Honda wins car, truck of the year, unveils Fit
{{date|January  9, 2006}}
[[Image:Honda Civic.jpg|right|thumb|Honda Civic, 1998]]
{{w|Honda}}'s {{w|Honda Civic|Civic}} and Ridgeline truck won the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards at the {{w|International Auto Show}} in {{w|Detroit}}. This is the first time a company has won both awards in the same year.  The finalists were the {{w|Honda Ridgeline|Ridgeline}}, the {{w|Ford}} {{w|Ford Explorer|Explorer SUV}} and the {{w|Nissan}} {{w|Nissan Xterra|Xterra}}.  The awards are intended to recognize vehicles for their innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction, and value. {{missing image|Image:Ford Explorer.jpg|left|thumb|The Ford Explorer was one of the finalists}}

Honda also unveiled its latest model the {{w|Honda Fit|Fit}}, a US version of the Honda Jazz sold in nonUS markets.  The Fit comes with a 109 horsepower engine, antilock brakes, six air bags, fold flat seats, full {{w|iPod}} connectivity, 90.1 cubic feet of passenger and cargo space, and 33 mpg for the city 38 mpg for the highway. A sport package will also include Honda's first steering wheel mounted paddle shifters.  The car will go against another two new Japanese subcompacts, the {{w|Toyota}} {{w|Toyota Yaris|Yaris}}, Nissan {{w|Nissan Versa|Versa}} and will have to wrestle away sales from the category's current top seller {{w|Chevrolet}}'s {{w|Chevrolet Aveo|Aveo}}. 

The car will start selling in April for around $13,000 to $14,000 as a 2007 model. The company plans to sell 33,000 units of the hatchback in 2006.

Many automakers expect industry wide sales in the US to be between 16 and 17 million units.  Honda, which is Japan's third largest automaker, hopes to gain US market share with the redesigned Civic and the Fit.  Honda hopes that the company's auto sales will rise 4% this year.  The fuel-efficient Civic helped increase US market share to 8.6 percent last year, some of those sales were taken from Ford as gas prices rocketed to $3 a gallon.  The US market is extremely important for Honda as it receives 64% of its operating profit from the US.

{{haveyoursay}}
=== Sources ===
*{{source|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/09/content_4027448.htm
|title=Honda vehicles win Car, Truck of the Year
|author=
|pub=Xinhuanet
|date=January 9, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aflBWxpzMWCs&refer=top_world_news#
|title=Honda Expects to Gain U.S. Market Share in 2006 With Civic, Fit
|author=Kae Inoue
|pub=Bloomberg
|date=January 8, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060108/AUTO04/601080425/1364
|title=Honda introduces its new small car, the Fit
|author=Nick Buntley
|pub=The Detriot News
|date=January 8, 2006}}

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[[Category:Economy and business]]
[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:Japan]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Honda]]
[[Category:Nissan]]
Honda Civic, 1998
Honda Civic|Civic and Ridgeline truck won the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards at the Detroit. This is the first time a company has won both awards in the same year.  The finalists were the Ridgeline, the Ford Explorer|Explorer SUV and the Nissan Xterra|Xterra.  The awards are intended to recognize vehicles for their innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction, and value. 

Honda also unveiled its latest model the Fit, a US version of the Honda Jazz sold in nonUS markets.  The Fit comes with a 109 horsepower engine, antilock brakes, six air bags, fold flat seats, full Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa and will have to wrestle away sales from the category's current top seller Chevrolet Aveo|Aveo. 

The car will start selling in April for around $13,000 to $14,000 as a 2007 model. The company plans to sell 33,000 units of the hatchback in 2006.

Many automakers expect industry wide sales in the US to be between 16 and 17 million units.  Honda, which is Japan's third largest automaker, hopes to gain US market share with the redesigned Civic and the Fit.  Honda hopes that the company's auto sales will rise 4% this year.  The fuel-efficient Civic helped increase US market share to 8.6 percent last year, some of those sales were taken from Ford as gas prices rocketed to $3 a gallon.  The US market is extremely important for Honda as it receives 64% of its operating profit from the US.
Economy and business North America Japan United States Honda Nissan