New Fit hits the fuel-efficient spot

NEW YORK -- How's this sound: 30 to 40 real-world miles per gallon, modest price, fun to drive, distinctive-looking.

That sums up the redesigned 2009 Honda Fit on sale next week. Think Honda will have trouble selling the 85,000 a year it plans to get from Japan?

The Fit's not a hybrid -- which is the first question people asked at rest stops. But its window-sticker prices of $15,000 to $19,000 make it thousands of dollars cheaper than hybrids (unless dealers start marking up Fit's prices, just because they can, in this climate of fuel-price hysteria).

The test cars delivered 30 to 40 mpg without any attempt to conserve -- indeed with much sampling of full-throttle acceleration. That's better than government fuel-economy ratings for the car. Remarkable.

The testers were preproduction models, but Honda says they were built to production ...