Honda Sneak Peek: The Match?
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Credit Honda with not giving up very easily in what will definitely turn out to be a huge fight: the sub $15,000 value range category of new automobiles. Currently, only a stripped down Civic competes in this place and I mean stripped: no a/c, simple tranny, no radio! With Toyota's Scion brand catching on Honda is looking to fight back. A tiny vehicle now on sale in Japan might soon find its way to a dealership in your neighborhood helping to turn the tide for the revered automaker.
So, why the huge push in this "low cost" category? Chiefly simply because automakers know that if young and very first time purchasers have a very good encounter with their entry level cars then far more than probably they will stay with the brand as their lives adjust, i.e., get married, commence a family members, make much more income, and so on. This practice has been in location for years, even though not as widely emphasized by all best small truck manufacturers and to their detriment.
Honda's extended time low price leader has constantly been the Civic. Introduced to the North American market place in 1971, the Civic was the original Honda for the western hemisphere and has been a value leader in its class for some time. However, like the Toyota Corolla, the Civic has been steadily creeping up marketplace becoming far better equipped and much more costly. At least Toyota slipped in a new entry level car a few years back, the Echo, but Honda has been with out one. In addition, Toyota launched an all new brand, Scion, in 2003 to capture a bigger chunk of the youth market. So far, Scion has been a runaway achievement story.
Enter the Fit. Say, small trucks with best gas mileage what?! Yes, a tiny Scion-like vehicle sporting a 1.5L engine is currently navigating Japanese streets. Sadly, the name isn't catchy and likely will have to be changed when the vehicle is imported best small trucks to the US and Canada. Let's just say that some of the names that rhyme with Fit are not specifically favorable. At least it is not as obvious as Daewoo's Charade a car that actually lived up to its name!
We do not know a lot yet about the Match other than to say that Honda knows that they need to have to respond to Toyota and soon. Honda does not seem prepared to develop a separate brand to take on Scion, but a vehicle in the class of the Match will help Honda capture a bigger chunk of the all crucial youth market. With styling cues reportedly related to the Scion xA, the "Fit" will probably be fitted into the bottom of the Honda line up. Paired with the Element, both vehicles will be perceived as accurate Scion fighters. At least Honda hopes that you do.
