Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Chevrolet, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Lexus, Porsche, Saturn, Toyota
Chicago Auto Show: MotorWeek Drivers Choice Awards
We must admit that we were a bit surprised that MotorWeek's award for "Best Car of the Year" went to the Honda Fit. But, we suppose that it, uh, fits. We know, that was way too easy - feel free to mock us in the comments, we can take it. Here is the complete list of winners:- Best of the Year: Honda Fit
- Best Small Car: wait for it... Honda Fit
- Best Family Sedan: Saturn Aura
- Best Minivan: Hyundai Entourage/Kia Sedona
- Best Convertible: Volkswagen Eos
- Best Luxury Sedan: Lexus LS
- Best Sports Sedan: Infiniti G35
- Best Performance Car: Ford Shelby GT500
- Best Small Utility: Honda CR-V
- Best Large Utility: Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon
- Best Crossover Utility: GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook
- Best Pickup Truck: Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra
- Best Eco-Friendly: Toyota Motor Corporation
- Best Dream Machine: Jaguar XKR, Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, Porsche 911 Turbo
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jj 8:04PM (2/07/2007)
The Fit is simply an outstanding car. Excellent value, exceptional versatility, and it even handles great. Nice price and great standard equipment.
It's a winner.
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rrr 8:23PM (2/07/2007)
Hey Toyota is not most Eco-Friendly. My Ford 500/Taurus/Mondeo gets 50 MPG. Who are these Japs are trying to play...........yeah... my sister in laws husband (who is also my uncle) has F-150, and he gets 38 MPG....let's see Prius get that. Yeahhhh, my brothers 6th wife has another great truck, one of them GMC Sierras.............yeah, that bad boy knows his way around my neighbord back yard...you know to get away when he cathes me with his wife (who is also my aunt on dad's side)...........................yeah....Keep on trickin'
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far jr 8:29PM (2/07/2007)
Yeah, but they must have missed that "Honda is the most fuel efficient manufacturer in the USA" commercial. Giving the best to Toyota.
Best car of the year to a car that has been sold overseas before coming here. Not to mention that it only sold about 2,000 copies last month. Looks as if the buying public doesn't agree with Motor Week on this one.
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Steve S 8:34PM (2/07/2007)
Motorweek is a little Maryland Public TV program, you gotta cut them some slack.
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Bob R. 8:42PM (2/07/2007)
I think in Car and Drivers 10 best cars, they said the Fit edged a lane change number posted by Ferrari F430 Spider F1. It sounds impressive to me.
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mike 8:44PM (2/07/2007)
way to go gm, 4 awards. my only question is how is the gt500 better than the vette? the base vette outperforms the gt500 with less power and costs 10 grand less.
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Scott 8:44PM (2/07/2007)
I think the Fit is a fantastic little car which can get you around without being dull about it. My only wish for it would be for the interior to be a bit nicer to look at; not necessarily in materials but in visual design, that dash is too ugly for an otherwise nice looking compact.
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far jr 9:19PM (2/07/2007)
Scott... The Fit interior should get better with a redesign. The car has been for sale in Japan since 2001...the the outdated interior.
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far jr 9:21PM (2/07/2007)
So much for proofreading. My comment should be "...thus the outdated interior"
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Adam 9:28PM (2/07/2007)
The Fit sells 2-3 thousand per month because Honda cant build more. The factory is at capacity.
Also Honda does not want to flood the market and create a feast or famine like Ford does consistently.
Go to a Honda Dealer. They only have 1-2 in stock.
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far jr 9:54PM (2/07/2007)
Adam... you're right. Honda averaged 3,100 cars per month for last year after an April release. That is 50 percent more than January 2007 numbers. Some months last year were closer to 4,000 (100 percent better than January 2007). I guess the plant lost capacity since last year?
Maybe Honda is keeping numbers low in January on purpose so they can continue to show improvements in monthly and year over year sales numbers... you know just to make themselves look better than they really are.
Would you like another glass of Koolaid?
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david 10:04PM (2/07/2007)
rrr, borat called, he wants his brain back.
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Adam 10:11PM (2/07/2007)
Your Honda bashing aside please dont be such a consipracy theorist. Life becomes very sad and scary that way.
The FIT is very much in demand everywhere. It has been at capacity consistently.
Also the FIT arrives on ships. One ship brings about 2000 so depending on when they arrive the sales go up and down every month.
No Honda does not do cookie jar accounting as you theorize.
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far jr 10:27PM (2/07/2007)
So they release a car and cannot make enough to satisfy demand. Can only get half as many to US dealers as they could last year. And this hot selling car could only move 2,036 units in January 2007 after almost a year on the marlet in the US and after nearly six years on the world market for this model.
Am I really a "basher" or has Honda released a car nobody in America really wants? If everybody wants one but Honda won't make them, then my above statement is correct. If everybody wants one but Honda can't produce enough, that is very poor decision making on Honda's part and someone should be fired... don't ya think?
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Adam 10:45PM (2/07/2007)
As I said Honda is very conservative with their production. They dont want feast or famine. They grow 3% every year and thats good to them.
Why build a ton and depress reslae values and piss people off. They can sell about 6-7 thousand a month. Thats where they should be. But they are not.
However, on a side note, Honda is looking at Arkansas for an assembly plant. They want to produce more CRV and a subcompact (Fit probably).
So this is temporary.
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bernie 10:46PM (2/07/2007)
Another joke that the Aura - barely the 4th best vehicle in its class behined the '07 Altima, Accord and Camry -- wins "best" family sedan. Consumer Reports also rated it mid-pack at best, behind even the impressive Kia. Magazines fail to see the big deal with the Aura as well. The US auto shows are embarassing themselves by polishing GM's knob when it's obvious what's going on.
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Sarr 11:02PM (2/07/2007)
Hey bernie,
It about time GM gets credit. It is obvious what is going on and who get their nobs polished and it not the american car companies. The foriegn car companies have you fooled, they are the real junk
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far jr 11:04PM (2/07/2007)
So they are intentionally manipulating supply to keep retail prices up and keep the month over month and year over year growth numbers on the positive side. It is smart business in a sense if demand remains high.
However stable this approach may seem, it is still artificially creating low numbers now...so they can beat them later. While this gives the appearance of steady growth to thier investors, Toyota is eating thier lunch in market share growth.
Honda builds great cars (better than Toyota in my opinion) but it seems that they are loosing some ground in the image battle with Toyota. The Yaris is gaining customers for Toyota that it may never relinquish to Honda or anyone else.
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hondalover 11:06PM (2/07/2007)
Best of the Year: Honda Fit
Best Small Car: wait for it... Honda Fit
Best Family Sedan: Honda Accord
Best Minivan: Honda Odessy/Toyota Siena
Best Convertible: S2000
Best Luxury Sedan: Lexus LS
Best Sports Sedan: Acura TL
Best Performance Car: Acura NSX
Best Small Utility: Honda CR-V
Best Large Utility: Toyota Landcruiser
Best Crossover Utility: Honda Element
Best Pickup Truck: Honda Ridgeline, Toyota Tundra
Best Eco-Friendly: Toyota Motor Corporation, Honda
Best Dream Machine: Honda S2000, Acura NSX and Advanced Concept, Toyota Supra, Nissan GT-R
TAKE THAT!!!
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quagmire 11:14PM (2/07/2007)
Bernie, how can you trust CR after the baby seat fiasco? Have they not lost any respect for lying? You know what one of the negatives for the Aura was in the C&D comparo? FINGERPRINTS ON THE TRUNK! There going to cry over finger prints on a car? Umm.. then the Camry should get that bashing, Altima, etc. Still, how can they complain about fingerprints? I think they were looking for a negative to knock it down.
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