LOS ANGELES -- American Honda Motor Co. Inc. will add a small car to the Honda lineup next year and give Acura a second light truck sometime in the next two years, Executive Vice President Thomas Elliott disclosed last week.
Conceding a need for Honda to lure younger buyers, Elliott said the new car will be "a true entry-level car, cheaper than the Civic."
He declined to elaborate.
Jeff Schuster, director of product analysis for J.D. Power & Associates, said the Honda Fit is on his company's latest forecast for sale in the United States. "I have it coming in mid to late '05," he said.
The front-drive subcompact Honda Fit is sold in Japan as a four-door sedan, the Aria, and in Europe as the five-door Jazz. It is powered by gasoline engines ranging from 1.2 liters to 1.5 liters. The car is smaller than the Civic.
A dealer source said last week that Honda executives had told him the U.S. car will be a version of the Fit.
"It will be a car for young people in about the $12,000 range," said the source. "Young people will be able to accessorize it like the (Toyota) Scion."
Full Story HERE
Conceding a need for Honda to lure younger buyers, Elliott said the new car will be "a true entry-level car, cheaper than the Civic."
He declined to elaborate.
Jeff Schuster, director of product analysis for J.D. Power & Associates, said the Honda Fit is on his company's latest forecast for sale in the United States. "I have it coming in mid to late '05," he said.
The front-drive subcompact Honda Fit is sold in Japan as a four-door sedan, the Aria, and in Europe as the five-door Jazz. It is powered by gasoline engines ranging from 1.2 liters to 1.5 liters. The car is smaller than the Civic.
A dealer source said last week that Honda executives had told him the U.S. car will be a version of the Fit.
"It will be a car for young people in about the $12,000 range," said the source. "Young people will be able to accessorize it like the (Toyota) Scion."
Full Story HERE
