Buddy was visiting from Ft. Lauderdale and had apparently had heard of the Fit when doing compares on Mini-Cooper. He bought the Mini-Cooper, but mentioned 'Fit' to me on his visit. Me a Honda guy, never heard of Fit before then. Funny thing is, first time I sat in a Fit was the day mine was delivered. Internet research and trust in you freakin bloggers suggested that a Fit would be good for my needs. (Besides my Odyssey was 8 years old).

 

My rental car in New Zealand was the Jazz!
Red one, ironically...

 

I test drove a used CR-V at my local dealer and complained to the salesman about Honda no longer producing wagons. I was driving an old Accord wagon (1995) and my previous vehicle was a Honda Civic wagon (1986). He suggested I look at the Honda website and check out the Fit. That was my first introduction. Then I started researching the Jazz and decided this was the right car for me. My last two Hondas were new, but leftovers from the previous model year and I'd done my homework before buying them. Also got a great deal. Never thought I'd buy a car sight unseen, without a test drive, and at MSRP! Until the Fit -- and I am grateful every day that I made that leap of faith. The only complaint I have to make: Honda, you should have made a lot more of them!

 

the lower picture is from car and driver article, about the upcoming honda fit.
this cutout page hung on my icebox for 6 months or so, till I was able to enter the cva lottery, as shown on the upper page, I was bidder #8.
my wife didnt like the idea of a second car, a civic vp, not having lectric windows or door locks, and it took a while for her to accept the funky edgy styling of the fit. now, she loves it and, 'i like it too. interesting note is the description says "sport has 160 watt stereo", not sure if its a misprint or something changed by the time they arrived.

 

I was looking into buying a new car and was really leaning toward buying a Yaris, after spending a good 3 weeks researching the new Yaris on the internet. Then my buddy told me to check out the Honda Fit, which was their answer to the Yaris, because it was roomier. I asked my uncle, the car expert about the Fit, and he told me that it was known as the Jazz in Japan and Europe, and that it was worth checking out (he told me to stay with either Toyota or Honda, and don't bother checking anything else out). The following week, we saw one in our local dealership and fell in love with it.

 

Realizing that my 1987 Toyota Tercel wagon would NOT live forever, I began hunting in earnest for a new car early this year. I searched high and low for a suitable vehicle that would deliver excellent mpg but still have the versatility and cargo room of my beloved old beater.

Google helped me find the Fit, and I started reading everything I could find about it. I think I saw something in Popular Mechanics or Science that mentioned FitFreak and I started lurking in the background here also.

Called the Honda dealer in April to find out when the first Fits would be arriving and two days later I got to see one in person, and I put down a deposit. It arrived four months later and after a very short test drive, I signed on the dotted line.

Couldn't be happier with my new car and everyone I show it to wants one. So I tell them all to take a number and stand in line while they think about it!

 

http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/20...831_a_main.asp

Tiny Cars
Aired: Thursday, August 31, 2006 10-11AM ET


Email this story to a friend

By host Tom Ashbrook:

The 1990s are about to officially end on the nation's highways. GM has announced it will end production of the giant Hummer H1.

Now, a stampede of stylish, sporty, gas-sipping tiny cars is headed onto the American roads. Not yet the teeny-tiny cars of Europe -- those are coming -- but a rush of small sub-compacts with more miles, power, finish and flair than their 1970's oil-crisis ancestors ever had

We know that somewhere, in the back of your mind, as you dump fifty dollars worth of gas into a fill-up, you're wondering what it would be like to drive tiny. Today, we'll tell you, and look at the options and the future.

Hear about a whole new generation of tiny cars.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quotes from the Show:

"Actually, the new cars turn out to be much more refined, they're a lot more comfortable, they're not like the rolling traffic cones that they used to be. So, we're finding that, as these new cars get into the market, they're a lot better overall vehicles." Larry Webster

"The small cars are fine scooting around in suburbia ... but to be alone between say Las Vegas and Reno in a [Honda] Fit is not necessarily where I would like to be. It really does have to do with the landscape and that's one of the reasons over the years we have resisted [small cars in America] so much." Phil Patton

"[The Tango] is the only car in the world available that you can drive in a half a lane with more clearance than a truck has in a full lane. ...It weighs 3050 pounds [almost as much as a midsize Sudan.]" Rick Woodbury

"I see a definite trend in the youth of America in paying a little more for something which has all the features of the bigger version but in a smaller package." Peter Horbury

"When you're getting around the city this [the st

 

This summer my brother told me about it and showed me the small booklet from Honda. He said the dealerships are charging $3000 over MSRP in our area.

I checked for myself and indeed there was a long wait and big markups.
Very uncool. People are just nuts.

I only see a few maybe 3 total on the road in the last 2 months.There are none to test drive and anything that comes in goes out the door for people that have been waiting months.

 

I saw an article in the Washington Post in December that said Honda was coming out with a new economy car similar to the old Civic hatchback, but a 4-door. I knew right away I wanted it. I went to the Washington Car Show in January just to see the Fit. I have been Fit crazy ever since!

 

My TIVO downloads a weekly show from CNET.com. It was the featured car review and they dissed it due to lack of digital gadgetry. I'm still at a loss how they came to that conclusion since its an ECONOMY class car.... However, they did like the car for its intended purpose....driving.

 

a few years back they had an article in one of the tuner magazines. They featured the K20 powered Mugen Fit.
I loved what mugen did with it.

I won't be sticking a k20a in it but that what caught my eye

 

Through a friend that got it.

 

My first sighting of the Fit was 3 years ago while I was working in Japan for a short period of time. Small hatchbacks are a dime a dozen in Japan.

 

I first saw/heard of the fit when I went to the dealership to buy a new car cause my truck died on me.

I tried out every car they had in the showroom and a few used vehicles, a ridgeline, an element, and another car that i cant recall that wasnt really worth of mention. then the salesman, who knew i was looking for a cheap vehicle that got good gas mileage, that i could fit in nicely (only fit comfortably in the ridgeline at this point, ALL other vehicles my right knee was in the dashboard.). He said, come here, I want to show you a car that might just work. He grabbed the small brochure for the fit, I didnt recognize it at all then took me out the door and there it was, sitting on the sidewalk. Used at 4600 miles (honda rep previous owner) it sat there for 20k (yeah, you reading that right, no used value for the cars... don't buy em used, k?). Got in, drove it, loved it, fell in love with it's features and now it's back at the dealership for more maintenance (23k miles now, bought in jan of 07).

 

During July 23-31, 2001, while on a trip to Japan, I noticed all these little Honda and Suzuki cars zipping around. The Suzuki Wagon RR particularly got my attention as several of these were nicely tricked out. The Honda Jazz was new at the time, not many were around long enough to be seriously modified. At the time, I thought it would be fun to have one of them here in the US. When I saw an announcement in Consumer's Report (Nov 2006 issue?), I was "jazzed" to hear that they were on their way to the US. I made several visits to the Honda dealer to find out any news. They thought I was crazy, as they had no information as to it's introduction. Needless to say, I beat the rush, and got one of the first SSM Sports off the truck back on April 26th.

 

I saw a write up in the Saturday newspaper cars section May 6, 2006. So I visited the nearby dealer & drove a 5 speed sport Fit and a CR-V.
Went back the next Saturday (05/13/07) and ordered a Silver Sport MT which was delivered 179 days later - Nov. 8, 2006.