[21Archer84]

Originally Posted by ece2k2

I saw a Punto Abarth test car today. It was a 2 door model with nice looking alloys and there was a paper pasted in the dashboard that said "Special fuel".

Attached is a photo - sorry for the poor quality image.

Your catch is all over the web dude. Thanks for sharing in time.

[ece2k2]

Originally Posted by 21Archer84

Your catch is all over the web dude. Thanks for sharing in time.

It is my pleasure bro. And this is my first scoop too

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

...At the corporate strategy meet in Mumbai, Fiat made it amply clear that it only wants to cater to the enthusiast market of India. Fiat believes that ‘Petrolheads’ constitute 24% of car buyers in India and the Italian automakers will only focus on them...

Did they also mention which segments do these 24% petrolheads belong to? I believe that's a very important point to find out. And which all cars according to them belong to these petrolhead segments too?!

***********************************************

Well, some very good arguments on this thread. My questions:

1. What will be the average maintenance costs for the Abarth version? Do a lot of us think that only the initial cost be worried about, after that we can run the show by pea-nuts?

2. For people buying a premium Fiat, what extra goodies do the owners get? A premium service facility? If so, premium bills too?

3. Will the premium Fiat cars be worked upon by average skilled laborers (well, in a lot of A$$) ?

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Did they also mention which segments do these 24% petrolheads belong to? I believe that's a very important point to find out. And which all cars according to them belong to these petrolhead segments too?!

I don't think they gave any such breakup in the press statement, but I am guessing the whole data would have been compiled on some kind of market survey they might have done (or hired some agency to do it). I'll try to fish around the net if I can find anything more on this

1. What will be the average maintenance costs for the Abarth version? Do a lot of us think that only the initial cost be worried about, after that we can run the show by pea-nuts?

No idea at the moment about how much the Abarth maintenance costs will be in India, but one colleague of mine who had the Abarth Punto when he was in the UK, tells me the average service costs of an Abarth Punto are around 30-40% more than the maintenance costs of a regular Punto of the same age. He also mentioned that the servicing frequency was the same as that of any other normal road car (needless to say, same as regular Punto). In the UK, Abarth dealerships are different from Fiat dealerships, so they function as independent brands both for sales and for service.

To retain the brand exclusivity, I am guessing Fiat might branch off Abarth into separate showrooms here too, similar to what Bajaj did with KTM. If not that, at least they should keep Abarth within a separate section of the showroom, away from regular Fiats.

Since most of the parts, exterior and mechanical are shared with the regular Punto, I am guessing the maintenance costs should be quite sane, even if priced higher than the regular version.

2. For people buying a premium Fiat, what extra goodies do the owners get? A premium service facility? If so, premium bills too?

I am hoping they would at least have separate bays to service Abarths with a dedicated team of technicians trained to work on high performance cars, for their specific needs and traits. One particular dealer who was in the running for an Abarth dealership told me this is one main requirement of Fiat, for the dealership to have a dedicated team for Abarth cars.

3. Will the premium Fiat cars be worked upon by average skilled laborers (well, in a lot of A$$) ?

Lets hope that is not the case . If that happens, Fiat will be thrashed and bashed again, and they will deserve it then for making the same mistake multiple times.

[arvind71181]

Fiat to launch Grand Cherokee, Wrangler by October:

http://www.rediff.com/business/slide...t/20130320.htm

Nowhere in the link the month is mentioned though!!!

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Did they also mention which segments do these 24% petrolheads belong to? I believe that's a very important point to find out. And which all cars according to them belong to these petrolhead segments too?!

Bang on!!! For example Bangalore is known to be a Tuner's hub with a lot of so-called enthusiasts. But mostly they prefer buying a VTEC/Esteem/Zen and get them tuned/super tuned.

This weekend I got a chance to drive my friend's pimped up VTEC which runs ~150bhp setup currently. And believe me it was a Hoot to drive. Most of the parts are imported and still the cost he had to bear till now is <6 lakhs(inclusive of buying a used VTEC at ~2L)
I asked him whether he would like to spend ~13-14L on a brand new Abarth sort of car. His answer was a straight NO(Reason :Why should I spend twice/thrice the amount for similar performance?). And thats how mostly the middle class enthusiats think.

About 24% of market being enthusiasts. All I could say is FIAT is criminally mistaken

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

I asked him whether he would like to spend ~13-14L on a brand new Abarth sort of car.

Sorry if I missed it. Is the pricing for the Abarth products announced? If not, I think we are reading too much with our own assumptions.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Sorry if I missed it. Is the pricing for the Abarth products announced? If not, I think we are reading too much with our own assumptions.

+100. They have only announced that Abarth would be launched. Its the various magazines who have projected the price range of 8-9 lakhs for the car. FIAT definitely has not provided any price range.

Even before the official price announcement we are going too far ahead with the cost of the car and secondly how costly would the maintenance be.

I would definitely believe that the cost of ownership will definitely be far lesser than the used BMW as somebody has contemplated as another alternative to Abarth.

The other close alternative that one could think of is the 220 Bhp RS.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Bang on!!! For example Bangalore is known to be a Tuner's hub with a lot of so-called enthusiasts. But mostly they prefer buying a VTEC/Esteem/Zen and get them tuned/super tuned
....
I asked him whether he would like to spend ~13-14L on a brand new Abarth sort of car. His answer was a straight NO(Reason :Why should I spend twice/thrice the amount for similar performance?). And thats how mostly the middle class enthusiats think.

About 24% of market being enthusiasts. All I could say is FIAT is criminally mistaken

Excuse me, if someone doesn't buy a Fiat for the sake of driving enthusiasm than does it mean he/she is not enthusiast?

I see lot of comments in Fiat talks where some people consider only Fiat buyers as enthusiasts, and I consider that like abusing others.

What exactly Fiat given to this country, one frugal commuter engine and some underpowered cars, what else?

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Excuse me, if someone doesn't buy a Fiat for the sake of driving enthusiasm than does it mean he/she is not enthusiast?

I see lot of comments in Fiat talks where some people consider only Fiat buyers as enthusiasts, and I consider that like abusing others.

What exactly Fiat given to this country, one frugal commuter engine and some underpowered cars, what else?

I don't think anybody on this forum will say "Only Fiat buyers are enthusiasts and others are not". What most of the "Fiat enthusiasts" are trying to say is that they do have compelling reasons to chose a Fiat product despite there being concerns with A$$, resale value, and social stigma . Now, we can not go to roof top and shout about the fantastic dealer network or "kitna deti hai" so, all we can do is praise the ride quality, handling and how we all feel connected to the car (seriously, it can't be explained, only experienced). Now, on your point about underpowered cars - I would say they are adequately powered and the one I own (T-jet) has more than decent power. If going for a heavier, sturdier and safer car means losing out on a couple of BHPs, it's a decent tradeoff.

This video depicts how passionate, Fiat fans are about their cars. Listen to DB sir's comments. "The car is a member of my family". It's not about the Puntos or Lineas it started way earlier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXKCdG-Lg28

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Excuse me, if someone doesn't buy a Fiat for the sake of driving enthusiasm than does it mean he/she is not enthusiast?

I see lot of comments in Fiat talks where some people consider only Fiat buyers as enthusiasts, and I consider that like abusing others.

Where did somebody mention that the person who drives only a FIAT is enthusiast? FIAT would have definitely done some research to arrive at that 24% may be in the B+ segment where Punto is currently being sold. What is wrong in a company quoting what they think is a target market.

What exactly Fiat given to this country, one frugal commuter engine and some underpowered cars, what else?

Very True, FIAT has given nothing more than a frugal engine where every other manufacturing is sitting at FIAT's doorstep to get their quota and secondly again true on the underpowered cars that have provided which ride and handle better than the cars in its segment, which provides a cocooned feeling because of the build and last but not the least puts a smile everytime you drive it.

I would be really dissappointed with FIAT the day they provide a tin can just for the sake of "kitna deti hai"

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Excuse me, if someone doesn't buy a Fiat for the sake of driving enthusiasm than does it mean he/she is not enthusiast?

I see lot of comments in Fiat talks where some people consider only Fiat buyers as enthusiasts, and I consider that like abusing others.

What exactly Fiat given to this country, one frugal commuter engine and some underpowered cars, what else?

Funny- you complain about abuse, and then fling a big abuse back.

Anyways, I agree with you- There is no proper definition for this term 'enthusiast'. You are free to have your opinion, others are free to have theirs. FIAT and its owners should refrain from using it, though. I mean- how can they call themselves enthusiasts and abuse other car owners? Blasphemy!

FIAT has launched three cars till date. Palio family, Punto and Linea- in which they had the legendary GTX, T-Jet and now ABARTH. I agree with your view totally again- what have they provided other than commuter engines and under-powered cars!

[amit_mechengg]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Bang on!!! For example Bangalore is known to be a Tuner's hub with a lot of so-called enthusiasts. But mostly they prefer buying a VTEC/Esteem/Zen and get them tuned/super tuned.

This weekend I got a chance to drive my friend's pimped up VTEC which runs ~150bhp setup currently. And believe me it was a Hoot to drive. Most of the parts are imported and still the cost he had to bear till now is <6 lakhs(inclusive of buying a used VTEC at ~2L)
I asked him whether he would like to spend ~13-14L on a brand new Abarth sort of car. His answer was a straight NO(Reason :Why should I spend twice/thrice the amount for similar performance?). And thats how mostly the middle class enthusiats think.

About 24% of market being enthusiasts. All I could say is FIAT is criminally mistaken

So if one can get a 150 BHP car in 6-8 lacs , going by your logic why does one need to even buy a premium hatch like i20 or honda city or vento?
Why buy a new car at all. Get a old car and go to some tuner and pimp it.

Also keep in mind the pain and errors associated by relying on the tuner. The best of the tuners in India had rendered our forum members brand new mitsubishi with a blown out engine.

Comparing a Out of factory performance car to a after market pimped ride by some of the tuners down south or up north is criminal.

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

What exactly Fiat given to this country, one frugal commuter engine and some underpowered cars, what else?

Which manufacturer are you comparing this with? The FIAT engine helps maruti outsell all other diesels.
Underpowered - are you comparing 0-100 timings? Yes they may be slow on that front because of the weights and 1st and 2nd gear ratios.
Once the intertia is overcome and the car is already rolling check the 20-80 or 20-100 timings. Check below, the cars which you call underpowered may blow off other cars
Also note that the Fiat cars can handle the full top speed of 185 kmph with easy and without any fuss. Many cars cant hold beyond 130-140kmph without giving nervousness to the driver.

[swami.n]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Excuse me, if someone doesn't buy a Fiat for the sake of driving enthusiasm than does it mean he/she is not enthusiast?

I see lot of comments in Fiat talks where some people consider only Fiat buyers as enthusiasts, and I consider that like abusing others.

What exactly Fiat given to this country, one frugal commuter engine and some underpowered cars, what else?

I think you have mistaken his comments here. He never mentions that, those who opt for non Fiat vehicles are not enthusiasts. All he says is, any middle class person, who also happens to be an enthusiast would shy away from a 14 lakh Fiat and rather settle for a much cheaper option.

Further more, I would say that owning a Fiat is in lot ways similar to owning an Enfield, as I owned both. Both come with a lot of little niggles attached, but its more connected to the heart than the brain. The feelings only have to be realized and cannot be explained.

[amit_mechengg]

Originally Posted by swami.n

Further more, I would say that owning a Fiat is in lot ways similar to owning an Enfield, as I owned both. Both come with a lot of little niggles attached, but its more connected to the heart than the brain. The feelings only have to be realized and cannot be explained.

100% agree with you. Sometimes i keep thinking why do i cherish my Fiat more than other cars i own.
People call Fiat owners as Fiat Fanboys - do they even think why does one become a fan of a particular car even after the pain the A.S,S gave them?

I own a Vento, Linea, Vista, Alto and a Safari. One car that does not bore me even after 2.5 years is my Linea. Daily i walk down the stairs and when i have a look at her she pleases me so much. I hold the steering and i feel so relaxed, i drive through nerve breaking traffic still i feel fresh when i reach my office 30kms far away, when i shut the door, the thud reminds me that i am safe in a coocoon. When i have a blast on the highway she says " Come on lets rock" , she hugs the road so firm.