Honda Overhauls Fit Hatchback After Enlisting Supercar Designers

Tensions already ran high at Honda Motor Co. in October 2011, two months after Consumer Reports ridiculed the onetime favorite Civic as a substandard car, when President Takanobu Ito saw drawings of the next Fit. He ripped up the plans and summoned his top two designers.

“The design had no character and looked very much like its predecessor,” said Yoshinori Asahi, who co-designed Honda’s top-of-the line NSX supercar. “That made us worried about the future of the car.”