Honda Fit - 2008 Review

I bought my 2008 Honda Fit in July '08 when gas for $4.00 a gallon. I wanted gas mileage as least as good as my 1998 Honda Civic EX coupe. It was still running great and working as my "dog car", 3 midsized hounds riding to a dog park three times a week. It's a bright blue baby SUV. I drove the Yaris and Matrix, but did not like the interiors but the roominess of the FITwas just right. I have the sports model so it has a spoiler and what else I'm not really sure. It's my first automatic in decades, but has the option of standard transmission so that's fun. My 88-year-old mother had been in a wheelchair for many months and could not easily get in and out of her Oldsmobile nor my Civic. The height of the Fit was perfect, much easier and her wheelchair fit easily in the rear storage area. I love it that I can fold down the back seats, really easily, and carry big things or lots of stuff. Last week I brought home a headboard from Goodwill that fit just perfectly. I do not allow my dogs in this car! This is my around-town car as well as the one I use for trips of up to 5 hours. The FIT is getting consistently 28 miles per gallon in town and up to 40 on the long hauls! Hate to admit it here, but when I'm on the interstate, I'm driving with the rest of the traffic and that means about 80 mph. Please do not tell the Florida Highway Patrol. Oh, why does it beat a hybrid? According to the research, if you drive with slow, easy starts and stick to posted speed limits, you'll get about the same gas mileage. But there are two other considerations: one is the initial cost which takes about 5 years of driving the hybrid to make it pay. The second one is about being green. Yes, we think hybrids support the environment and they do in terms of not emiting carbons, but did you know that the titanium for the batteries is strip-mined in Canada, then sent across the Pacific to Japan where they make the batteries, then shipped back to the factories here for installation? The carbon footprint of shipping alone undoes all the good of driving, say a Prius. So, be practical-buy a stick shift, start easy at the lights, accelerate smoothly, obey the posted speed limits, and wait until new tech comes along to give us cars that do not in some way contribute to hurting our biosphere. I hightly recommend the Honda FIT!