It's been speculated that the Honda Fit would be offered as a hybrid model for a few years now. Allegedly, according to Autoblog, it could be as early as 2010.
If you'll remember, Toyota is slated to offer a Yaris hybrid in 2011. This should keep the Honda Fit/Toyota Yaris rivalry going strong for years to come.
LINK
REPORT: Honda Fit Hybrid coming in fall 2010 (Autoblog)
3 comments:
This is stupid on so many levels.
1. Insert tired argument on the impact of battery manufacturing on the environment.
2. The Fit is a "Green" car already. If the impact of battery manufacturing is true, it's even more of a waste to turn something already economical into a hybrid.
3. It will outsell the new Insight because, well, the new Insight sucks.
Why not, oh say, a hybrid truck? I just can't figure out who in their right minds thought it would be a good idea to turn a $14k subcompact econobox into a hybrid. WHY? Especially when you already have a couple of hybrid subcompacts in your fleet already?
I agree with you on most of those points, el.
People need to realize the environmental impacts of battery manufacturing, and that, at this point, the batteries are not recyclable (or at least that's what I've heard).
I'm sure the cost of this (and the hybrid Yaris) will be about $16K-18K-ish.
I've got mixed emotions about the hybrid thing in general. I'm all for using less oil, but at what cost to the environment?
Hmmm...
I don't know. I like the idea of an Econo-Hybrid. As it is, even the cheap Insight is still too expensive for me. A Fit-Hybrid that costs around 18K would be great for people like me who would like a Hybrid but can't afford one at the current price.
While the battery might be bad for the environment, don't hybrids have better emission scores and gas mileage? My guess is companies (and governments) are ignoring long term problems for short term gains.
Also, the world has different taste in cars than the US does. For instance, we'd think it folly for Honda to have more than two small hatchbacks in their line in the US, but that's just what they do in Japan. And they still sell their multiple small hatchbacks just fine.
So in places like Japan it might make a lot of sense to have an econo-hybrid.
I seriously doubt they'd bring a Fit Hybrid to the States though.
Is it possible the reason trucks aren't hybrids is due to the towing and weight they tend to carry? I doubt a hybrid would do very well having to pull a big boat or something. ^^;
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