Honda Fit named Japanese Car of the Year

The second-generation Honda Fit (a.k.a. Jazz in some markets outside the U.S.) has been named Japan's Car of the Year. Reuters reports that the little Honda hatchback beat out such heavyweights as the new Nissan Skyline (a.k.a. Infiniti G37 in the U.S.) and the new Subaru Impreza. Chosen by a 60-member panel comprised mainly of automotive journalists, the Car of the Year award in Japan has gone to Honda five times in the last 10 years. Last year's winner was the new Lexus LS sedan. You can check out the entire list of past winners here on Wikipedia. While we in the U.S. aren't able to purchase the new Fit yet, it's on sale in Japan and flying off the lot. Expected to sell around 12,000 units per month initially, Honda sold more than 20,000 in the car's first two weeks of availability. The new Fit's larger size and smoother looks should help it find a few more buyers in the U.S. as well when it goes on sale sometime next yea