Thursday, October 04, 2007

Now I know why they call it a "Fit"

Still no sign of my new car; the old one is getting increasingly rebellious, though I never take it further than Fremont (or anywhere I could simply walk home from).

My mother took her 2005 Honda Civic in to the dealership for maintenance. The dealership called a few days later, wanted to make sure she was happy with the service (yeah, right) and (here we go) asked if anyone in her family might be interested in buying a new Honda.

Yes, my mom said, my daughter wants a Fit.

Pause on the other end of the line.

"Would she like a manual transmission?" the salesperson asked, hopefully.

No, an automatic, my mom replied.

Another pause. Then, cheerfully, "We could get her one in two or three months!"

Oy.

What's causing the shortage of this hot little station wagon? Apparently, it's that Honda is building the Fits in Japan and shipping them over. (Fits built at Honda's Chinese facility, are being shipped to Europe, where they are sold as the Honda Jazz.) An rumored Midwestern Fit plant won't come online for another year or two.

I just checked a town-talk forum at the consumer automotive site Edmunds.com and was amused to follow the stories of people who are ordering Fits, getting a VIN number, tracking it as their Fit is built in Japan and shipped to the US. It's like reading blog entries from grandparents expecting a new baby.

Now if only the interior of the Nissan Versa weren't so clunkily configured and so pseudo-luxury car tacky...

2 comments:

  1. When I purchased my Scion tC in 2005, it had a 3 month waiting list. I could wait less, if I wasn't picky about the color (which I was).

    I know a new car loses tons of value once you drive it off the lot, but there's something kind of cool abut picking up a freshly delivered car and turning it on to see 0 miles on the odometer. :)

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  2. Anonymous8:52 AM

    AHA, now I know what you were talking about yesterday when you mentioned the Fit. Honestly, I had no idea what you were talking about, I thought it was a part for the civic. LOL

    I google-image'd it. The Fits are ADORABLE!!! What color are you getting it in? :-)

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