The days of having to wait for a new model to roll out across different regions may be over. Honda is using its regional R&D centers to help speed up introduction times for the next-generation Fit, something that could become the norm over the next few years.

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A weakening yen and a rebounding economy have occurred just in time for Honda. The auto maker is opening its first new Japanese plant in 49 years, bucking a trend by Japanese auto makers of opening new plants in every locale but Japan.

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Pardon the awful pun in the title. Honda released this sketch of a new small crossover, presumably based on the next-generation Fit. It will debut at the 2013 North American International Auto Show and have nothing in common with the Brazilian Fit crossover-thingy.

Apparently, Honda invited some journalists to Japan so they could go check out new technology carefully packaged into existing cars, lest anyone reveal super-secret things like what the next Acura RL looks like. No matter, we’ve got everything below.

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TTAC’s fascination with all things Chinese mandates that we get our hands on the first Chinese car to be sold on North American shores, lest we betray our mandate. That first example happened to come from Honda – and the Made In China Fit you see here might be the one vehicle most true to the company’s roots.

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Honda is hoping that the next-generation Fit subcompact will see its volume nearly triple, going from 64,000 units per year to 200,000 by 2016.

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Today was a historic day in my automotive life; I drove my first Chinese car.

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Can’t bear the thought of another faux crossover? Too bad, we’re probably getting something like this when the next-generation Fit rolls around.

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Three years ago, I was counting down the days until Honda tossed me the keys to their Formula Red S2000 press car. Times have changed, and so have I. Honda doesn’t have anything remotely that cool in their lineup, and I’m getting excited to drive the first Chinese car from a major OEM to be sold on our shores. Yes, it comes from the Big H.

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Just-Auto is reporting that Honda will cease UK production of the Jazz (aka our Fit)

“to benefit from production economies of scale and fully [use] Honda’s global production resources”.

So, where are they going to come from?

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All the complaints about Japan being a “closed market” are hogwash; look at all the imports coming in to Japan from places like Thailand, Malaysia and China.

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Yes, we at TTAC may be heralding the imminent departure of Suzuki in the United States, but figures compiled by industry stalwart Just-Auto show that Suzuki isn’t doing too badly in their home market of Japan – in fact, they may even eclipse Nissan.

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Despite accounting for an incredibly small percentage of new car sales in America, the EV is all the rage in California. Rather than starting from scratch and designing an all-new car from the ground up (like Nissan), Honda chose the more economical route and electrified the second-generation Honda Fit. On the surface, the recipe sounds like a slam dunk, since the Fit is one of Honda’s most attractive and most fun to drive models now on sale. To prove to the masses that Honda has what it takes to go green, they flew me out to Pasadena to sample the all-new, all-blue Fit EV.

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Even though 85 percent of Hondas sold in North American are built on the continent, the strong yen is hurting the company’s Japanese exports to the point where Honda is losing money on them.

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