Honda Fit Hybrid "Is Go!" in Fall 2010?

The Fit's alright... but, Toyota's gotta respond to this QUICKLY with a Matrix or Yaris hybrid!!! It'll happen...just watch...

 

Argggh.... Honda... quality please not quantity... I guess quantity is good too at this point when the industry is at it's lowest point. Now is a really great time to gain hybrid market share.

 

I and many other people love the Fit. The Yaris and Matrix don't even come close.

What's puzzling to me about the blurb is the target price of $15,800. That must be Japan only, not the U.S.

I'd be pleasantly shocked if Honda hits that mark in the U.S. as the 2009 base Fit with automatic transmission already retails for $15,550 in the U.S.

 

With that price point, it makes more sense than the Insight MkII. I can see it being the perfect "Insight killer". Maybe the Insight was just a setter-upper for this car all along.

Good luck to Honda, but this sounds like diminishing returns territory to me. The smaller and more fuel efficient car to start with, the less to be gained from a hybrid version with less space and a higher price.

In Japan Honda do a big but very reasonable mpv/people carrier called the Step Wagon and a smaller one called the Freed (?). That's the kind of car I'd like them to hybridize if the IMA system is easy to implement. Toyota have the Estima/Previa and the Alphard, but both hybrid models are heavily loaded with accessories and cost over 4 million yen on the road. They are far too expensive.

 

Excellent. I hope the younger generation buys millions of Fit hybrids. And I hope Toyota responds with Yaris hybrids and Scion hybrids. I'm awaiting the day that ALL mainstream vehicles are sold as hybrids. Excellent.

Despite lower initial sales, I wouldn't expect the Insight to go anywhere. Honda will use it as an icon/symbol for it's Green movement. Also, Honda continues to sell the Ridgeline, even though to date they have only sold ... three total, I think.

 

I have a 2009 Fit Sport now. I had a Jazz overseas. They are decent cars. They will easily outsell the Insight II as they are more practical. Keep in mind the Insight II is built on the Fit platform. The 1.3l engine in the Jazz I owned was ok for city driving as there weren't any highways where I lived overseas, but in the US it will need more than 99hp. So just stuffing an electric motor under the hood of the Fit won't be enough. I'd like to see it with the 1.5l engine and an electric motor. A bit more oomph wouldn't hurt. The current Fit is very susceptible to a heavy foot.

 

Goddammit. Why doesn't honda just make a hybrid "Stream"?

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Stream]Honda Stream - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]


Or toyota make a hybrid "Wish"?

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_WISH]Toyota WISH - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]


Both seven seaters available. You don't have to buy a gargantuan SUV or minivan. No rollover concerns. You can actually fit in parking spaces without boxing in the adjacent car.

 

if it gets 40+ id buy it in a heartbeat

 

But the Insight is a hybrid based on the Fit already!

 

GEO metro

those little cars go 40+mpg easily 18 years ago.

what happened?

 

I don't see selling three hybrids all in almost the same class as productive. They have the Civic Hybrid, Insight and now a Fit?

They should make a hybrid minivan or (PLEASE! PLEASE!) a hybrid Element. There are areas where there is little or no competition to play in, that is where Honda should put its efforts.

 

Those were very small two door cars that didn't have half of the safety features of the current vehicles. Forget even driver and passenger airbags, much less side curtain airbags, crumple zones, etc, etc.

I had a Geo Prizm in high school (the small four door) which did get great gas mileage, but was totalled in a car accident going only 35-40mph because the frame was bent. Not exactly what I would consider safe in these days driving a family around.

 

It was this little thing called safety. Cars built 18 years ago were death traps with no airbags, no side impact protection, and roofs that would crumple at the drop of a hat if you flipped over. Fortunately the new cars selling today are far better, at the expense of some gas milage. My 2009 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport gets 30mpg on the freeway and 24 city, and it's a heck of a fun car to drive year round. I liked the Fit at first, but the wife and I decided we needed AWD for winter.

 

They sell a 4WD Fit in Japan. In fact many cars come in 4WD versions.
The Estima Hybrid is 4WD too.

 

It is about platform sharing and reducing component cost through volume. The Civic Hybrid and Insight share the same drivetrain and hybrid system with a couple detail changes. The Fit Hybrid, CR-Z, and Insight will all share the same chassis and drivetrain but allow Honda to target different customers. There is very little effort needed to put a hybrid engine in the Fit.

Honda will basically have a coupe, 4-door, and station wagon version of the same platform.

 

Yes, the Fit is really a subcompact wagon.

(Although it's not an Insight wagon because the Insight at 171 inches long is a foot longer than the Fit's 158" length.)

In fact the Fit's exterior dimensions are almost exactly the same as my 1987 Civic Wagon.

 

In the ways I care about, the best car of all time -- for it's time.

 

I am truly at heart a Fit Freak... Bring on the Hybrid. :cheer2:

 

Just hope it does not loose that "fit" functionality with the HV battery in the back. Can they make the rear seats fold down? How much room will the HV pack take up? Will Fit hybrid become unFit?