The Chinese have been developing their automotive industry for such a coupe for two decades.
The world production market is struggling and deals are being made.
Trade agreements are also being rethought across the board.

Like it or not, it's a world economy and China is close to dominating it. It's the 21st Century, ain't no such thing as isolationism any more.

K_C_

 

yah, this is like USPS killing themselves by offering less for the same price.... i dont get it.

 

I purchased my 2012 Fit Sport Auto mainly because of Honda Qualtiy and the fact that it was "Made In Japan", I paid top in class price because of this......

Otherwise i'd have paid 4K less on a Nissan Versa... By moving production to China and Mexico Honda is making a very big mistake, people pay more for Honda's because of quality and re sale value, not because it's Mexican built junk, otherwise i'd save money and buy a Nissan.

 

Keep in mind, Honda's reputation for car class quality at a cost premium has become out dated.

The playing field has been leveled, not by the Chinese but the SE Asia manufacturer's.
KIA and Hyundai have come on strong in class competition and the US market has fallen behind.
Honda's now reaching out to cut production cost's to ship cars halfway around the world... don't think, however, that's their only motive.

Producing cars in China has a huge Chinese domestic potential and choosing the Fit is a wise move for Honda.

What American car company wouldn't love to be manufacturing autos in China?? Right now that's not possible.

 

I have 2 Fits. I will never get another if they come from China. Any country can be strong against the US dollar if they don't care about pollution, worker's rights and operating conditions, minimum salaries, they don't have anything like OSHA or the EPA, high taxes, human rights, voting rights, etc. When the iPhone gets to be something that goes down the road at 70mph and weighs 2 tons, I'll worry about the cheap quality of that 2 year product.

 

Japan is VERY serious about their QC protocol and procedures. I am 99% sure there would be QC management from Japan at the plant.

Even so, I was happy to see that mine was built 100% in Japan, even if the parts are from somewhere else. Final inspection being done in Japan is important (to me anyway).

 

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I actually met a guy who is a certified Hyundai Mechanic at one of the local dealerships, regarding engine, transmission and Electical system quality..

He said straight to my face that Hundai and Kia are still second rate in quality...

In 10 years there won't be plenty of Hyundai's with 200K miles + on them...

Most cars are reliable for the first 3-4 years, hence their awards...

Lets take a look in 10-15 years, that is where Toyota and Honda have built their reputations.

 

Apple products are considered high quality and they're made in China. It wasn't that long ago when Japan had the same bad rap and look at the Korean cars how far they have come.

 

The question is when, not if, China can build cars to the same quality level as those made in Japan. This is China FIT version 1.0. I personally do not like version 1.0 of anything. They may be good, just that I prefer less risk.
They have been building electronics for many years and no doubt the quality have been improving over the years.

 

By the way, within 18-24 months Honda Fits for the US and possibly Canadian market will be sourced from a new assembly line in Mexico, as noted by this press release:

Honda to Build New Automobile Plant in Mexico for Production of Subcompact Vehicles, Starting in 2014 - Honda.com

 

Back to Ford, Chevy, Dodge.

 

In wikipedia the assembly plants are: Honda Fit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Suzuka, Mie, Japan
Sayama, Saitama, Japan
Sumaré, São Paulo, Brazil
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
Ayutthaya, Thailand
Karawang, Indonesia
Swindon, England
Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Santa Rosa, Laguna, Philippines

So if you buy the car in china its assembled at the Guangzhou plant, fits sold in brazil are assembled at sumare plant? and so on...

So north american fits come from Susuka plant

 

The plural of anecdote is not "data" and one random tech is hardly the authority on hyundai's global reliability.

Also, Hyundai now assembles a healthy amount of their vehicles in the US providing jobs and income to our country.

They were the ones to introduce the 10yr/100k warranty for a reason.

Speaking of anecdotes I had a 96' accent with a 1.5L Alpha engine swapped from the 93 Scoupe turbo that went to the track several times a year and was beat on daily when I ran deliveries for extra income over the course of 6 out of 10 years I owned the car.

The only issue I ever had with the car was when heat and salt took out the dipstick tube where it mounted to the block behind the down pipe.

All that was required to fix was pull the pan pop the old part of the dipstick that fell down a bit back out and put a new tube in.

The car had 178k on the clock, and aside from brakes oil, coolant, belts and control arm bushings it never skipped a beat. I sold it in running order with a bit of rust on the body under the gas tank door.

I am not going to get worked into a froth just because the word china has now been associated with our beloved Hondas. That post just makes it feel like you have no concept of how many items in cars of all makes and models come from china.

What would you have me do? Go out and buy Chrysler or Chevy?

Oh and where are those manufactured and often assembled now?

Mexico huh? You don't say..

 

Well folks, remember that America manufactures quality stuff and total crap. Japan also makes quality and crap. China certainly makes some complete and total garbage, but also makes some quality stuff. Anyone own and like their Apple or Macintosh products? Made in China, baby, and beats the #3!! out of any of the other computers on the market. It's all about the design, and the quality control and manufacturing tolerances. Part of my mechanical engineering studies involved figuring out how crappy I could make something, while not eating into a company's profits with warranty claims. Suffice it to say, I didn't follow the manufacturing path...

The country of origin doesn't mean as much as you might think, and China actually has some of the most advanced manufacturing processes and capabilities in the world. Let the record sing the song.

 

I'm from Canada and have been looking at getting the 2012 fit. Hearing that its been made in China is not great news for me.. I expect the Fit to have lower finance and lease rates and I expect the price to go down if it is going to be made in China. I've been doing research on the Guangzhou plant and here is what I've found

Honda's quality in China equals Japan


http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl.../70307017/1131

 

is just the Canadian Honda fit being made in China or all the North American models?
I know Canada gets the cheaper fit compared to the US models.
For the Sport,
No paddle shifters..NO TPMS..and no Navigation/bluetooth option.
plus a spare is an option. all US models come with a spare tire.
In Canada you get a can of Gunk..

 

..... and they charge more .... go figure.

 

Hey want to know something I found surprising. I have a 1988 EF hatchback I been restoring and the thing is: that all the trim, lenses anything plastic was MADE IN THE USA!!! This car was built in Canada but all the parts I've been cleaning Had me remembering it has not been that long ago that MADE IN THE USA was on most everything, not made in china. I'm 52 years young and can remember when the USA was a World Contender not a World Consumer!
Wake Up America! and let's start making useful things again!

 

in Canada you pay ridiculous amounts of Tax, created a welfare state with all the indians.
I bought my fit sport in the US, paid less tax got a way nicer model then the dumb downed Canadian version.

 

Unless something horrendous happens I don't see us reverting back to being a manufacturing based economy again. Those jobs are gone to wage slaves in developing countries where they can be paid $0.15/hr and somehow scrape together a living.

Some things, like call centers are returning to our shores, but with super lean budgets. Many of the jobs that were sent overseas are gone for good. But precision and tech parts will remain here for the time being. Though the Chinese are stepping up their game, they have a lot of internal issues which will hold them back.

I don't see them being the big boogeyman they are made out to be. The majority of them are just like you and I. They want a dry place to sleep, some food in their belly and to send their kids to a good school. I certainly don't see them or the yuan overtaking this US and the dollar, at least not in the timeframe many sensationalists are suggesting. While they don't have alot of foreign held debt, their provincial and municipal budgets are f*cked and they are building up to a construction/housing bubble the likes of which have never been seen.

Entire cities that remain empty because no one can afford to buy an apartment there. But when the state tells the banks to lend to contractors, they sure as hell have to lend.

It's a major component of why they have had such tremendous GDP growth for the last 12-15 years.

It's going to implode, and the whole world will feel the shock waves. Add that to growing civil unrest with paranoid and cowardly leaders (in terms of domestic issues) and you have a recipe for disaster. On the plus side, they will be forced to loosen up their grip and pricing on rare-earth metals and their demand will drop for oil/coal and steel/aluminum, etc.

There will not be Chinese hegemony, at least in my lifetime.

Hopefully we can get some more private and foreign direct investment going and keep on progressing with developing our advanced tech and services. Lets lead the way with innovation instead!