All-new 2009 Honda Fit Big on Style and Refinement, Small on Price and Fuel Consumption!
Pricing starts at only $14,550 with A/C, AM/FM CD player and power windows & EPA fuel economy up to 35 mpg highway

TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 19, 2008 - The completely-redesigned 2009 Honda Fit is set to go on sale August 26 with a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) starting at $14,550, plus a destination and handling charge of $670, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today. The Fit Sport, equipped with additional premium features, is also set to debut with a starting MSRP2 of $16,060, plus destination and handling.

The Fit is designed to lead the subcompact segment with a quality feel and a multi-functional interior. The Fit has become more refined for 2009 with a sportier demeanor through improved suspension, steering and body rigidity enhancements; an improved rear Magic Seat®; and a high level of standard safety equipment, including the addition of the Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure and front seat active head restraints. A new, more powerful 117-horsepower, 1.5-liter i-VTEC 4-cylinder engine further improves the Fit's high-revving, fun-to-drive character.

"With the all-new Fit, Honda is offering premium features and advanced technology within a high-function, small vehicle package," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda. "Customers who choose the Fit are choosing superior refinement and premium quality, along with value and economy."

Dimensionally compact on the outside with an overall length of 161.6 inches, the interior provides a surprisingly spacious passenger volume of 90.8 cubic feet and a rear cargo volume of 20.6 cubic feet. The seats offer multiple seating and cargo-carrying configurations - tall object mode, long object mode and utility mode - in addition to the standard five-passenger mode.
An improved rear Magic Seat provides one-motion dive-down functionality without having to remove the rear seat head restraints to folds flat into the floor, creating a rear cargo volume of 57.3 cubic feet. Dual-stage, dual-threshold front airbags, dual front-side airbags with passenger-side Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS) and side-curtain airbags are standard equipment on all models.

The engine produces 117 horsepower at 6600 rpm and 106 lb-ft. of torque at 4800 rpm. A 5-speed manual transmission is standard and a 5-speed automatic transmission is available. Steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters allow for manual gear selection on the Fit Sport equipped with the available automatic transmission. The Fit equipped with the available automatic transmission achieves an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) city/highway fuel economy rating1 of 28/35 miles per gallon. The Fit with a manual transmission and Fit Sport with either a manual or the available automatic transmission achieve an EPA city/highway fuel economy rating1 of 27/33 miles per gallon.

The Fit comes with standard amenities such as air conditioning, an AM/FM/CD audio system with four speakers, MP3/WMA playback capability, Radio Data System (RDS), auxiliary audio input jack, power windows, power mirrors and power door locks. The Fit Sport adds alloy wheels, an underbody aero kit, rear roofline spoiler, fog lights, security system with keyless remote entry and cruise control. The Fit Sport audio system provides six speakers, a five-mode equalizer and a USB Audio Interface .

For the first time, the Fit is available with the Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System with Voice Recognition on the Fit Sport, featuring a 6.5-inch screen and more than 7 million points of interest. Models equipped with the navigation system also include Vehicle Stability Assist™ (VSA®), also known as electronic stability control.

The front MacPherson strut suspension and torsion beam rear suspension settings are tuned to provide a sporty, solid and dynamic driving experience. Upgraded by 1-inch on each model, larger 15- and 16-inch wheels (Fit and Fit Sport respectively) are shod with 175/65 R15 84S (Fit) and 185/55 R16 83H (Fit Sport) tires. The standard anti-lock braking system (ABS) with electronic brake distribution (EBD) uses 10.3-inch ventilated discs in the front and 7.9-inch drums in the rear.

The 2009 Honda Pilot - Power, Style and Performance!

Charleston Honda introduces the all new 2009 Honda Pilot - the ultimate combination of power, looks, performance and reliability. As one of the most family-friendly SUVs, the Pilot has seating for eight passengers. It’s bold, modern, dynamic and makes it presence felt everywhere. And it’s advanced 250-hp, 3.5-Liter, i-VTEC® Engine, makes it a powerful performer like no other. With its brand new features, this Pilot pilots you to a new high with confidence. Don't miss out on this model of a lifetime! Just get into our dealership and drive this marvel out! Call us Phone: (888) 226-9810 and know more!

The 2008 Honda Clearance Sale is here and knocking!

The 2008 Honda Clearance is happening at Charleston Honda in Charleston, SC. You can get lower APR interest rates and dealer discounts like never before. The dealership brings various National Offers such as Special AHFC APR Financing and Featured Special Lease programs on brand new 2008 Honda vehicles.
A lease offer of $249.00 per month for 36 months with only $2,699.00 total due at signing on the 2008 Accord Coupe LX-S; $239.00 per month for 36 months with only $1,999.00 total due at signing on the 2008 Odyssey; and $239.00 per month for 36 months with only $1,999.00 total due at signing on the 2008 Ridgeline RT are some of the offers available.
These National Offers are available on other 2008 Honda models such as the 2008 Honda Element and Pilot for ALL well-qualified buyers. For more details about this clearance sale event, log on to http://www.charlestonhonda.com/campaign/2008-honda-clearance.jsp
That’s not all. Honda takes you a long way with greater mileage and efficiency.

The Allstate 400

INDIANAPOLIS --

You knew what was up for Sunday by midday Friday, when Jimmie Johnson, in his own polite way, subtly called his Ruthian shot.

Asked if a win in the Allstate 400 would make it clear he's back, he said -- no brag, just fact -- "We're back already. I don't think we need to run this weekend to prove that." He also politely blew off questions about how hot Kyle Busch has been lately, not so much denigrating Busch's streak as implying by his tone that it just might be over … that Johnson was ready to take command of the Sprint Cup tour for a while.

"I hate flying below the radar," he said of his recent history after winning the Cup the past two years running. "I miss being booed. I miss people throwing stuff at me. I want to start winning again and go through all that stuff." Even without results to show for it yet -- he finished second to Busch at Chicagoland the previous race -- Johnson could feel his momentum of the past two seasons returning.

"We've got a lot of speed, we're qualifying up front, we're racing up front -- we're back," he said. All this, before Johnson ran so much as a practice lap at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Then Saturday, he won the pole to demonstrate the "qualifying up front." Hours later, he was fastest in final practice, showing "a lot of speed." Most of Sunday afternoon he raced up front. He dominated! Then he won, for the second time here in three years. He's back!

He breezed early, got into a bit of a fix late with a blistered tire, then staged a spectacular drive back from ninth to first. Though his tire problem looked for a moment like it might cost him the win, it was minor indeed amid the pandemic of tire failures that brought out 11 cautions. The issue was mostly right-rears blowing. And how indicative of Johnson's day was this: When his right-rear finally blew, it was during his victory burnout. The blister occurred two stops from the end, when Johnson was fighting an unexpected challenge from Denny Hamlin. He had seen little competition previously.

"The first three-fourths of the race, it seemed like we could run the pace we needed to, and pass guys and control the race," Johnson said. "But at the end, I don't know if the 11 [Hamlin] and the 99 [Carl Edwards] had been just waiting for the right time to get aggressive, but those guys really matched our pace and were tough to race with.

Just before he fell back to ninth, "I was behind the 11 and thought I could get by him, but I blistered the right-rear tire and that didn't work out." But he was saved by a mandatory competition caution NASCAR threw for tire checks. With a fresh set, "I got up to I guess second or third for that last [mandatory] pit stop [with 10 laps remaining]." Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus had been going with four-tire stops all race -- that's why Johnson found himself behind Hamlin, who took two. But on the final stop, Knaus ordered only two tires, Johnson roared out of the pits first, and from there it was only a matter of zigging and zagging down Indy's long straightaways to break the draft on the pressing Edwards.

Though he had only one win this season coming to Indy, Johnson had seen his team gaining momentum lately without the results to show for it, and "that's where that confidence came from," he said of his Friday talk. "We've known we've been doing the right things; we could see the momentum. We've just had a lot of races where strategy came into play and it didn't work out for us. And we didn't get the finishes we deserved. "You can look at the races," Knaus said. "Not the finishes but the races themselves over the last 10 or 12 weeks, and we've been right there. … Any racetrack we go to now, I can proudly say I think we can run top-5 speeds. If you can do that on a weekly basis, then you're going to be in position to go for a championship. "And I think we're there now."

Ed Hinton covers motorsports for ESPN.com. He can be reached at edward.t.hinton@espn3.com.

10 Toughest Cars

Ten Toughest Cars On The Road
Jacqueline Mitchell 03.24.08

Consumers are finding vehicles able to withstand the daily demands of life in some unlikely places.

The Honda showroom is one. There, buyers looking for reliable, safe vehicles with low repair costs and reports of problems will find the Odyssey. It ranked first on our list of most durable vehicles. The Honda Pilot, CRV, Civic and Accord also made the list.

That's no surprise, say industry experts. The Japanese automaker typically stands above the competition in quality and reliability surveys.

In Depth: 10 Toughest Cars On The Road
"Honda builds an outstanding product," says Dave Wurster, president of Vincentric, an automotive research company. "They are highly reliable, and they last a long time. Their vehicles work well long into the future.”

Behind The Numbers In compiling our list, we looked at several key measures. To gauge safety, we used both the most recent National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration and Insurance Institute of Highway Safety front and side crash-test ratings. Vehicles had to have received at least a four-star rating out five from the NHTSA. Only a top rating of "good" in front, side and rear crash testing was acceptable from the institute.

Related Stories:
Ten Cars That Lose Value Fast
Top 20 Most Dangerous Vehicles

We used Consumer Reports' 2007 Overall Road Test Scores, which is based on 50 different tests and evaluations, to determine overall vehicle performance. Vehicles had to reach a minimum of 70 out of 100 to be considered, which falls in the second-highest range of "very good."

Strategic Vision's 2007 New Vehicle Experience Study was also consulted. In it, the automotive research company measures how many owners complain of "things gone wrong" after the first 90 days of ownership. The "Problem Impact Measure" takes into consideration the level of concern each problem caused the owner, the extent to which it was resolved and the owner's level of satisfaction with the resolution. Only vehicles that exceeded or met the average for their segment were considered.

Problems measured here are not always life-threatening. One example: a knob falling off is of lesser concern to a car owner than, say, failing brakes.

Finally, we looked at Vincentric's estimated five-year repair costs, which takes into account warranties that typically cover most repairs in the first three years of ownership

Honda Fuel Strategy

Honda's fuel-efficiency strategy pays off

Christine Tierney / The Detroit News

In recent years, while many automakers were building bigger and brawnier trucks and SUVs, Honda Motor Co. stuck to its core business of making fuel-efficient vehicles. Unlike its leading Japanese rivals, Honda passed on developing a full-size pickup. It didn't offer a powerful V-8 engine for its premium cars and SUVs either, focusing its resources instead on designing better versions of its stalwart Civic compact and tiny Fit.

That strategy is now paying off. This year Honda has clocked the best performance of any major player in the U.S. market. Its sales are up 4.8 percent in a market that contracted 8.4 percent in the first five months of 2008. In May, the Civic became the top-selling vehicle in the United States, displacing the longtime champion, Ford Motor Co.'s F-Series trucks, as consumers traded in gas guzzlers for more frugal models.

"They have an array of products that is in tune with today's economic climate," said Jim Hossack, a consultant at AutoPacific Inc. in Tustin, Calif. "They don't have a Suburban, they don't have a Super Duty, but they have small, fuel-efficient vehicles. They're in good shape."
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Honda could sell even more vehicles in the United States if the Japanese automaker shipped more small cars to its American Honda Motor subsidiary. Fit subcompacts are sold within five days of reaching showrooms, said John Mendel, executive vice president at American Honda. But Honda is also scrambling to meet demand in Japan, where the Fit is the best-selling vehicle. "Sixty percent of the world market is small cars. We compete with the rest of the world for the Fit," Mendel said. It gets 27-28 miles per gallon in the city and 33-34 mpg on the highway.
This past weekend, Jim Kurtz, a software specialist living near Baltimore, struggled to track down a Fit for his daughter.

"I called five dealers, and only one of them had the car," Kurtz said. "The demand is unbelievably high for these vehicles."

This year, Fit sales are up 64 percent, Civic sales are up 20.5 percent, and sales of the Civic hybrid are up 17.5 percent, according to Autodata Corp.

Honda's trucks, however, are not performing as well. The CR-V crossover is popular, but Honda has a tough time moving its boxy Element vehicles. They spend nearly three months on dealer lots, compared with a 56-day average for compact crossovers as a whole, according to J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network. Honda's midsize Ridgeline pickup is also a slow seller, and now carries $3,500 in incentives, according to online auto research firm Edmunds.com.

Sales of Honda's premium Acura vehicles have been weak, too, in the last months before the rollout of redesigned models.

But Honda cars are hard to keep in stock. "Particularly in this climate, where gas prices have spiked since mid-April, Honda is top of mind with consumers," said Mark McCready, vice president for market planning and pricing at online retailer Carsdirect.com. "Honda has for years positioned themselves in their marketing as being economical, with good fuel-economy, reliability and best cost of ownership."

Demand for Honda's midsize Accord sedan is strong, as SUV owners migrate to smaller -- but not much smaller -- vehicles. That shift explains why more Accord buyers are opting for V-6 than four-cylinder engines, Mendel said. Accord sales are up 9.4 percent this year, and ahead 38.9 percent in May.

With gas costing $4 a gallon, fuel economy is a top priority for consumers. Allen Chen, a vice president at a Silicon Valley firm, looked at small, fuel-efficient cars and hybrids. With hybrids, "the gas savings, even assuming $6 a gallon gas, didn't work out because of the extra cost of the car, and the cost of the battery replacement down the road," he said. Last weekend, Chen settled on a Civic with a 1.8-liter engine costing $17,865, including tax.

Honda's archrival Toyota Motor Corp. has many fuel-efficient models in its bigger lineup, but Toyota's performance has been hurt by weak demand for some of its larger vehicles, such as the new Tundra pickup. Toyota has slowed production of Tundras at its Indiana and Texas plants, and Nissan Motor Co. is also slashing output of light trucks in North America.

Compared with Toyota and Nissan, Honda has been more cautious in adding production capacity. But that trait is causing Honda to scramble to supply dealers with more cars. It is increasing Civic production at its Alliston plant in Ontario and it is opening a car plant in Indiana this fall.

But McCready says Honda may run short during the summer selling season. "They don't have the volumes or the inventories to do what they did in May for the rest of the summer."

You can reach Christine Tierney at ctierney@detnews.com.

High Tide at Honda

High tide at Honda

Patience pays off for the automaker as it thrives in hard times.
By Alex Taylor III, senior editor

In May, the thrifty Honda Civic became the best-selling vehicle in America.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Given what he has been through in the past several weeks, it is not surprising that General Motors chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner enjoys a bit of schadenfreude at the expense of his Asian rivals.

So while taping an interview with CNNMoney.com last week, Wagoner mischievously tossed barbs at Toyota (TM) for the dubious distinction of being the latest automaker to open a pickup truck plant in North America - only to see truck sales squeezed by the twin pincers of an economic downturn and skyrocketing gasoline prices.

Wagoner was more restrained in his comments about Honda (HMC), however. Japan's second-largest car company makes no body-on-frame pickups, nor any V-8 engines to power them, and so is riding out the current market turmoil with extraordinary ease. Wagoner praised Honda for its thoroughness and consistency in focusing on small, highly-efficient cars and engines.
He might have added "prescience." All but alone among the world's automakers, Honda has long behaved as if the world is indeed running out of all kinds of resources, including oil. Its relentless focus on thrift and conservation, which seemed like eccentricities 20 or 30 years ago, today make Honda the leader of the environmental pack.

At a time when Americans are hyper-conscious about gas prices -- and how can they not be with the media pounding home the message every day - that kind of prescience is paying off for Honda in a big way.

So while the Detroit Three plus Toyota were getting hammered on the showroom floor in May, with sales down anywhere from 4.3% for Toyota to 27.5% for General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Honda posed a stunning 15.6% sales increase. That was enough to vault it ahead of Chrysler for the month and put it in fourth place in North American sales.

Adding injury to insult, the Honda Civic became the best selling vehicle in America - car or truck - and both it and the Honda Accord outsold the once-invincible Ford F-150 pickup trucks.
Rocket science this isn't. They aren't making any more oil so, over time, you had to figure it was going to get more expensive and more scarce. So why weren't other manufacturers able to see the road ahead as well as Honda?

1. They got sidetracked by the easy profits available in big SUVs and pickups. During the 1990s, the last golden age of the American auto industry, the combination of cheap gas and high-profit big vehicles seduced automakers into believing the good times would never end. Then, when the clock started to run down in 2004, the domestics were too hooked on the big money, and too inflexible by virtue of their UAW contracts, to quickly make changes. Toyota and Nissan (NSANY), anxious for their own bite out of the golden apple, got sucked in too, ramping up pickup production at just the wrong time.

2. Honda's tightly-knit corporate culture and long time horizon made it uniquely able to wait for events to move in its direction, rather than chasing fluctuations in the marketplace. While the car-based Ridgeline truck was savaged by critics for not being a "true" pickup, it now looks like smart move in an era of $4 a gallon gasoline.

3. The other automakers became distracted by their own corporate imperatives. Nissan compounded its problems by starting its own passenger car horsepower race. The Detroit Three, at times, seemed to get their jollies by reviving models from 40 years ago -- Mustang, Challenger, Camaro -- because of the short term jolt they got in the marketplace, rather than formulating any kind of long-term strategy for a resource-constrained world. And who can explain GM's infatuation with Hummers long after the brand ceased to resonate in the marketplace?

The way things area going, don't be surprised to see Honda edge ahead of Ford (F, Fortune 500) into third place in the U.S. market (behind GM and Toyota). It won't happen because of any strenuous sales efforts - it will be another case of the world coming to Honda, rather than the other way around.