Can I admit I want a Honda Fit and not be a RideLust outcast?
Admittedly, there’s something bizarre in my brain. A Liberty Bell shaped gland that fuels my thirst for bigness, speed, and loud noises. That’s the part of me saying “No, forget the Fit, its queer. You want horsepower and smoke from spinning wheels, you want danger and difficult to pronounce Italian cars with long hoods”, and its true, I do; I think? But there is something about the Honda Fit. It’s got charm.
2009 will be the first year Americans have the privilege of driving the second generation Honda Fit. Its perfect timing too because oil is up over $140 a barrel and I’m sick of swallowing gas every time I try to siphon it out of my neighbors cars. It’s disgusting.
We’re a bit behind the times though; this 2nd gen version was released in Japan back in late 2007, and was even named Japan’s Car of the Year in 2008 (just like the first generation was in 2002), beating out the new Impreza and Infiniti G37, among others. That’s some heavy competition.
Honda can win those awards because they’re constantly trying to improve. They’ve addressed just about every issue the first model had. More glass all around for better visibility, better quality interior trim and seats, a stretched out wheelbase for better legroom. And it’s more than just styling. Underneath, there’s a completely reengineered chassis, and an improvement in overall structural rigidity by 164 percent, making for a really solid feel and the added benefit of making the ride a lot less harsh than its predecessor’s. They even upgraded the engine. All that plus 34 mpg, and it starts out at around $14,000. Now you see the appeal.
That’s $14,000 for a stripped down base model. A well equipped model will run you a little more, and a super cool Sport model (with 16 inch alloys, paddle shifters, and a couple rad gadgets) can get you up past 17k if you really try.
Generally, I like Corvettes and Mangustas and zero to 60 in less than 5 seconds. But I also like to zip around like a nimble little auto ninja and not pay 100 dollars to fill up my tank. And I’m not the only one with shifting attitudes.
It’s a changing social landscape out there. Look at video games: instead of the high level technology and menacing façade of the Playstation 3, we’re cartoon bowling on the Nintendo Wii.
Did you know they use Playstation 3 chips in supercomputers? It’s true. Plus it was a Blu-Ray player. And still, the Wii outsold the PS3 by almost 6 million units.
What’s this have to do with the Honda Fit?
It’s the same principle: it’s inexpensive, well made, and fun. I have a feeling Honda is going to sell more than the 70,000 Fit’s they have on hand in the US. Fun is fun, it’s undeniable.
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