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2015 Fit Kit is the perfect DIY car from Honda

Ah... let the April Fools' Day automotive jokes begin. Honda is kicking things off, following up on last year's Honda Hair joke with a prank video featuring the 2015 Honda Fit.
It's called the Fit Kit, and as you might guess, it's a way to build your own version of the redesigned hatchback. There are 180,000 mechanical parts in the kit - some delivered by drone - but that doesn't seem at all daunting to the pair of obnoxious, self-described tinkerers that star in the Fit Kit ad.
Honestly, the video is pretty entertaining, with some biting satire of the DIY movement and its attendant cadre of mustachioed hipsters. Scroll down and have a look at both the video and the Fit Kit press release from Honda.

2023 CES Editors' Picks

Over the past few years, it has become more and more clear that the Consumer Electronics Show is a car show. And this year that reality is more clear than ever. Not only did established automakers show off seriously important vehicles, but a traditional electronics company brought a car that gives an idea of its intents (with the help of establishment car company). With so many car reveals, we had to rank our favorites. Our picks for this show are entirely electric. Or at least, they are on paper, since many are concepts. Considering the name of the show, it would be a little strange if they weren't. In fact, not only are many of our favorites concepts, they all are save for one. See how they shook out below. VW ID7 camo View 28 Photos 5. Volkswagen ID.7 "The ID.7 definitely got lost in the crowd at CES. That it was camouflaged definitely didn't help, even if that camo was electroluminescent (BMW trumped it big time with its color-changing Dee). Nevertheless, this is a close-to-production hatchback-ed sedan, not unlike today's Arteon, with an extra-long wheelbase courtesy its EV architecture. It should be a solid answer to the Tesla Model 3 and Hyundai Ioniq 6, and even if people obviously prefer SUVs now, VW says there is still a market for sedans. I know I'd probably prefer one." –Senior Editor, West Coast and Reviews, James Riswick Peugeot Inception concept View 12 Photos 4. Peugeot Inception "It's not often that show debuts surprise us. While Peugeot teased the Inception ahead of CES, its unveiling seemed almost incidental. But just look at this thing; it's like an electric French Mustang with someplace important to be. I don't buy into the stupid 'It's not a wheel!' thing that Peugeot CEO Linda Jackson described as providing a video-game-like drive experience, but that bit of silliness aside, this is a really promising design study. Give us more of these and fewer tall boxes, please." –Associate Editor Byron Hurd Afeela prototype from Sony Honda Mobility View 11 Photos 3. Afeela by Sony Honda “Ever since Sony showed off an impressively put-together concept car at CES a few years ago, IÂ’ve been anticipating the companyÂ’s next move. Apparently, that next move is “Afeela.” No, I donÂ’t love the name. The specs from SonyÂ’s original concept car give me hope that this prototype sportback (itÂ’s a hatchback!) will be fun to drive, though.

Why Honda of America won't fit 2014 Fit models with start/stop

One of the most recent yet notable additions to the modern vehicle's growing suite of fuel-saving technologies is the humble start-stop system. It's rather simple - when the vehicle is stopped, the engine shuts off. It then fires back up when the driver starts to take his foot off the brake or step on the clutch. For one of the most important fuel sippers of the year, though, start-stop tech is a no-go.
Honda will not be offering the system on the North American-spec, non-hybrid Fit despite it being a standard item on both the hybrid (pictured above) and gas-only Japanese domestic models. According to Honda, it's ostensibly due to the momentary lag, that occurs when the gas engine re-fires and power is available. The start-stop-equipped Fits "will lose at stoplights to V6s," Nobuhiko Shishido, the lead powertrain engineer for the Fit, told Automotive News. This is just an observation on our part, but unless the new Fit turns up with dramatically more than the current car's 117 horsepower, it'll "lose at stoplights" regardless of whatever fuel-saving features are fitted.
The other issue Honda sees is more realistic. In the world of the EPA, stop-start systems are not taken into account in fuel economy testing. That makes the cost-adding technology a tough sell for US consumers who are forced to take a dealer's word on real-world economy gains over the milage numbers on the window sticker. That said, wouldn't it at least make sense to offer start-stop as an option? Have your say in the Comments below.