Click image for a photo gallery of the '09 JDM Honda Fit

The redesigned Honda Fit is ready to hit the US as an '09 model, and Honda will give it a big Broadway debut at the New York Auto Show next month. Okay, okay -- it's more like a big 11th Avenue debut, but you get the point. The overhauled Fit essentially blends the shape of a Prius with the face of a last-gen Civic Si. The end result is a subcompact with midsize-level interior room. It should do well at the pump, too. Don't look for the 98-horsepower Japan-spec 1.3L base engine to make the trip to the US, however. Instead, we'll probably get the 1.5L i-VTEC that makes 118 horsepower. That's a 9-horse jump over the current car, and it's capable of achieving a maximum fuel economy rating of 46 mpg under the Japanese test cycle. We'll have to wait and see how it rates under the EPA's program. AutoblogGreen will be there when Honda drives the car onstage in the Javits Center, and we'll provide full coverage from New York. In the meantime, if you want more info on the Japanese-market version, check out our October post on the topic.


[Source: Honda]

Since the Fit was added to the company's US lineup in 2006, it has proven to be quite popular and sales have been accelerating. July 2007 sales were more than double those of the previous year at 6,343 units. A redesigned version may be unveiled as soon as this fall's Tokyo Motor Show with production next year.

In the meantime, Honda has added some new equipment to the model for 2008. The Fit has a five-star safety rating in the frontal crash test. Newly added is a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) which, in addition to providing a safety benefit, can also help with efficiency. Maintaining proper tire pressure is one of the easiest ways to improve mileage, and the TPMS can help the driver make sure they stay that way. The 5-speed manual Fit is rated at 28/34 mpg according to the new 2008 EPA mileage tests.

[Source: Honda]

I have been having an ongoing email conversation with a man who lives in California about the state of the green automotive choices for someone who fits into the middle-class kind of vehicle, but who wants a sense of style in their car and some driving pleasure. Past vehicles owned by this potential buyer include a hand-me-down Volvo 850 and a Mazda Miata. He is in the market for a new car, and as a reader of AutoblogGreen, would like something environmentally friendly, and possibly a bit "up-market" in appearance. He would also prefer a hatchback for practicality. His claim is that there are no stylish, mid-priced vehicles that fit his needs on American roads today. Is he right? The only logical thing to do is to look at each option, weigh the pros and cons of each and make the best decision possible. Maybe our readership can help pick out a non-economy car that offers style, driving pleasure and is reasonably green.

Please, continue after the break, and help out a fellow reader make a wise decision.

There is a great deal of controversy regarding Consumer Reports these days, given the recent erroneous test results of children's car seats (CR will redo their tests under the correct conditions), however, many still rely on the magazine for help in choosing their next vehicle. The full list is below, but a few choices caught my eye. The Honda Fit won the "Best Budget Car" category, the Toyota Prius the "Best Green Car" category and the "Best Midsize SUV" award going to the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The Honda Fit was chosen by the editors of Motor Week as the Best of the Year as well.

According to our very own Dan Roth and Alex Nunez, the testing facilities and personnel at the Consumer Reports facility are first-rate.

Consumer Reports Top Picks for 2007

• Fun To Drive: Mazda MX-5 Miata
• Small SUV: Toyota RAV4
• Small Sedan: Honda Civic
• Family Sedan: Honda Accord
• Minivan: Toyota Sienna
• Luxury Sedan: Infiniti M45
• Midsized SUV: Toyota Highlander Hybrid
• Green Car: Toyota Prius
• Upscale sedan: Infiniti G35
• Budget Car: Honda Fit

[Source: Consumer Reports via Autoblog]

I was at the MotorWeek 2007 Drivers Choice Awards at the Chicago Auto Show, and was a bit surprised to see that the Fit won their "Best of the Year category". Not that there is anything wrong with the Fit, of course. I think that it is a fine car, and one that does what most people need each day, while returning excellent fuel mileage. In fact, even Honda's own Civic loses out to the Fit when it comes to the all important size\performance\value trade-off in many peoples minds ... including the minds of the MotorWeek voters.

Other applicable awards went to Toyota Motors for being the "Most Eco Friendly". This, despite Honda promoting itself as the "most fuel-efficient car company in America". Do you readers agree with their choice?

Related:

• Gas mizers flunk crash tests
• Now the Fit is hard to find

An earlier blog noticed that the waiting list for hybrids is getting shorter in some regions. But with the growing popularity of subcompact vehicles in times of high gas prices, those vehicles are now scarce on dealer lots, at least in Columbus, Ohio.

Dealers there report demand is very high for the Honda Fit, which is not built in any of Honda's five North American assembly plants. Honda had targeted sales of up to 60,000 units but recently lowered expectations to 40,000 simply because they can't import enough vehicles. A new plant being built in Indiana could start producing vehicles in 2008.

The Fit gets lower gas mileage than a Civic but is priced more economically and appeals to budget-minded shoppers.

[Source: Columbus Dispatch]

The Toyota Yaris and the Honda Fit were the top new- and used-car search increases in May at Cars.com, according to the website. Searches for the two new models increased by hundreds of percent over the April searches, while the car that took third place in searches, the Saturn Sky, grew by 31 (new) and 53 percent (used). Searches for large SUVs declined.

Joe Wiesenfelder, cars.com senior editor, said "The combination of a low base price and extremely good gas mileage have translated into very good sales for cars like the Yaris and the Fit. If gas prices continue to remain at these levels throughout the summer, sales of these cars and others in this category should remain strong."

Cars.com visitors were not all looking for gas savings, though. Searches for used Toyota Priuses fell by 16.5 percent, more than any other used vehicle.

[Source: Cars.com]