I’m sad about all three, though realistically only the Accord Sport manual was one I’d actually want to buy.
But I do have some nostalgia for the Fit as I was working the launch event for the Fit back in April 2006 when it first debuted. But this was an expected move as SUVs are up and cars are down, thus niche or low profit cars are even further affected (all three qualify as such).
Thoughts? Condolences? Eulogies? Grave stomping? Ambivalence?
I never understood the point of the current “hatch”
It doesn’t look anything like Civic hatchbacks of the past, with a vertical C-pillar and upright tailgate.
It also looks too much like the current sedan in profile
Too bad, I’ll miss the 6MT Accord. Yet another option crossed off the list when I look for a manual transmission car next year.
Killing the Fit was a no brainer. KBB says the fwd HRV EX-L sells for ~$25k while a FWD EX-L fit sells for about $20k. I’d guess production cost of the two cars is within $500. Both have small NA 4 cylinder engines and similar features.
So Honda is probably happy to forego two Fit sales if one of those buyers instead purchases a HRV.
People are moving to entry levels SUVs from entry level cars
Not to mention very few people are Fit buyers anyway. And if they’re anti-SUV, Honda could always try to move them up to a Civic hatchback. Ultimately, in this environment, you’re better off chasing profit than volume to your point, and there’s less of either on the Fit.
This is undoubtedly true but it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There’s tons of marketing and ad dollars spent on this change.
These OEMs also let all their hatchbacks and wagons wither away without a fraction of the same support and then just point to declining volumes as the reason to can them.
It’s true that it’s both a bit of chicken and egg, but at the end of the day, total death spiral for cars, in particular hatchbacks, coupes, convertibles, wagons.
That already short list keeps shrinking…
There’s pricing but also positioning: one was supposed to be a cool city car (not unlike a certain forthcoming Honda EV) and the other is for cat owners to take their cat to the vet (a compromise of compromises to fill a segment).
As a fan of hatchbacks, wagons, and convertibles, the death spiral has been claiming nameplates for the past 12 years. Everything is slowly transforming into a small/medium/or third row crossover.
As an owner of a wagon, and a stick shift convertible it’s getting rough. I would have bought a manual wagon instead of the Volvo if Audi or BMW still offered them. I’ll move down market to get a GTI or Veloster N most likely when I stop working from home and add a new car.
A few coupes and cabs might remain, like the German ones, because they are perceived to be status symbols.
But even the erstwhile “I have arrived” ones like S-class and Bentley coupes are being replaced by high end SUVs
People just want what’s in hiphop and influencer videos apparently
I don’t understand the utility of a HRV, it rides slightly higher, not good gas mileage, and not sure it has that much more room. I can almost understand the SUV craze but the HRV doesn’t seem too practical. A hatchback is more practical but I guess it’s just the current trend in North America.
Fixed! Everything you said, AND remember the very first gen before the refresh also had poor gas mileage and 0 HP. The most unHonda I think I’ve ever driven.
Yea the M4, a Mustang, 911, etc. Anything less than ‘iconic’ isn’t like to live much past its current generation.
When I was in college we went on a ski trip to Montreal and was looking for Chinatown after skiing, that was long before Google maps or even mobile phones. Once we saw the souped up civics, my friend said “we’re here!”.
I did a roadtrip up to Montreal with friends back in college too! We stopped at Lake George on the way up and stayed a night in Plattsburgh before crossing the border the next morning. Good times.
I remember being surprised about the 1.6EL (mildly revised Acura version of the Civic, sold as the Honda Domani outside of North America, later replaced with the CSX and eventually became the ILX) and how even in May, about 30-40% cars still seemed to be rocking snow tires, haha.
My friend had a EL and I just couldn’t resist roasting him about it. But he said ‘it has leather seats’ lol. Honda Civic is the best selling car in Canada since cars in general are more expensive.
Yea it’s so funny how everything is shifted down a price/size class in Canada there. Cars are more expensive, gas is more expensive, taxes are higher and the culture is a bit more conservative overall vs the US. So there are a ton of downsized/smaller offerings there. Thus an Acura Civic, whereas at the time only an Acura Accord could be had here in the roaring United States. I recall sometime back they had MkIV Golfs/Jettas on sale with a new front end sold as CityGolf/CityJetta sold alongside MkVs and MkVIs at a lower price point. Also, I recall the Dodge Intrepid was sold as the Chrysler Intrepid there. Suzuki was still on sale there after it pulled out of the US. All sort of oddities for a market smaller than California that otherwise seemed identical to the US.
No loss. The fit was ugly as sin anyway: dead ringer for similar Nissan.
The small SUV craze is killing the entry level sub compact cars.
Look at the new venue, Niro & similar offerings targeted at younger buyers.
Civic or other compact sedan coupes were meant for younger buyers, their preference is shifting towards sub-compact “so called SUVs”
GM is bringing out yet another small CUV…
Because apparently the market needs a Chevy in between a Trax and an Equinox and also needs a Buick between the Encore and the other one