"If we stripped all that out it would qualify," Miller told a University of Windsor marketing class. "But $1,000 for a human life?" The Fit consumes 6.5 litres of fuel every 100 km, which is the cutoff point for the new federal incentive to buy fuel-efficient cars. The Yaris consumes 6.3 l/km and qualifies for the money.

Most of the subcompact cars on the Canadian market -- which account for more than half of all sales in this country -- achieve mileage similar to the Fit.

Price of competition Honda, which prides itself on the tiny Fit's five-star U.S. crash safety rating, doesn't want to trade safety for sales, Miller told about 80 students and area automotive business people.

But it might have to.

"Do we give that up? I don't think from a corporate social responsibility point of view we should," he said of the five-star rating.

"But obviously to remain competitive we're giving it serious consideration." He said Honda can't afford to walk away from as many as 20,000 units of sales in a crucial segment of the business, handing them to its most important competitor. Honda doesn't lose many sales to the Detroit Big Three, mainly Toyota, he said.

"It's going to have an impact" on Honda's sales, he said of the federal incentives, although it is too early to tell how much.

Miller said the federal government's new green levies, or "feebates" as some have called its new taxes and rebates, may be too arbitrary to have the desired environmental effects on the marketplace.

Toyota, whose customers some analysts say stand to pick up the bulk of rebates from the new federal program, is the only automaker that has wholeheartedly endorsed the budget announcement.

Stephen Beatty, managing director of Toyota Canada Inc., told the same University of Windsor class on Monday that the company was delighted with the federal budget provisions.

The Toyota and Honda executives were invited to Windsor by professor Tony Faria, head of the school's automotive program, to speak to students.

Source: [url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=7357cc76-8db8-46d2-9b79-1659f938e8bb&k=23671]Vancouver Sun[/url]