Temple of VTEC Rumors and News - RED HOT: The FIT is headed to our shores!

This story should be hitting the wire soon. We contacted Honda PR and they are unable to comment on future product plans.

Be sure to visit our newest forum to discuss the Fit.

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HONDA TO DEBUT 1.3-LITER-CLASS SUBCOMPACT IN U.S. THIS YEAR

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Honda Motor Co. (7267) will start selling a 1.3-liter-class subcompact in the U.S. as early as this year to fend off its South Korean rivals, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun has learned. The model will be based on the Fit, which is highly popular in Japan, and the automaker expects annual sales of 50,000. Priced at around 10,000 dollars for the lowest-end model, it will be cheaper than the company's Civic, which is priced between 13,000 dollars and 20,000 dollars for models with 1,300-2,000cc engines. Honda at this point is considering exporting the vehicles from Japan, but may produce them in Brazil instead if the dollar continues to trade below 110 yen and makes exports from Japan less profitable or even loss making. Honda sold 1.35 million new cars in the U.S. last year, a gain of 8% on the year and a record. But the strong performance owed to solid sales of the Pilot sport utility vehicle and other nonpassenger cars. Honda and other Japanese automakers have long dominated the subcompact field, but are now facing stiff competition from Hyundai Motor Co. of South Korea. The South Korean automaker's market share in the U.S. grew from 1.8% in 1998 to 5.7% in 2003. (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Thursday morning edition)

The JDM Fit

Commentary: This is great news. I knew it would happen eventually, but I'm very pleased (surprised) it's this soon. I drove several variants of the Fit during my visit to Honda's R&D Center in Japan, and it is a fantastic little car. The L-series motors are very smooth and refined and provide good power. I drove both 1.3L and 1.5L variants - I'd be a little surprised if we didn't get the 1.5L here in addition to or perhaps even instead of the 1.3L. The interior is spacious and will feel very familiar to those who love Honda's past small car designs. Placing the Fit in the lineup is huge, permitting the Civic to slide a little upmarket in its top offerings, and quite possibly greasing the skids for a K-series powered Civic sedan. With that drivetrain the Civic would likely grab the throne as the world's best compact sedan.