It’s the start of another week in quarantine and with all of us stuck indoors, there are still a few things we can do to sate our car lust. We can finally get around to finishing (or starting) that COVID project. We can fire up Gran Turismo Sport and scream down Brazil’s Autodrómo De Interlagos in a BMW Vision Gran Turismo. Or we could binge a show for the cars alone. Might I share a recommendation?
If you want a little more passive entertainment, you can follow Bradley Brownell’s advice and start binging the excellent Long Way Up. You could also hit up Queen’s Gambit for some Chaika content. Another show that has not gotten the attention it deserves is the hilarious Nora from Queens. It’s got it all! Workplace drama. Good food. A supportive and loving gran-gran. Oh, and it has this:
And, amid an inexplicable change to a second-gen model later on, this:
Lemme hear you say VTEC!
Just look at all the farkles. Flame-lick paint job: Check. What are those… SSR Wheels? SSR knockoffs?: Check. Sensibly Slammed: Check. Vans Yellow Lens Spray: Check. Yakima roof rack: Check.
Looking at her Fit, I can’t help but get an air of the Civic SiR hatchback. If only for a moment. And even though Nora’s Honda has been given the Hot Wheels treatment, I think it’s a little tongue-in-cheek. We are free to be in on the joke. This is a caricature. That doesn’t stop me from being all about this little hatch. I can’t get enough of it and wish it was the focal point of more of the season’s episodes.
It looks like a very comfortable ride for either city or highway driving, with plenty of interior volume for people and cargo. It’s a Honda, so you know it’s reliable and thrifty. And one variant of its L-series engine even went on to power another Honda model, the Integra. But not the one you’re thinking. This one:
The NC700D Integra maxi-scooter is outfitted with a partial transplant from the Honda Fit. That scoot’s parallel-twin is, famously, an L-series engine nearly cut in half and adapted to its two-wheel chassis. That’s not a bad pedigree for an engine.
The overall point here is that Nora’s pride and joy is in no need of additional bona fides. It’s an enthusiast’s car, through and through. As far as I’m concerned, the Fit is a part of the cast of this great show and it says something about who Nora from Queens is. To borrow a phrase, she’s one of us.