Dear All,

I have been shocked since I start to use this forum about the strong interest on Fit US release. Many forum users from US are really waiting for this car.

To tell you the true I am very surprised.

Of course this is a stupid concept I have about US, a stereotype, i always imagined that in US car with less than 5000 CC engine are not considered cars.

A country where Hummer and other monsters have born I suppoed to be the wrong place for a small japanese car.

Maybe the SUV era ended? just I am curious to know from some of you from US why you find the Fit interesting.

I am italian, and small cars are in the italian motor DNA! you know, we started our motorization age with micro cars (FIAT 500, 600). Personally I am attracted by small innovative cars.

Living in China the choice is limited but Fit is great in this direction.

The internal space is huge, the vtec engine is incredible and the CVT great.

So, i ask you to distroy my stereotype and if you can explain to me why this kind of cars are bocoming popular in US.

Thank you all

 

Well, this *is* a Fit forum so of course you will find Fit enthusiasts here. And as such, we're probably interested in other small cars as well. In no way do we represent all of the US, though. Head off to some other forums and you will definitely find people who say the Fit is slow and ugly. Fine, that's their opinion.

The Fit is extremely practical, looks decent, and miserly on fuel for US standards. Good enough for me.

 

I did own GMC Jimmy SUV from '73 to '90, but it was no fun to drive, since I had learned to drive on a new '62 VW Beetle. I just love a car you can "wear like a glove" and will trade in my '91 MX-5 Miata (that replaced the SUV) on a new FIT because I can't buy a "smart" in the US--yet.

Love those small cars,
Bill Lakatos
San Jose, California

 

this is an *international* fit forums, so of course I found Fit enthusiasts from all over the world. The surprise is to find a lot of Fit enthusiasts from US.

Is it the gasoline price a concerning also in US?

thanks for your reply

 

Obviously the price of gas in the US has affected the vehicles that people are considering. Although I don't feel it has happened to the degree that it should. I don't know how the rest of you feel. But personally, as far as pollution is concerned, I feel that it is a good thing that the price of gas in the US shot up. How long have we been spoiled with cheap gas prices? It was taken as our opportunity to buy vehicles that got 10 miles to the gallon. Our middle aged housewives with 2 kids felt it necessary to buy a vehicle that seats 7 or 8. Meanwhile she lives in the city and takes 20 minutes to parallel park the thing. If you live where there is snow, buy a subaru or an awd matrix, or even a rav4, cr-v, or escape. But it's when we build vehicles like the explorer that has less ground clearance than an outback, or an escalade ext with 26" rims that will never be used to tow anything, that I feel our consumers and producers have truly lost their way. I too have owned SUV's. I owned an '88 4runner and an '87 land cruiser, but I beat the hell out of them off-road, where they belong.
I definitely welcome this offering of sub-compact vehicles. It is time we join the rest of the world and drive more fuel efficient, space saving vehicles.

 

I have been through a lot of Honda cars since 1990. From all that past Hondas that I had, it has proven to me it's quality and reliability for the cars that they made. The Fit has good gas mileage, good potential for modifications and it's practical so I am sure I will have some fun enjoying driving and modding the car

 

Here's my top 10 list of why U.S. consumers are finding the Fit attractive:

1) Great fuel economy (compared to SUV's and big V8's)
2) Starting price at around $13,000.00 - Not bad for a brand new car!
3) Versatility and ability to carry cargo (magic seats)
4) Honda's reputation for building quality cars that last
5) Resale value - American cars just don't hold there value - Hondas do.
6) The Fit has been around for about 5yrs. It's a tested/ proven design.
7) Large aftermarket support.
8) Great handling! Americans are tired of driving big boats of cars that offer soft, mushy handling. Small, responsive cars are more desirable.
9) Insurance - can't be too expensive for a $13k 4cyl.
10) This is the most important reason of all - Everyone else has it...now we want it too!!!!!

 

I saw a Jazz and a Stream in Nassau 3 years ago and thought why can't we get these coool little cars in the U.S.?
Now it's one down and several more to go (Swift, Polo etc...)
Honda may be starting a trend that other's will follow.

 

At $13K, the Fit may very well start another tuner revolution (much like the Civic in the '90s)...especially with the thought of a K20 swap! With the Civic at nearly $20K, the mass majority will be looking towards the Fit for modifing and fulfilling their "need for speed". Heck, if you think about it, the Fit is just as big as the '92-'95 Civic (just taller), which is the perfect size for maximizing power to weight ratios. Although, I wish Honda would also bring the sedan version of the Fit, the 'City'. As practical as the Fit is, I would still prefer a sedan. Even Toyota understands the US market and is bringing both a hatchback and sedan with the Yaris.

 

The Fit will be my third Honda, and I can't say enough good things about Honda. They are extremely reliable, fuel efficient, reasonably priced and fun to drive. What's not to love about them?

 

I think a lot of people in the US like little cars. When Ford and Chevy brought out their Pintos and Vegas in 1971, a lot of people bought them, because they wanted little cars but wanted to "buy American". My first new car was a Pinto and I loved how it drove and that it was small and got good mileage. I've had 4 cyl cars since then. It used to always bug me that I would see these great looking cars in Europe and Japan and we couldn't get them here. Also interersting to me that Ford and GM make some nice little cars for Europe that we can't get here - why not? I think the European cars they make are better than what we get here. Well, just my 2 centavos.

 

I am interested in the style, fuel economy, and price of the Fit. Also the Fit has a strong after market product line and I am all about that aswell.

 

Personally, I would like to see gas prices over $5.00 here in the U.S. That might get some of the gas guzzling behemoths like Hummers and Ford Excursion off of the roads. As Tarmyjervis points out, most of the large SUVs here can carry large passenger loads, but mostly tool around with 1 or 2 people in them. They're also big and slow, like the giant dinasaurs that they are. I want something small, fast and sleek. None of which SUVs or pickups are (with a few exceptions). I love to snicker as I go past an SUV that skidded off the road because the driver thought he could turn a corner at 45 mph. What morons! Here in Michigan half the cars that are in the ditch on snowy days are SUVs. I think if their owners had brains, they would drive fuel efficient, fun to drive vehicles like the Honda Fit.

 

Amen - I drive 131 North from Martin to GR every day and all winter long 9 out of 10 vehicles hung up off the side of the highway are either LARGE SUV's or full sized pickups. People just don't get the physics of a larger mass taking longer to stop I guess...

 

I grow weary of the "I see more SUV's in the ditch, than small cars" mentaliity. If this is true (not true where I live), the reason why you see more SUV's in the ditch is because there are more SUV's on the road (it was the big trend for the last ten + years). Also, they are typically driven by women who don't have a clue about the physics of rubber and snow.

I guarentee you that if you're in a Fit, and I'm in an SUV, and we both have to drive to the same destination through a foot or two of drifting snow during or after a blizzard, I will probably make it there before you do.

And, no, you don't want to see gas prices go to $5.00 a gallon, because not only will you be paying $50+ each time you fill up your Fit, everything else you buy will go up in price because gasoline costs are figured into every part of the supply chain.

 

I guess we watch all the movies with cute Italian girls and small cars...

 

I guarentee you that if you're in a Fit, and I'm in an SUV, and we both have to drive to the same destination through a foot or two of drifting snow during or after a blizzard, I will probably make it there before you do.

Maybe, maybe not. A large number of SUV's don't have true offroad ground clearance, as they are meant (and were designed in recent years) to be driven on asphalt. Furthermore, their massive tires are very expensive. This means that more often than not you will see them shod in 4-season rubber.

A manual front-drive vehicle equiped with a set of (4) winter ice radials will definitely outhandle any 4X4 or all-wheel-drive that is not similarily equiped. I know this from years of personal experience. In Quebec, the popularity of SUV's and pick-ups is not as marked as in the States. Yet I do notice a disproportionate number of SUV's on their sides or roofs at the first sign of winter. If the white stuff is 2 feet deep, then you shouldn't be out on the road in the first place.

 

I believe another reason for the interest in the Fit in the US is that no one has made a high-quality hatchback available here since the early 90's. The Hondas many of you are still driving were it. The current Hyundais, Kias, and Suzukis just don't match up to the design and build quality of a Honda. There have been a lot of good quality sedans from Honda, Toyota, Mazda, etc. available since then but no Hatches. The Scions (Speedometer in the center of the dashboard-what are they thinking?) and Matrix (Awkward driving position) don't work for me.

Add to that the versatility and utility of the Magic Seats, the great lineup of safety features, the Honda reliability, and you have a very attractive package for those of us who prefer small cars.

I will agree with Green Lightning. Here in Minnesota, if there are two feet of snow on the ground, the only thing you should be driving is a snowplow or snowmobile.

 

I have been living in Thailand for the last five+ years and have seen hundreds of Fits and other small cars on the road that one just doesn't see in the U.S. Being a car nut, I started looking for the car I will buy when I go back to the U.S. the day I got here. Everything else I have looked at (Mazda 3, Mini-Cooper, VW GTI/Jetta), once you get to a decent level of trim and option it up a little costs over $20,000US. With buying a house and everything else I will be spending money on once I return, I just can't see spending that much on a car. The Fits have been in Thailand for a couple of years now, and look great. I have owned 3 Honda cars and 5 motorcycles. Honda has been called the "Mercedes of mini-cars." Mercedes doesn't make bikes (or watercraft or lawnmowers or generators, etc.) Maybe Mercedes should be called the "Honda of maxi-cars." Although I understand they have been experiencing quality control issues in the last couple of years.

 

Living in Vermont, the majority of vehicles I see off the road are Jeeps and Subaru's. Many of the people I know who know very little about vehicles seem to think that their 4wd or awd makes them invincible in the snow. These people I see off the road are obviously too confident in their vehicle. Once your are moving sideways on the road on ice or snow, it's over. That awd isn't going to save you.


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You don't look so tough when we're cuddling.