak torque and horsepower points, though it probably would effect the peppiness around town.

I hope we really find out at some point what changed so that I can swap those parts in from a Canadian Fit into mine and get better MPGs!

 

Makes sense, but then why wouldn't they apply the new code to the automatic car's ECU too? Only the 5-speed's fuel economy has changed.

Someone else suggested that since the automakers report their own fuel consumption figures to Transport Canada, Honda just fudged the Fit's numbers for the '08 model. Cynical theory, but I not outside the realm of possibility.

 

That would not surprise me, though it would suck.

 

It seems we finally have our answer (or part of it).

Not gearing.... not lean burn... but smart alternator control (which is already in place in US models):

source: reportonbusiness.com: Big Auto's race to get green

They tweaked the 5-speed Civic sedan to make the list as well, with LRR tires and a trunk lip spoiler that slightly improves aerodynamics.

 

Hmmm, I wonder if you were right in your earlier post. My guess is they just changed the numbers in the test they do themselves and made this as an excuse.

 

that's pretty interesting about the civic. we have a new trim level for the civic (like we needed any more)... the dx-g that comes with the wheels off the hybrid. i wonder if they have the hybrid exclusive undercovering panels too.

 

Well, remember the improvement only affected the MT. The AT mileage is the same. The change above would have improved both.

 

I believe the millage numbers are exactly the same on ecoACTION | écoACTION which is the site that provides the savings and the fit is now on the list and rebates can be had going forward on all 2008 MT Fits