shags2dope: and as far as being someone who 'spends his life on fitfreak' thats just indicative of how long you have been on the site/how many posts you have. its not indicative of how much literal time you spend on the site.


i'm not as dedicated of a honda fan as you think either. my next car will probably be a GTI.

 

I actually want to eventually pick up one of these cars eventually. Once my fit is paid off I would like to have the thought of one of these being my summer can and my fit being my winter beater. How bad ass would that be.

 

They aren't trying to please too many people, they ARE pleasing many people.

While this forum was down for awhile last night, I went looking for other forums, and found this jumbled thread titled "Do you fit the FIT demographic?" on Edmunds:
Fit Buyers: Do you fit the Fit demographic? - CarSpace Automotive Forums

While I had looked into the FIT as a car, the ONLY thing I kind of knew is that it was very popular with you younger folks. And I was somehow convinced I would be the fossil on this forum. Being old enough to be everyone's mom, with no one else in my age group.

I was really surprised to see others in my age group here, and was extra surprised to find the above thread on Edmunds. The FIT fits everyone!

Does anyone here remember an IKEA commercial from a few years back that had a couple of older people in their car. And some young guys pull up next to them at a stop light. There is an exchange of glaring (old people vs young people), until they each look at something...

...something on the roof...

...they both have chosen the Klippan sofa. And the older man nods at the younger man and the younger man nods back.

It's like that with the FIT.

If I had kids and could buy them their own first car, it would be a FIT. If I was a kid and could afford to buy a new car, it would be a FIT. The FIT fits so many uses. You can see for yourself the kinds of people that have them, and what they use them for in that other thread, as it's more diverse than it is here.

And that is what the car companies NEED to consider. That is where the Big Three failed. They tried to make specific cars for specific segments, that were also crap and got lousy mileage. It is too easy to outgrow a Big Three car. Each one has a statement and isn't all that adaptable.

That's fine if you have to have a minivan, for instance, ALL the time. But what I want is this amazing, transforming vehicle. I can move people, and all kinds of objects. And if I don't need to move anything around, it still gets GREAT gas mileage, so I'm not stuck in what I had considered...a Smart car. Because the Smart car is only a city car with good around town mileage. It's not a people mover, it's an individual mover. It's not a car to take to IKEA. Or Home Depot. Or stuff all the band equipment in the back. Or the sporting goods. Or kids or friends. You don't go camping in a Smart car.

It would make more sense for the companies to do what Honda has done, make a few models, with many options, and aftermarket add-ons, to allow full customization if wanted, but to provide a very good car as sold off the lot.

In another thread there was discussion of leather interiors. Honda could up the ante a bit with their interior options. Ever checked out the Smart interiors? The red cloth is great. And they have leather and heated seats and the moon/sun/glass roof.

Likewise, there could be a less fussy interior, in vinyl, vinyl floor, vinyl seats, that could practically be hosed down inside.

With the Smart cars, you have to get on a waiting list and eventually order exactly what you want. It takes about a year to get a Smart car.

FIT is set up to buy right away, but people can also order. And it would take less than a year to order from Honda. So if Honda made options with funky, colorful interiors, or luxury appointments, or strippy models, we can order.

Honda could practically have only the FIT as it's ONE car to satisfy 95% of people's NEEDS.

People could lux out with softer plush leather. Sky roof. Pop up sun roof like the old CRX. Even a five-seater CONVERTIBLE.

What other car model could be adapted to so many people? A couple engine options. Interior. Exterior.

Why do we have so many cars when ONE car can fit the bill most of the time?

 

Boo-yah. I'm much more skeptical about Toyota than I am Honda.
'Tis. He's getting a Hyundai! No he's not!! He's getting laid! No he's not!!! Cars are sex! No they're not!!! LOL, it all woke me out of a serious work-induced coma.

 

The Fit is actually about the best car in the lineup right now. It does just about everything except accelerate rapidly, but other than that it truly is a swiss army car.

By the way, has anyone heard what hyundai is doing? If you lose your job or income after buying the car, you can return it to them. So if you get hosed by the economy you don't get negative marks on your credit, and you wont be punished. Pretty cool idea, I wonder if it is gonna help sales, or just end up with a lot more used vehicles on the lot. Talk about an incentive to pay no money down!

And honda sales are down 35%, while according to Left Lane News "Hyundai – which posted an impressive 56 percent sales gain during the month of December" They have the highest gain in sales of any company. That even beats mini, and subaru, the only other brands that gained since the economy took a dump.

 

i heard about it. its meh. if you cant afford a car, you shouldn't realize it aftewards. if you have something unfortunate happen thats different, but it would be a joke to say that this wasn't to boost sales.

you really think the new fit is the best in honda's current line up? have you driven the new si? its pretty indicatve of what you said honda is 'lacking' in.


and for those who this thread has entertained, i'm glad we could help. ;)

 

tagged! i want to read whats funny after work=]

 

The new Si is an uglier, slightly less powerful version of an RSX-S. The RSX-S with a thicker rear sway bar handles like nobody's business and looks dead sexy. Why did Acura kill the coupe? The integra was their top sales car.

And the hyundai thing isn't about not knowing if you can afford a car, it's a voluntary repo program that doesn't penalize you for being a victim of the shitty economy when you get downsized.

 

can you PROVE it handles better? thicker sway bars may help body lean, but skidpad and grip are better indicators of handling. the rsx also lacked a limited slip differential and with the exception of offering leather it was just a more expensive version of what the current si basically is. and you could never get one with 4 doors either. if i'm not mistaken (and you can look this up) instrumented testing shows that the rsx was slightly quicker (slightly more hp and slightly less weight) but the si grips harder and overall handles better.

i will say the rsx-s had better steering feel, but looks ARE SUBJECTIVE. there you go again with the looks thing. its not a valid point. and the rsx was not their top seller, the 04-08 tl was. but i can give you an idea why they killed it: you can be looked at as an upscale car maker when you have rebadged honda civics running around in acura clothing. that may work in canada, but not here.

 

The Genesis coupe in 2.0 liter format is way over weight at 3303lbs. What a fat over bloated car with only 223hp. That doesn't sound fun to drive at all. Waste of money imho. You'd be way better off with the 6 in there.

If you want a 2.0L sport coupe with a back seat that weights 2800lbs and costs less than 15k buy a 240sx. Hell 15k can get you a built SR20det, a nice S14, suspension, and around 350whp no problem and still have money left over.

End of story, I'm done here.

 

its unfair to throw aftermarket stuff in this equation, simply because you can do a gross amount of things with a lot of older cars. but for someone wanting ultimate reliability and interior appointments, the aftermarket is out, so lets leave it out.

but i do agree that it is heavy. the GTI makes do with about 200lbs less, with around the same hp. (nicer interior.) the mitsu lancer ralliart is even heavier, and the last one tested got to 60 in less than 6 seconds. but then again ,it has awd traction, more torque, and a very fast shifting tranny a la vw.

 

If you are gonna prove a point, YOU look it up, and Acura has always been rebadged hondas, and it has worked just fine.

 

hahaha! LOL too funny. :D

 

the genesis is nice and all, but i still dont see myself ever getting a korean car. Might as well get the a 350z/G35 AKA the real version of the genesis. LOL. The Z is only slighty more expensive.

 

shit i hate my new pc... it has those damn page back button right next to the arrows so after you write, accidentally hit that button while you're trying to scroll down to hit "post quick reply" and loose the damn post.

anyway, here is what i wanted to post.

car tastes is kinda like fashion where it cycles every 15yrs or so. right now
we're at a time back around the early 90's when car makers started canceling
majority of their FR coupes and sportscars due to the economy.

hyunda's FR sport coupe comes at a very bad time. 20k - 35k coupes will
most likely get cancelled (including 370z after a year or so after release). no one
can afford these kinds of almost useless cars. honda felt this coming and cancelled
all their sportscar development. they're going to probably just concentrate on
people's cars like sedans, wagons, minivans, efficient suv's but offer more sport
trims. none of this FR platform... FR is an inconvenience in the winter in snowbelt states.

im sure the accord coupe is next in line to be cancelled. but, they will
probably introduce an accord sedan or tsx sports trim with sh-awd. this is all
speculation, but i dont think im too far away from reality.

 

yes, i know the accord coupe is FF. :p

 

The Genesis looks nice, but I would never buy a Hyundai.

 

yeah i agree, these cars are bad for the economy. Only ballers will be buying these cars right now, but i dont think they would buy a hyundai. THeyd probably get freaking GTR mang! and i know what your talking about with the typing a post than it goes "back". LOL. when im typing sometimes my palm touches the touch pad thingy on my notebook and it goes back and im like fug. LOL

 

that's right. the rich can afford their nice cars but the middle class that are looking for 20k-35k cars are just going to get clobbered. car manufactures are in it for the money.

no money? then no cars for all of you~ lol hahaha.

 

no money in the economy, no sales for car manufacurers! Which means the folks in the auto biz lose their jobs. :( IMO there are really too many different cars available in the market anyway. And most of them are copies of each other. Like Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, and chevy, pontiac, gmc, cadillac, etc etc etc. Same cars with slightly different hood ornaments, headlamps and tails.

Rich folks buy luxury items, but sales of luxury items drop much faster than necesity items. It's called luxury because you don't really need it, you just want it to be better than everybody else.