Do you ever get the impression honda US (or japan) doesn't take the fit seriously in the US market? sure maybe 1 out of 2 times the fit shows up on honda's website, but theres no marketing, their projected demand is set too low, etc. Or is honda usually like this for new cars? I heard the first gen of RSXs were also underprojected in terms of demand.

 

There are multiple answers I think. It is far from being an aggressive marketing campaign. Maybe it's a weird kind of marketing strategy that works well for them and only them...,because they will always sell fairly well because of the pre-established 'H' reputation.

The Dumbmestic companies would die to be in their shoes.

Another Mid-East crisis or hurricane makes these cars sell themselves.
But damn...look at the aftermarket components. Somebody else is noticing.

 

I think the marketing campaign is more than adequate considering the relatively low volume of Fits to be produced and the low profit margin that the Fit yields.

 

Why have a marketing blitz on a producT that is in high demand ,(see the complaint threads on this forum about long wait times), and that production is maxed out at the pRoduction factories. They need no large campaign as long as the cars fly off the lots...Now if it was a Chevy dealer and they were trying to get rid of the cars they overproduce then a huge marketing campaign would be in order.....

 

I couldn't agree more. Also need to take into account the great press that our Fits are getting. It was the main car featured in the Auto section of last Saturday's paper and it has been given a 5 star safety rating.

 

I noticed the fit is almost the standard for B segment now. eveyr new car preview usually is compared to the fit. i read an article about the mitsu "i" which is this ugly car, and they mentioend its size in relation to the fit's.

 

Yeah, big marketing is not needed 'cause the car is flying off the lots. People know it's good, and they're buying them already. Car companies generally advertise cars they want to get rid of more because there's more to lose if they don't sell. Think about it -- when was the last time you saw a Subaru STI or Evo in a tv ad? And no one will tell you those cars aren't selling.

 

i dont kno about that, everytime i go to the cerritos mistubishi, i see the same two evos sitting inside waiting to be sold LoL

as for honda caring about the fit, they dont really care, they just want the cash :P

 

well knowing that honda really does not have to announce anything about the FIT i would say they just know by word of mouth from consumers could just boom their sales with no marketing...Its a honda...people going to honda dealers and see the FIT for the first time is a surprise...not everyone does research of the cars out there in the market they can just walk into a dealership blind...as for mitsu i see more EVOs than the Eclipse while I have not seen any EVO commercials or ads for it, but i have seen the commercials and ads for the Eclipse and for a little morei would rather have the EVO as for the Eclipse i say its more of a chick car...also there has been previous threads saying how honda stopped production of the FIT by 24% or so for the higher demand civics...so by that i would guess I think honda would rather sell more civics cause if more people know about the FIT than that would sell more (maybe)...go in to buy a FIT "well you have to wait sir, but we do have some civics you can look at"...get the consumer to buy the more expensive car...thats just my thought

 

I think there was commercials with the Fit in it a couple months ago, I wanna say it was animated. Theres still Fit posters at bus stops in my area. Still seeing ads for them in magazines too.

 

Yeah I see them in print all the time. I read roling stone, blender, and sporting news and they are in every issue. Marketing aim is a direct relation to target group, which I guess is common understanding. You have to look at what people Honda wants to inform to sell the Fit and its probably more effective and cheap to hit our target age in certain interest mags than throwing a tv ad in between the news and wheel of fortune. I am also suprised at how much attention the Fit gets in the aniver. issue of super street. I think Skunk 2 has their cat back exhaust featured for the fit and its not even released yet.

 

Agree! I set Google Alert for articles that mention Honda Fit, and I keep getting articles about everything from what seems to be considered its immediate competitors (Yaris, Scion, Aveo, Versa) to SUVs that are getting killed off by "Honda Fit and other B segment cars". It is the standard against which the others are compared. Why bother to pay for an ad campaign? Everyone will be waiting to pounce on the 2008 model.

 

I think Honda needs to step it up to meet the demand.

Reason being, even though the Civic is a better selling car...

I WILL NOT BUY A CIVIC INSTEAD OF THE FIT.

 

the only way i would buy a civic is if i would have had better credit and go with an Si...i really liked the Si, but i still love my Fit

 

Yep, that just happened in the Arizona Republic. They reviewed the Versa, and ended up saying "Buy a Fit!"

 

Honda is a very conservative company in many ways, and they aren't going to flood the US with a new (to the NADM) model. The scheduled a short run for year one, and I would bet that they have increased production as demand has proven strong. It might also mean a Civic 5-door down the road...??? Who knows.

The returns are in, they can sell every Fit that rolls off the boat. Expect to see more in the spring of 07, and a bigger portion of production in MY08. That would be my guess. Meanwhile you see the new Versa ads because there are a lot of unsold Versa's, Nissan has NO rep in economy cars (hideous fleet mpg), and there are many potential Fit owners that might buy the Versa because they can get it right off the lot without having to deal with backordering or limited supply.

Obviously, if the crystal ball at Honda said that they would have sold 100,000 units this year, they never would have started with such a short run.

FWIW, I bought my Fit without ever seeing an ad, anywhere. I heard that Honda had a new hatchback, I test drove a base Fit, and put a deposit down. Nobody has to convince me on buying a Honda, ana with no hatch in the Civic line this was the first good option in a while.

 

Its not a question of Honda underproducing the Fit to meet demands... Honda is making every Fit they can. Their plant is running 3 shifts a day and cant keep up with the global demand for the Fit.
To produce more Fits they would have to open a new production facility and that will take years to build...

 

Lets face it traditionally small cars (you call them subcompacts whereas we in the UK call them superminis) do not sell well in the US - most people have been used to using big gas guzzlers and with gas the price it was most had no incentive to change.

I suspect it was only the good sales of the BMW Mini that even persuaded Honda to market this car at all. They were then helped by the sharp increase in gas prices (but still nowhere near what most of the rest of the developed world pays).

My guess is that Honda were simply taken by surprise by how popular the Fit has been in the US.

Your other problem is that the relative weakness of the dollar compared with other markets means that Honda can get more for their Fit/Jazzes in those other markets. The top of the range one in the UK sells for the equivalent of over $24,000, and even the more popular mid range one is over $22,000. And at those prices Honda sell as many as they import. If you were a Honda executive where would you decide to increase your sales?

 

I suspect with gas prices dropping here, sales of small, very efficient cars may slump a little bit.

I'll still be getting my Fit.

Although if it takes too long, or the dealer tries to add stuff and raise the price on me.... I'll SO go to a Toyota dealer and buy a Matrix.

 

Oh, and another thing about Honda, take the Insight. They sold them in the US to get market penetration, and to demonstrate they were serious about improving fuel efficiency. They weren't making profit on them, and when I bought mine in 2003, there was one on the lot waiting for me.

I think for the sake of not losing sales to other makes, Honda should step up and meet demand in the US. Even if profits are higher in other markets, losing market share in the US market would be a mistake.