Japan Report: Honda Fit Wins Japan Car of the Year Honors

[Honda News Feed]

Honda’s new Fit has just driven off with the prestigious 2007-2008 Japan Car of the Year prize.
In the award voting announced in Tokyo last week, the Fit romped home with 374 points, the clear favorite among the 60-strong JCOTY voting panel. Second was the Mercedes-Benz C-class with 299 points. Subaru’s new Impreza/WRX STI came in third with 273 points.
Going into this year’s JCOTY, many believed it would come to a power showdown between the Fit (which will land in the U.S. in 2008) and Nissan’s excellent new V36 Skyline sedan and coupe (the two cousins to America’s Infiniti G35/G37).
(Click through to find out how some of the other contenders placed.)

In the end, it wasn’t close. Honda’s skill in winning hearts and minds to win JCOTY is well known in Japan. Throw the new Fit into the mix as well (an excellent all-round design even if it is an evolution) that was all enough to get Honda the coveted prize.
The Skyline? It came in fourth with 245 points. Mazda’s new Demio (Mazda2), which last week won Japan’s “other“ Car of the Year prize (from the independent RJC group) was way back in fifth, this time, with 128 points.
For the record, the JCOTY panel also gave the “Most Fun” prize to the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. The “Most Value” award went to the tiny Daihatsu 660 cc Mira minicar. Volkswagen scored the “Most Advanced Technology” gong with the clever supercharged/turbo 1.4-liter engine in the Golf TSI. “Import of the Year” went to the new C-class.
Japan Car of the Year dates back to 1980. Honda has now won five of the last eight JCOTYs.
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