Honda Sneak Peek: The Fit?

出典: くみこみックス

Credit Honda with not giving up easily in what will definitely become a big fight: the sub $15,000 price tag range category of new automobiles. Presently, only a stripped down Civic competes in this region and I mean stripped: no a/c, simple tranny, no radio! With Toyota's Scion brand catching on Honda is seeking to fight back. A tiny vehicle now on sale in Japan might soon locate its way to a dealership in your neighborhood helping to turn the tide for the revered automaker.

So, why the big push in this "low cost" category? Chiefly simply because automakers know that if young and initial time purchasers have a really great knowledge with their entry level vehicles then much more than most likely they will stay with the brand as their lives alter, i.e., get married, start off a household, make far more funds, etc. This practice has been in place for years, although not as extensively emphasized by all manufacturers and to their detriment.

Honda's extended time low cost leader has often been the Civic. Introduced to the North American industry in 1971, the Civic was the original Honda for the western hemisphere and has been bull bars a worth leader in its class for some time. However, like the Toyota Corolla, 300zx body kit the Civic has been gradually creeping up marketplace becoming much better equipped and much more expensive. At least Toyota slipped in a new entry level car a couple of years back, the Echo, but Honda has been without a single. In addition, Toyota launched an all new brand, Scion, in 2003 to capture a larger chunk of the youth marketplace. So far, Scion has been a runaway good results story.

Enter the Fit. Say, what?! Yes, a tiny Scion-like automobile sporting a 1.5L engine is currently navigating Japanese streets. Sadly, the name isn't catchy and probably will have to be changed after the car is imported to the US and Canada. Let's just say that some of the names that rhyme with Fit are not specifically favorable. At least it is not as clear as Daewoo's duraflex body kits Charade a vehicle that genuinely lived up to its name!

We do not know a lot however about the Fit other than to say that Honda knows that they need to respond to Toyota and soon. Honda does not seem willing to generate a separate brand to take on Scion, but a automobile in the class of the Fit will support Honda capture a larger chunk of the all critical youth market place. With styling cues reportedly equivalent to the Scion xA, the "Fit" will likely be fitted into the bottom of the Honda line up. Paired with the Element, each vehicles will be perceived as correct Scion fighters. At least Honda hopes that you do.