Honda Having a Fit?
With the Civic getting bitch-slapped with rebates and the Korean car companies assaulting it from under the $10,000 mambo pole, Honda's busy these days figuring out where to turn next with its sport-compact family of cars. And that's why the company might be having a Fit in the U.S. sooner than later. The Fit, you see, is the second-best selling car in Japan and a sub-Civic-sized subcompact that could take over the entry-level duties for Honda, which has let the Civic get relatively big and cushy over its twenty years in the U.S. Japanese newspapers are reporting that Honda will bring the Fit to America so that Hyundai, Kia and Suzuki, not to mention Scion, won't leave it out of the tuner-friendly category. The Fit's a good candidate for cheap, do it yourself wheels: it's got a 1.4-liter four with 83 hp and comes with a five-speed manual (or a CVT). Stock, it'll hit 60 mph in about 12 seconds and top out at about 106 mph-numbers just dyin' for some assist. No official word from Honda yet, but they could turn to Brazil to build the U.S.-bound Fits and could price the newest Honda under $10,000.
NHTSA: You're Ignoring Airbag Switches
Though the devices will be history within a decade, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has performed a study that assays the effectiveness of airbag shutoff switches. The switches, mandatory in some vehicles with no rear seat, are meant to reduce the chance of children or small adults being harmed in an airbag deployment. However, the NHTSA's study finds that the airbag switches are mostly ignored or misused by drivers. On average, 48 percent of the switches are left on despite the presence of a passenger under 12 years old. The survey examined more than 3000 drivers of pickup trucks. The switch devices were implemented in 1995 and will be required until 2013, when advanced airbags that automatically detect the presence of child seats and small people will be required.
Kid Gets $123K BMW For Nothing
A sixteen-year-old New Jersey boy took an Ohio BMW dealer for a ride earlier this year by convincing the dealer to ship a new 12-cylinder 760Li to his high school. The Associated Press reports that the teenager (name withheld) ordered the Bimmer from Midwestern Auto Group in Ohio, and told them his bank would confirm the wire transfer, after filling out the paperwork by mail. The boy impersonated a bank officer and called to confirm the transaction, taking delivery of the 760Li on Jan. 27, two weeks after he turned 17. The teenager has since been arrested in Jersey City; the car was tracked to Raleigh, N.C., apparently after the teen sold it to a dealer there.
Newman Voicing Pixar's Cars
Toy Story rocked, and Finding Nemo bubbled with joy. Now animation house Pixar is putting its creative gas into Cars, a fall 2005 adventure comedy that pits Paul Newman as one of the cars getting its kicks on Route 66. Other voices will be done by Richard Petty, Owen Wilson and Bonnie Hunt. Now 79, Newman also piloted a Cars-sponsored car at the Rolex 24 that attempted to put him in the Guinness Book of World Records once more as the oldest driver to win a sanctioned race. However, Newman's team of he, Michael Brockman, Kyle Petty and Gunnar Jeannette, finished 48th in a field of 53. Newman still holds the oldest-winner record from Daytona 1995.