Honda Upgrades Fit’s Bumper to Improve Crash-Test Score

Honda Motor Co., targeting a U.S. sales boost in 2014’s final months, upgraded the new Fit hatchback to raise the vehicle’s score in a key crash test and will replace the bumpers on cars made before the design change.

The 2015 Fit, the smallest auto Honda sells in the U.S., rated “Good” in four crash categories by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and “Acceptable” in the Arlington, Virginia-based safety group’s “small-overlap” test. The car had received a “Marginal” rating in the latter category when first tested by IIHS in March.