CNN article on Fit Hybrid (http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/02/22/honda_hybrid.reut/index.html)

Article says less than $12k and possibly available in April 07.

Edit: wanted to add that I'm not sold on Hybrids, but if the regular Fit is at all comfortable, it'd be very interesting as a commuter car.

CNN article on Fit Hybrid (http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/02/22/honda_hybrid.reut/index.html)

Article says less than $12k and possibly available in April 07.

Edit: wanted to add that I'm not sold on Hybrids, but if the regular Fit is at all comfortable, it'd be very interesting as a commuter car.


I think the 12k figure is the cost in Japan since most articles I've read stated price in Yen and showed converted costs in (American dollars) to give a reference. Since the non hybrid Fit is said to be coming in around $13,500 I think it's unlikely the hybrid version would (so severly) undercut that price. I could be wrong though as aparently the hybrid Fit will employ a very cheap (To produce) 1.0L engine. If the price were still reasonable this could be a cool option for a lot of people and I admit that I've had my eye on this car.

Those figures they are quoting is for a Fit sold in Japan, not one imported into the US. The cost would be more than $11,900 for a Hybrid Fit sold in the US, I would think.

Those figures they are quoting is for a Fit sold in Japan, not one imported into the US. The cost would be more than $11,900 for a Hybrid Fit sold in the US, I would think.
Well, that's sad then. It just doesn't seem worth it at that price.

Still... they said the non-hybrid gets 56MPG highway...

Even if it does get 56mpg, its almost another car payment just to get the Hybrid upgrade. Its not worth it. Maybe like most other new things, give it a few years and the price will drop. I'm all for more MPG's and a better environment, but I'm not made of money. I'm pretty sure none of us would be able to drop 12K+ to go out and get this upgrade. :?

They said 56mpg with the 1.3L offered in Europe. You can thank your power hungry fellow American's that we won't be getting any engine other than a 1.5L in the Fit. That's why our MPG figures are going to peak in the upper 30's.

Gas prices in Europe are out of sight. I was in France in 2002 and we saw a sign, did the Euro to dollar conversion. Same price, roughly...per *liter.* So make that about four times what we pay. I wonder what their prices are now.

hybrids in economy cars just doesn't make much sense to me besides just making a statement...they already get great mileage and because of their basic premise of an affordable car it just makes them more expensive and you'd hardly recoup the costs in 4-5 years even with the tax refund

gas guzzlers need this technology more so than economy cars where just a 10mpg increase is a substantial savings (14 - 24mpg) versus a 10mpg increase in a car that already gets 38mpg

Even if it does get 56mpg, its almost another car payment just to get the Hybrid upgrade. Its not worth it. Maybe like most other new things, give it a few years and the price will drop. I'm all for more MPG's and a better environment, but I'm not made of money. I'm pretty sure none of us would be able to drop 12K+ to go out and get this upgrade. :?

The newspaper said the Fit hybrid would have fuel economy comparable to that of the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, which the auto makers advertise in Japan as getting around 35-36 km to a liter, or about 82-84 miles per gallon.

The most fuel-efficient gasoline-only Fit, with a 1.3-liter engine and continuous variable transmission, gets 24 km to a liter, or 56 miles per gallon.

So it's not really an upgrade, it's a "when it's time to sell my car and get a new one" thing. And since it costs a lot less than an E, it's huge savings right off the bat.

The problem is, of course, that the Fit is not an E, and it's not supposed to be. But since I have two E's, if I had to replace one, then this is absolutely the perfect commuting vehicle and you save a whole lot right off the bat, regardless of which model you buy.

gas guzzlers need this technology more so than economy cars where just a 10mpg increase is a substantial savings (14 - 24mpg) versus a 10mpg increase in a car that already gets 38mpg

Yeah, but if you believe the numbers, it's a 50% increase in gas mileage for those small cars.

But I agree with your premise... I'm not sold on Hybrids, and if I were going to get one of these I'd get the gas only one. I posted the article though because I think it's pretty neat... I saw Fits in Brazil and thought they were great and wondered why we never see them here. They're just so practical as a way to get around. But the hybrid... at over 80MPG, that's INCREDIBLE, IMO.

Then again, we never see the Ford Ka, either. And that's one of those "thank god" things.

I'm currently over in China and I see the Honda Fit everywhere over here. They are super popular from what I am told. Not bad looking either!

hybrids in economy cars just doesn't make much sense to me besides just making a statement...they already get great mileage and because of their basic premise of an affordable car it just makes them more expensive and you'd hardly recoup the costs in 4-5 years even with the tax refund

gas guzzlers need this technology more so than economy cars where just a 10mpg increase is a substantial savings (14 - 24mpg) versus a 10mpg increase in a car that already gets 38mpg


Who buys a car to recoup the cost? I mean, does one recoup the cost of getting a V8 over a V6? What about recouping the cost of getting leather over cloth interior? Seriously, that argument against hybrids is getting old fast.

In addition, what exactly is the cost of supporting emerging technologies? While the hybrid as we know it may not be the future of cars, it's still an innovation, an improvement, and attempt at advancing the science of vehicular propulsion.

This is something I posted earlier in reference to recouping the cost:

I drive 20,000 miles a year. Based on the "real world" conditions that I drive in, in conjunction with my own personal experience with actual mileage (for me) vs. the EPA estimated mileage (I get 20mpg in the Element)... let's say the Civic EX, rated at 30/40 and the Civic Hybrid, rated at 49/51 only come in at 90% of their City estimates with the way I drive. That means the Civic EX will net me 27mpg and the Civic Hybrid will come in at 44mpg (pretty much on par with the real-world database here: http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/honda-civicii.html ) that's a 17mpg difference between the two (hell, I've gotten 17mpg in the Element before!).

I would need 740 gallons a year with the Civic EX, vs. 454 gallons with the Civic. At an assumed $2.50 a gallon, that comes out to $1,850 for the EX and $1,135 for the Hybrid. That's a $715 yearly savings. Within 2 years I will have recouped the so-called Hybrid Premium. Even without the $2,100 tax credit, it will take me 5 years to recoup it. Well within the useful life of the vehicle. It's been nearly 7 years since the Insight was introduced in the US and there have been very very few reports of the blown-out-of-proportion dreaded battery and motor replacement that those wary of Hybrid tech are touting. In addition, the current IMA system in the 06 Civic is the 3rd Generation of Honda's IMA system (99 Insight 1st Gen, 03 Civic Hybrid, 2nd Gen). There has been a lot of improvement in both the power and efficiency of the system. Not to mention the IMA system is warrantied for 8 years as well. Once again, well within the useful life of the vehicle.

Lastly, while theoretically gas guzzlers would benefit from hybrid tech, with current technologies it wouldn't help much.

Why?

There's a few factors to consider here... numero uno being the weight of these vehicles. Because of the weight and the type of power people expect from these vehicles, they would require substantially larger hybrid motors than are currently used. Because they would require larger motors, they require more power meaning larger battery packs...

...at the end of the day, with all the extra weight to move an already large vehicle (the Hummer H2 weighs in at 6,400lbs) I don't think you will see a 10mpg gain.

Using the 2006 Civic Hybrid as an example, assuming that a Hybrid Hummer would get 60% improvement over it's current combined average fuel economy of about 12.5mpg, that means it would get 20mpg. That's only a 7.5mpg improvement. But this math is all wishful thinking, with the weight of these vehicles, I doubt you will EVER get up to a 60% improvement in fuel efficiency.

Although, to be fair, all you would need is a 3 mpg increase in FE or so in a Hummer Hybrid to see the same amount of savings a year (about $700 with a 17mpg differential between the two) as a Civic Hybrid over it's non hybrid counterpart... although you'd still end up spending $2200 more on gas than the Civic Hybrid and burn 880 more gallons.