The recent Canadian budget introduced new incentives for people to buy more fuel efficient vehicles. Unfortunately for Honda whenever rules like this are imposed it usually involves some arbitrary threshold for qualification. In this case cars are required to consume no more than 6.3L/100km of gas to get a $1,000 rebate. The Honda Fit uses 6.5L/100km and doesn't make the cut, while the Toyota Yaris does. One of the options for Honda is to reduce the car's weight to improve the efficiency.
The quickest way for Honda to do this without redesigning the car is to remove equipment, including parts like anti-lock brakes, and extra airbags. Honda Canada VP Jim Miller told a University of Windsor marketing class that removing safety equipment was an undesirable outcome, but it may be necessary in order to meet the fuel consumption thresholds. This is an issue that many carmakers will be facing in coming years and suppliers are continuously working to redesign their hardware and shave ounces of mass wherever possible.
[Source: Ottawa Citizen]
The quickest way for Honda to do this without redesigning the car is to remove equipment, including parts like anti-lock brakes, and extra airbags. Honda Canada VP Jim Miller told a University of Windsor marketing class that removing safety equipment was an undesirable outcome, but it may be necessary in order to meet the fuel consumption thresholds. This is an issue that many carmakers will be facing in coming years and suppliers are continuously working to redesign their hardware and shave ounces of mass wherever possible.
[Source: Ottawa Citizen]
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