Honda Sneak Peek: The Fit?

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Credit Honda with not giving up simply in what will certainly become a huge fight: the sub $15,000 price tag range category of new automobiles. Currently, 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 looking to fight back. A tiny automobile now on sale in Japan may soon discover its way to a dealership in your neighborhood helping to turn the tide for the revered automaker.

So, why the huge push in small trucks with best gas mileage this "cheap" category? Chiefly because automakers know that if young and very first time buyers have a quite very good experience with their entry level cars then much more than probably they will stay with the brand as their lives alter, i.e., get married, commence a family, make more money, etc. This practice has been in location for years, although not as widely emphasized by all manufacturers and to their detriment.

Honda's extended time low cost leader has usually been the Civic. Introduced to the North American marketplace in 1971, the Civic was the original Honda for the western hemisphere and has been a value leader in its class for some diesel mileage time. However, like the Toyota Corolla, the Civic has been steadily creeping up industry becoming far better equipped and a lot more pricey. At least Toyota slipped in a new entry level auto a few years back, the Echo, but Honda has been without one. In addition, Toyota launched an all new brand, Scion, in 2003 to capture a larger chunk of the youth market. So far, Scion has been a runaway good results story.

Enter the Match. Say, what?! Yes, a tiny Scion-like automobile sporting a 1.5L engine is already navigating Japanese streets. Regrettably, the name is not catchy and likely will have to be changed once the best small truck automobile 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 apparent as Daewoo's Charade a car that really lived up to its name!

We do not know a lot yet about the Fit other than to say that Honda knows that they require to respond to Toyota and soon. Honda doesn't appear prepared to produce a separate brand to take on Scion, but a vehicle in the class of the Match will help Honda capture a larger chunk of the all crucial youth market. With styling cues reportedly related 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 true Scion fighters. At least Honda hopes that you do.