At the 2006 Detroit Auto Show, top brass at Honda sounded like a
broken record as they rattled off a list of awards garnered by the
new-for-'06 Ridgeline pickup and Civic models. Perhaps the biggest win
of all came on the first day of the show when Civic was named North
American Car of the Year and Ridgeline was named North American Truck
of the Year.
At the Honda press conference, the Japanese
automaker announced that it will begin production of the
next-generation FCX hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle in three to four
years and also took the wraps off an all-new small car, which is to be
slotted below Civic.
| 2007 Honda Fit |
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Click here for a video of the Honda Fit from the Detroit Auto Show.
Big on the inside but small on the outside was Honda's description of
the new Fit, unveiled at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. Fit is smaller
than civic and will compete with cars like the Chevrolet Aveo, Suzuki Aerio, and Toyota Yaris. The all-new Honda Fit comes only as a 5-door
hatchback, and, Honda estimates, will have a combined city/highway
rating of 33/38 mpg. Adapted for the North American market from the Jazz, a popular Honda model now being sold in other markets, Fit offers
nearly 90 square feet of passenger volume. Fit's rear seat is designed
to fold or flip up--providing a larger cargo area for shorter, broader
objects or a deeper cargo floor for taller objects.
All Fit vehicles will come with both dual front side airbags and
curtain side airbags. Sole engine for the front-drive subcompact is a
1.5-liter 4-cylinder that makes 109 hp. Honda plans on offering a sport
model with interior and exterior graphics and add-ons and paddle
shifters located behind the steering wheel for the automatic
transmission. Available is a six-speaker, 160-watt sound system. It
includes an iPod link, and will be one of the first audio systems to
allow users to shuffle through their iPod via the audio-system
controls. Prices were not announced, but we'd estimate between
$12,500-$13,500 when the Fit arrives in showrooms sometime this April.
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2006 Detroit Auto Show 
