New Fit in New York

Looks like Honda will be showing its redesigned 2009 Honda Fit at the New York Auto Show. In Japan, the Fit is available with both 1.3- and 1.5-liter powerplants. Speculation is that we'll get the larger of the two.

Personally, I like the looks of the new Fit. It kind of reminds me of the Mercedes A-Class. As long as they keep it similar to the Japanese domestic market version shown here, I think it'll sell very well in the U.S.

Here's Edmunds's First Drive of the '09 Fit.



Honda Fit Links
FitFreaks.net
Honda-Tech.com Fit Forum
The Micro Team

My Toyota Yaris

So what small car do I drive? I own a 2007 Toyota Yaris, and I love it. In case you didn't know, it's the little white car parked between my friend Craig's Nissan Sentra SE-R (thanks for the photo, by the way) and that Lamborghini Superleggera. Yeah, that one. Although my car is no Lambo, I love it. And you know what they say: If you can't dazzle them with dollars, baffle them with bullshit. Well, OK; maybe not bullshit, but I didn't figure anyone would take a second look at my little Toyota next to an Italian beauty like the Lambo at the track.

To my surprise, I had several people come up to me and ask me about the Yaris. I had one guy even say that he hadn't even looked at the Lambo because he liked small cars and noticed my Yaris. (That's my kind of guy, but c'mon – it's a Superleggara!) Anyway, with it's bright orange Speedmaster SM046 wheels, and lowered stance, it hardly looks like a typical Yaris and does get its fair share of stares.

So a bit about my Yaris. It has the following upgrades:

15x6.5 (et 38)Speedmaster SM046 wheels (they weigh only about 11 lbs. each)

Kumho Ecsta AST (205/50/15)

Megan Racing Coilover Dampners

TRD rear swabyar

K&N Drop-In air filter (hey, I got it cheap!)

No, it's not very fast in a straight line, but it handles like a go-kart! In fact, I was able to do three laps on the racetrack as part of the re-opening, and it handled even better than I thought. The Kumho tires aren't my first choice (they came with the wheels), but they weren't too bad.

I'll be autocrossing the car this season, and it should prove to be a great little vehicle through the cones.

Yaris Links

Here a few of my favorite Web sites with Yaris-specific content:
Yaris World
B-segment.com
The Micro Team

Vintage Subcompact: Lotus Cortina

My buddy Craig and I went to the grand re-opening of Portland International Raceway today. All kinds of car, from brand-new Lamborghinis to things such as this: The Ford/Lotus Cortina. The Cortina is one of my favorite small cars of all time. With a wheelbase of just 98", it's pretty small, and was very small for its time. For more info on the Cortina, check out the Cortina Wikipedia page

Justy? More like Lusty

I don't know why, but as of late, I totally am lusting after a Subaru Justy. These nimble little 1.2-liter, three-cylinder vehicles were available with four-wheel drive, making them great in the snow. I'd love to pick up a 4WD for a ski car, and the little Justy would be great. Good mileage, small, and they make ski/snowboard racks for them. There's one for sale in my area, too. Ski car in winter, rally beater in the summer ... someday Justy, you will be mine!

It's (alomst) Fiesta time in the U.S.

Well, it looks like the folks at FoMoCo have decided they're going to finally introduce the subcompact Fiesta to the U.S. market! According to Jalopnik, Ford's redesigned Fiesta will "be available just about everywhere Ford makes cars, with production in North America for the North American market." That sounds good to me. I just hope they don't Americanize it too much.

According to the press release, the car will have five engine options, including a diesel. (I certainly hope the U.S. gets the diesel!)

Plenty of photos here: Jalopnik's Fiesta 3 Door Photo Gallery

Another nice "Ka" from Ford

According to Auto Express, Ford has redesigned its tiny Ka. The UK-based publication says gasoline engines will be a 1.2-liter producing 63 hp, and a 1.4-liter making 100 hp. A diesel will also be available.

The U.S. has never had the Ka (although it is sold in Mexico), and probably won't get this one either, I suspect. To me, this would be a great competitor to the Chevy's Aveo. Just imagine: two subcompacts from an American automaker in America! Nah – that'll never happen.

A Subcompact SAAB?

According to Motor Trend magazine, some folks stumbled upon drawings of what looks to be a Mini fighter from GM (click the link for the full story). While it'd be cool to have another higher-end subcompact car, I'd be just as happy with an Opel Corsa rebadged as a Saturn. Regardless, another small car option from GM would be great.

Toyota to get "Smart" with iQ

Looks like Toyota is going to be aiming directly for the the MCC Smart with it's new iQ (iQ; get it? Pretty "Smart" name). According to Autoblog, this production version will debut at the Geneva Auto Show.

Anyway, I think it looks pretty good. It does kind of look like a miniature Scion, but that's not a bad thing. In fact, I think this version looks better than the current Smart ForTwo. Rumor has it that the powerplant is going to be a Yamaha motorcycle engine. Also, room for 3.5 people. That's three adults and a child. The question I have is, of course, will the U.S. get a version?

Small, slow cars are fun, too. Ask Jay Leno.

At the bottom of this post is a link to a sweet video of Jay Leno's super-cool, restored 1964 Honda S800. It quite literally has 660ccs of screaming fury!

In this video, Leno makes a profound statement that I find near and dear:

"Going quickly in a slow car is actually more fun than going fast in a fast car because anyone can go fast in a fast car. But when you take a car that is essentially not that powerful and make it do things that it’s not supposed to be able to do, that’s where the real fun is."

Well said, Jay Leno.

Leno basically summed up the reason I got into small, sporty, compact cars. The S800 is proof that you don't have to have a huge, fast car to have fun in a vehicle!

Click for video of Leno's S800 from "Jay Leno's Garage."

A Subcompact Observation: You either get it or you don't.

Yes, I drive a small car. Yes, it has orange wheels. Yes, I get some interesting looks by other motorists. However, I love it. It's different. It's funky. I feel like I'm part of a miniature car movement.

The first Smart cars arrived in Portland last week. I saw a black Smart zipping downtown. How cool!

I'm sure these people will get the strange stares, too. I used to get the strangest looks when I had my 2005 xB. When I first got it (and still lived in Wisconsin), I'd get all kinds of gawkers. People would come up to me and ask, "What kind of vehicle is that?" especially in rual areas.

On the Internet (when posting on some Web forums and such), people either seem to get the sub-compact car thing or not. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of in between. It seems to be a love/hate thing.

But you know what? I'm okay with that.