The new Honda Insight concept was teased last week in advance of the vehicle's unveiling at the Paris Motor Show next month. We don't know that the production version will look like, but it'll be similar in some ways to the concept and different in others. That's a cop out, sure, but what else is there to know? How about by taking a look at the 2009 Honda City, which was just unveiled in Thailand and is based on the Fit/Jazz. An anonymous poster wrote to Carscoop that, "We'll definitely see a variant of this in the US. It'll have a slightly different profile from the c-pillar back, be a hatchback and will be called the 'Insight.' Due at dealers in April..."

Last year, Honda became one of the first international automakers to take advantage of Thailand's financial aid packages to get more green cars built domestically. As to what the local vehicles might reveal about Honda's global line-up, go ahead and compare the two cars in high-resolution galleries below. Do you think that anonymous is right? Thanks to Rob for the tip.



[Source: Carscoop]

Click the new Fit for a high res gallery

Over the past year, Honda officials have spoken extensively about plans for hybrid vehicles to be added to the lineup. Starting next spring, a new hybrid-only five door hatchback that looks like a scaled down version of the FCX Clarity will debut at a price expected to be less than $19,000. That will be followed by a second dedicated hybrid coupe based on the CR-Z concept. The Civic hybrid will also be staying in the U.S. lineup. What U.S. buyers won't be getting is a fourth model that has been mentioned by CEO Takeo Fukui. Honda will add its IMA hybrid system to the Fit, but only for the Japanese market. During the recent media drive of the new 2009 Fit, I asked spokesman Sage Marie when the Fit hybrid would be arriving. Marie explained that because of supply constraints of the Fit, there were no current plans to bring the hybrid model to the U.S. Much like the MINI Cooper D that is already selling at capacity, Honda is selling every existing Fit it can get, and adding another variant wouldn't likely help the business case. American buyers have shown a preference for a dedicated hybrid and Honda plans to attack that segment with two new cars in 2009.


[Source: Honda]

When we took the 2009 Honda Fit Sport out for a test drive the other day, we were not sure exactly when this pleasing little car would be available for sale in the U.S. Automotive News heard from Honda Motor Co. that instead of selling them as planned Oct. 1, Honda dealerships will get the new Fit on Aug. 26. That's this coming Tuesday. Shortly after Labor Day indeed.

Honda told AN that the date was moved up because of high demand for the Fit and the near-complete lack of the 2008 model on dealer lots. Spokesman Chris Martin told AN (subs req'd) that, "We had to do something so that our dealers would not be without the small cars that buyers are seeking." As we mentioned, Honda expects to sell between 80,000 and 90,000 of the 2009 Fits in the U.S. and the automatic transmission base model gets 28 city/35 hwy.



[Source: Automotive News]

The Honda Fit is selling like candy in the U.S. Sales of the subcompact car from January to May have increased by 64 percent, compared to the same period last year. Honda originally planned to sell between 30,000 and 40,000 Fits a year, but then increased production to 60,000. The marque is planning almost 80,000 units of the new model, which is going on sale on October 1st.

Global capacity for the Fit is more than 500,000 units. All U.S. units are imported from Japan, where the new generation is already in production (Americans still get the first generation models). The reality is that Honda USA will have to compete with other markets to get more units stateside.

[Source: Automotive news (sub's req'd)]

Although it doesn't look as we are going to see it Stateside, Honda has launched a Japanese minivan based on the Honda Fit platform. It's called Freed and in just 4.2 meters (165 inches) we can carry a complete family using a 1.5-liter unit mated to a CVT transmission that manages to get fuel consumption levels of about 6 l/100 km (39 mpg U. S.). The Freed got the fuel tank moved to the vehicle floor to give the interior as much room as possible and the rear doors are electric. Honda expects to sell about 4,000 units per month at a price between ¥1,639,000 and ¥2,215,000. The name comes as an abbreviation of "Freedom to create the perfect lifestyle." But of course.


[Source: Honda]

click to enlarge

The New York stage presence of the 2009 Honda Fit says nothing if not red. The car, the background, everything about the display served to emphasize that color. But there is certainly a green side to a car that gets 46 mpg under the Japanese test cycle. The new Fit is even more frugal in Japan, where a 1.3-liter is an option, but we'll have to make do with a larger engine. As expected, the new Fit uses a 1.5-liter, 4-cylinder, i-VTEC engine. A few details are available after the jump (the Fit Sport is iPod friendly, for example), but for more we'll have to wait until we get closer to the on-sale date this fall. At least we've got some pictures. I'm guessing you'll note the red theme.

Honda doesn't offer any flex-fuel vehicles in North America or Europe, focusing on hybrids and, in the near future, diesels instead in these markets. This doesn't mean they are ignoring ethanol altogether. The biggest market for ethanol is in Brazil where drivers have been using sugar-cane ethanol since at least the early 1980s. Honda is now offering flex-fuel versions of both the Civic and Fit in the Brazilian market and, unlike US FFVs, they are optimized to run on E100 which is unavailable as a fuel here (read more on E100 in Brazil here).

[Source: 4WheelsBog]

When the Canadian government introduced its ecoAuto rebate program last spring, Honda wasn't happy. The plan set a threshold of 6.5L/100km for cars to qualify for the rebates. Unfortunately Honda's most efficient gas engine model, the Fit, got 6.6L/100km and so failed to qualify. To cover the gap, Honda offered a $1,000 rebate on their own as they went back to the drawing board. They optimized the operation of the Fit engine and got the mileage down to 6.5 for the 2008 model year so that at least the manual transmission version now qualifies for a rebate.

[Source: Globe and Mail]

We got our first look at the next generation Honda Fit a few weeks when a couple of sites that got invited to the long-lead previews in Japan spilled the beans. Honda will be showing the the new Fit publicly for the first time next week at the Tokyo Motor Show and, unlike so many auto show debuts, there will be no six month lag between between the show and retail sales. The new Fit will go on sale in Japan on October 26 just as the Tokyo Show opens to the public.

The initial reactions to the new styling has been decidedly mixed with some liking the updated look while others prefer the existing car. While the car has grown by a couple of inches in length, the crashworthiness is improved and apparently the weight has remained the same which is definitely a bonus. In Japan, buyers get a choice of 1.3L or 1.5L engines both of which offer improved fuel efficiency. If they follow the current pattern, only the larger engine will be available when the new car comes to the US, probably sometime in mid-2008 for the 2009 model year. That model is now rated at 46 mpg (US) on the Japanese test schedule. More details on the new Fit are after the jump.

[Source: Honda]