Here's what I've found out from a friend that works for AHM.

- It will be called the Fit.

- The Fit will debut in the Detroit Auto Show in January 2006 and go on sale immediately afterwards.

- It will officially arrive at dealers in March 2006.

- There will be two trim models... base at $13K and sport at $15K (addition of foglights and body kit).

- Honda is set to make a huge marketing push on the Fit, as it is doing with the new Civic.

My friend at AHM has given me accurate information in the past so I believe him.

 

What engine(s) will be available? I'm guessing the 1.5, as the Fit will be a close competitior of the Scion Xa, etc. I saw the new Kia Rio5 hatchback. I think that will be a decent competitor, but as far as quality goes, the Fit and the Scion will win in that area. Be interesting to see how many Scion sales the Fit steals.

 

$2k more for foglights and body kit? Are we talking about front lip spoiler, side skirts and maybe rear spoiler? I hope they offer more for that $2k..

 

Sounds like it will be like the difference between VTi and VTiS models in Australia. The difference being fog lights, a leather steering wheel, bigger alloy wheels and a 15kg full body kit (front, rear, side skirts and spoiler).

 

A couple of comments:

1. I am surprised that the US/Canada model will keep the original Fit name. The current Fit is known as Jazz everywhere in the world outside of Japan.

2. It's still unknown what kind of engine the car will use. Will it be the same 1.3-liter L13A i-DSI and 1.5-liter L15A VTEC selection we see in eastern Asia? I was hoping for a 1.5-liter version of the SOHC i-VTEC engine found on the 2006 Civic Hybrid.

3. I wonder was Honda able to incorporate side-curtain airbags into the car, especially since it appears they're using the MMC version of the original 2001 model for the US/Canada market.

 

I'm sure it will be the 1.5L sohc vtec. BTW the currently available Jazz engines are not i-vtec.

Are the new Civic's engines L-Series or still B-Series? as only the L-Series will fit in the Jazz/Fit engine bay without serious modification.

The existing chassis is unable to accomodate side curtain airbags. The new wider chasis model will when its released.

 

Yes the Sport trim will include upgraded alloy wheels. Sorry I forgot to mention that as well.

My friend couldn't confirm any information on the engine but he has said something about the 1.5 liter before. My guess is that the US Fit will simply be a LHD version of the JDM Fit. The fact that it is being built and shipped straight from Japan is highly indicative of this.

I've said all along it will be named the Fit. The Jazz name is already being used by one of Honda's Scooters. Besides, personally I think the Fit name is better.

 

Actually, the 2006 Civic engine for the USA market is an all-new 1.8-liter I-4 with an all-new SOHC i-VTEC valvetrain, designed R18. The engine is rated at 140 bhp (SAE 08/04 net).

The reason why I mentioned a modified version of the 2006 Civic Hybrid's gasoline engine is the fact Honda used the L13A 1.3-liter i-DSI engine on the older Civic Hybrid, and that engine is the base engine for most Fit/Jazz models sold around the world. Because the 2006 Civic Hybrid uses an all-new 1.3-liter SOHC i-VTEC engine rated at 93 bhp (SAE 08/04 net), a 1.5-liter version of this new engine could likely fit inside the current MMC Fit and will get a horsepower rating of around 108 bhp (SAE 08/04 net), which give the Fit pretty good acceleration power.

 

Is there any chance Honda will stuff the R18 engine in the Fit for the US? It would blow the Scions and Yaris out of the water. Just a thought.

 

hey MAV, what's AHM mean?

 

my friend confirm with me that's it's only gonna be 1.3 and 1.3 vtec, 5 speed auto or 7 speed

 

AHM = American Honda Motors

If true, a 1.3L would be a disappointment. Even a bigger disappointment would be that the Fit will only be available in auto or 7 speed CVT.

 

That means we'll see two engines, the original L13A i-DSI engine and the (likely) the 1.3-liter SOHC i-VTEC engine from the 2006 Civic Hybrid (minus the IMA hardware, of course). Hopefully, they'll carefully tune the ratio settings on the CVT-7 transmission so it takes proper advantage of the torque peak of these two engines.

 

They currently don't make a 1.3 vtec Jazz and the 1.5 sohc vtec is not i-vtec.

The CVT extracts the most out of any engine its attached to keeping the vehicle in the optimum range at all times. The Jazz would not feel as powerful without the CVT. The 5 speed manual is more highly geared giving worse fuel economy and more engine noise on the open road than the CVT.

Intelligent gear boxes are the way of the future. The M3s SMG which shifts faster than even the world's fastest F1 driver can and the dual sequential box on the new Golf Gti illustrate the direction things are heading. If the car is faster and more fuel efficient why persist with old fashioned manuals. F1 and WRC have long since stop using them.

The Jazz is primarily a city car. Don't know about the US but most people buy automatics for use in the city here.

 

Can anyone provide further details regarding the CVT-7?

 

This review has a good section on the CVT

http://asia.vtec.net/Reviews/JazzVtec/index.html

 

http://cvt.com.sapo.pt/toc_en.htm

A more technical website dedicated to raising the awareness of this technology.

 

Soichiro Honda recognized the efficiency and convenience of hydrostatic drives and incorporated the "Badalini" stepless transmission design into the Juno scooter in 1962. Honda engineers continued to develop their own versions of hydrostatic transmissions and incorporated them into snow blowers, lawnmowers, and smaller power equipment. Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) also applied this technology to the RC250 in 1990-91. The RC250 was a limited edition, "works-type" motocrosser that used the continuously variable transmission to maximize torque output and optimize reduction ratio selection.

 

Details of the CVT used in the Insight

http://www.insightcentral.net/encyclopedia/encvt.html

 

Thanks for the links. As I understand it CVT is more like a hybrid transmission? Not really a manual or automatic where as BMW's SMG and Audi's DGS are true manuals with an electronically controlled clutch.