Allegedly Real Photos of 2014 Honda Fit – Jazz Surface Online

After the all-new Mazda3 came to life on the web before its official reveal, it's time for another Japanese carmaker to have one of its upcoming models pre-maturely released online – or so we believe, as we're not 100 percent sure yet.

Today, we were tipped off from Shrawan Raja of Indiasautoblog about three screenshots of the next generation Honda Fit sub-compact, which is also marketed as the Jazz in other markets around the world, including Europe, purportedly sourced from an official brochure.

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Honda Slashes Fit EV's Monthly Lease Price by a Third, Down to $259

The battery-powered Honda Fit EV has just become more affordable for American consumers as the Japanese carmaker has reduced the monthly lease price by more than 30 percent, from $389 to $259 a month for new as well as existing lessees beginning from June 1.

Honda's new three-year lease offer comes with no down payment and includes unlimited mileage, routine maintenance, collision coverage and a 240 volt EV home charging station equipment –albeit excluding installation- from Leviton.

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Subaru Recalling Cars for Curling Mats, Nissan for Spare Tire Inflation and Honda Over ESC

In its latest release, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has shared detailed information on three separate and unrelated recalls from the same number of carmakers.

We'll begin with Subaru, which is recalling 10,137 Forester SUVs made from January 2013 through March 2013 over an issue with the carpeted floor mats that may curl when exposed to heat. This can be a problem when it occurs with the driver-side floor mat as it can interfere with the "proper operation of one or a combination of, the vehicle's clutch, brake, and accelerator pedals". A similar issue had plagued Toyota causing one of the widely publicized sudden acceleration-related recalls.

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Driver Flips Honda Fit/Jazz Seven Times and Walks Away!

The level of safety offered by automobiles has really gone up considerably in the last decades, and we have now reached a point where all cars, even the cheapest and smallest of them, are able to protect their occupants in the most severe and violent of crashes. Just check out this video, shot in Alabama, in December of 2012. Read more »

Form an Orderly Line: Honda Fit EV Now Available in the East Coast

East Coasters interested in Honda's subcompact EV rejoice, yes all five of you: the new all-electric 2013 Fit EV will be available for the first time at select Honda dealerships in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey before the end of the month. The move follows the market launch of the Fit EV in California and Oregon in July 2012. Read more »

Honda Urban SUV Concept Debuts in Detroit, Previews Small Crossover Due in 2014 [Updated]

The Honda Urban SUV Concept made its world premiere today at the 2013 Detroit Motor Show. According to the Japanese automaker, its styling, which features clean, taut lines and “hidden” rear door handles, hints at a new small SUV that will be launched at the end of the year in Japan and in 2014 in North America.

Measuring 4,300 mm (169.3 in) long, the new small SUV is 23 cm (9 in) shorter than the compact CR-V, under which it will slot in Honda’s crossover line-up.

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Honda to Build Fit Hatch, Sedan and Crossover Models at New Mexican Plant

It’s no secret that Honda plans to introduce the new generation of the Fit (sold as the Jazz in Europe) sub-compact next year and by 2015, two more variants based on the same underpinnings, including a small sedan and a crossover model, which we believe to be based on the Urban SUV Concept that was announced earlier today in advance of its Detroit Motor Show debut. Read more »

Honda Teases New Urban SUV Concept Ahead of Detroit Auto Show Debut

A single teaser image along with a very short statement is all we get about Honda's new Urban SUV Concept study that will receive its world premiere in January at the 2013 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

Here's what the Japanese automaker told us in the press blurb:

"The Urban SUV Concept, teased in a sketch released today, is a global concept model combining a sporty and dynamic SUV profile with a spacious, functional interior."

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Unbreakable: These are the 10 Most Reliable Cars in the UK of the Last 15 Years

About a week ago, we posted a list of the 10 least reliable cars in the UK of the past 15 Years. This list was compiled by the Warranty Direct insurance company, which has been collecting data since 1997.

In the company’s own words, the 'Reliability Index' uses a “complex formula” that includes factors such as the number a car breaks down and its repair costs, for more than 450 models.

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Honda Announces New Lightweight and Compact 1.5-liter Petrol-Electric Hybrid Powertrain

Honda today introduced a new hybrid powertrain that will eventually replace its Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid system used on small vehicles such as the Civic sedan, Insight, Fit / Jazz hatchback and CR-Z coupe.

The new system is named Sport Hybrid i-DCD, which is an acronym for 'Intelligent Dual Clutch Drive', and it comprises a newly developed 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine that runs on the more fuel-efficient Atkinson cycle and an electric motor that also acts as a generator connected to a 7-speed dual clutch transmission (DCT).

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New Version of the Honda Fit with a Crossover Twist Debuts at Sao Paulo Motor Show

Hyundai is not the only brand trying to tap into the crossover market in the sub-compact category in Brazil, as at the 2012 Sao Paulo International Motor Show, Honda also lifted the covers off its own proposal in the guise of the all-new Fit Twist.

The tougher-looking version of the Fit, which is sold in Europe and other parts of the world as the Jazz, is Honda's first vehicle to be developed exclusively for the Brazilian market.

On the outside, the Twist sports plastic cladding on the front and rear bumpers and over the wheel arches and side sills, a matte aluminum finish for the protective guards, mirror caps and the taller roof bars, bigger 16-inch alloy wheels, a re-styled front grille, dark headlamps and clear tail lamp fixtures.

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Honda's Worldwide Hybrid Sales Break the 1 Million Mark after 13 Years

While not as near as successful as rivaling brand Toyota that sold its 4 millionth hybrid in May, 2012, Honda is a respectable foe in the hybrid car market with the automaker announcing today that its cumulative worldwide sales of hybrid vehicles surpassed the 1 million mark at the end of September 2012.

The Japanese carmaker reached the 1 million milestone almost 13 years after it launched its first ever production hybrid model, the Insight Mk1 in Japan in November of 1999.

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Honda Posts Record All-Time July Record for Worldwide Production

Japan's third biggest carmaker Honda announced today that it set a new all-time record for worldwide production in July with 345,180 cars, up 67 percent from the same month last year.

From the beginning of 2012, Honda has produced 2,507,995 vehicles worldwide, an increase of 66.2 percent over 2011. Keep in mind though that last year's numbers were negatively affected by the impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

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Honda to Open Second Production Line, Double Output of Malaysian Plant

Honda has begun work on the construction of a second automobile production line at its existing facility in Malacca, Malaysia, where it will build small sized vehicles such as the Jazz / Fit and hybrid models.

The second line is scheduled to begin operation before the end of 2013 and will add 50,000 units annually, doubling the plant's overall production capacity from the current 50,000 units with the first line to 100,000 units per year.

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Honda Rumored to be Preparing a Small Crossover Based on the Next Fit / Jazz

The next generation of the Honda Fit, also known as the Jazz in markets such as Europe, Oceania and the Middle East and which is expected to be revealed in 2013, may spawn a small crossover model much in the likes of the successful Nissan Juke, according to a report from Japan's Nikkei business daily. Read more »

New Sports-Flavored Honda Jazz Si Edition from £14,550 in the UK

After its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show this past March, the new limited edition Honda Jazz Si is now available for order in Britain with an on-the-road price of £14,550 for the standard model and £15,545 for the Si-T that benefits from the addition of SD navigation and integrated Bluetooth. Read more »

2013 Honda Fit EV Receives Highest Ever EPA Rating for Electric Cars at 118 MPGe

Good news for Honda as its 2013 Fit EV has scored a combined adjusted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mile-per-gallon-equivalency rating of 118 MPGe, which the company says is the "highest fuel-efficiency rating ever given by the EPA".

But wait, doesn't the EV part of the new Fit's name stand for 'Electric Vehicle'? Yes, it does, so saying it has the "highest fuel-efficiency" is not entirely true. What Honda has achieved is to create a vehicle with a low consumption rating of 29 kilowatt hours (kWh) per 100 miles.

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