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Old 16th September 2013, 16:33   #796
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Re: Fiat's India strategy revealed. Abarth, Jeep, new Linea & Punto coming. More insi

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Originally Posted by volkman10 View Post
There will be the Linea Classic also available in the market that will be lighter in weight and with lesser features than the existing Linea.
If I remember correctly, the existing Linea is already the heaviest vehicle in the segment. Does this mean that the face-lifted Linea will be even heavier? Or am I reading this wrongly, and the interpretation should be like Linea Classic will become lighter than the existing (currently sold) Linea? If latter, then how are they likely to achieve this? I was under the impression that the currently sold model will become Classic with no changes.

Last edited by Tats07 : 16th September 2013 at 16:36.
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Old 17th September 2013, 10:54   #797
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Hi all, Linea classic's launch seems very near. I got a call around 9.20 AM today from Fiat's dealer in Noida informing about a new model of Linea, "Linea Classic". I was half asleep so told him I already own a T-jet thus, not interested. He asked if the T-jet is running fine and then politely disconnected.

Can anyone (with good ties with the dealer) get additional details about Linea classic?
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Old 17th September 2013, 11:22   #798
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Re: Fiat's India strategy revealed. Abarth, Jeep, new Linea & Punto coming. More insi

There are not enough details out to really make an accurate call on this , there will be a difference in weight between the 2 vehicles but how much is not clear.

With certain features getting removed in the existing Linea - including mechanical changes as well , there will be a reduction of weight theoretically here - and the new one will be more loaded and hence heavier. "Heavier" ofcourse could be negligible when it comes to NET weight

If we take a cue from the Turkey specs for both the cars :-

Linea Facelift

Weight Range 1160 - 1290 Kg. 1160 is the 1.4 fire and 1290 is the 1.6 Multijet. The 1.3 Multijet is at 1185

Linea Classic

1160 for the Fire and 1185 for the Multijet 1.3

So no difference between the new one and the classic as far as the Fire and the 1.3 Multijet goes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tats07 View Post
If I remember correctly, the existing Linea is already the heaviest vehicle in the segment. Does this mean that the face-lifted Linea will be even heavier? Or am I reading this wrongly, and the interpretation should be like Linea Classic will become lighter than the existing (currently sold) Linea? If latter, then how are they likely to achieve this? I was under the impression that the currently sold model will become Classic with no changes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Biraj View Post
Hi all, Linea classic's launch seems very near. I got a call around 9.20 AM today from Fiat's dealer in Noida informing about a new model of Linea, "Linea Classic". I was half asleep so told him I already own a T-jet thus, not interested. He asked if the T-jet is running fine and then politely disconnected.

Can anyone (with good ties with the dealer) get additional details about Linea classic?
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Old 17th September 2013, 16:25   #799
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Re: Fiat's India strategy revealed. Abarth, Jeep, new Linea & Punto coming. More insi

I think the Classic is going to be launched on the 20th of this month.
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Old 17th September 2013, 19:59   #800
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Re: Fiat's India strategy revealed. Abarth, Jeep, new Linea & Punto coming. More insi

Quote:
Originally Posted by Biraj View Post
Hi all, Linea classic's launch seems very near. I got a call around 9.20 AM today from Fiat's dealer in Noida informing about a new model of Linea, "Linea Classic".
I have booked Tjet Emotion on 30-Aug. Will i be getting Classic or current Tjet?
Speaking to sales executive of Aadya motors bangalore is waste of time.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kartik Kumar View Post
I think the Classic is going to be launched on the 20th of this month.
Can you please post a source of this information?

Last edited by djay99 : 17th September 2013 at 20:03.
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Old 17th September 2013, 20:12   #801
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djay99 View Post
Can you please post a source of this information?
I found this on YouTube , apparently the new linea is called the linea classic. I can't say for sure which model you'll be getting, but according to the rumours it's said that the linea classic wont be getting the t-jet (I maybe wrong here) but it'll get the 1.6D engine.

Don't you think this linea looks a bit more aggressive, toned down and muscular, the current linea looks elegant and beautiful.
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Old 17th September 2013, 20:30   #802
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Re: Fiat's India strategy revealed. Abarth, Jeep, new Linea & Punto coming. More insi

Quote:
Originally Posted by djay99 View Post
I have booked Tjet Emotion on 30-Aug. Will i be getting Classic or current Tjet?
Speaking to sales executive of Aadya motors bangalore is waste of time.
As per this article, Classic will get NA petrol engine. So, your's should be the current T-jet. Classic is expected to be a stripped down version at a lower price point.

Quote:
The Linea Classic is expected to retain the 1.4 liter normally aspirated petrol engine and the 1.3 liter Multijet turbo diesel engine.
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Old 17th September 2013, 22:42   #803
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djay99 View Post
I have booked Tjet Emotion on 30-Aug. Will i be getting Classic or current Tjet?
Speaking to sales executive of Aadya motors bangalore is waste of time.

Can you please post a source of this information?
This was a sales executive from one of the dealers here. Classic is supposed to be lower end Linea that will be cheaper.
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Old 17th September 2013, 22:46   #804
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Re: Fiat's India strategy revealed. Abarth, Jeep, new Linea & Punto coming. More insi

Linea classic is definitely going to launch on 20th sept.
Going to be aggressively priced .Prices might start from 6.5 lacs
active and dynamic variants .
only 75 hp.
90hp models will be sold till december.
New facelift linea might get launched in jan 2014
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Old 17th September 2013, 22:54   #805
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Originally Posted by nskumar View Post
Linea classic is definitely going to launch on 20th sept.
Going to be aggressively priced .Prices might start from 6.5 lacs
active and dynamic variants .
only 75 hp.
90hp models will be sold till december.
New facelift linea might get launched in jan 2014
This would mean that it will get the 1.2 FIRE engine instead of the 1.4 FIRE one. Same mistake as the 1.1 Palio.
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Old 17th September 2013, 22:55   #806
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Did anyone get a concrete information from fiat India regarding new launches. The dealer at Bhubaneswar has no info on this regard. All available info are not from a reliable source.
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Old 17th September 2013, 23:15   #807
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Re: Fiat's India strategy revealed. Abarth, Jeep, new Linea & Punto coming. More insi

As other members have pointed out, Linea classic is a stripped down version that is being developed to cater to the 'Cab /Taxi segment'. As per an internal study by Fiat India marketeers, the cab / taxi segment is still growing despite general de-growth in the passenger car segment. Fiat is right now negotiating a 1,000 car deal with one of the leading metro cities focussed cab company and they want to take out some numbers from Toyota Etios / Swift Dezire that are doing so well in this segment. Fiat India is quite confident about long term reliability of Linea and they feel that they can match the overall ownership cost of the 2 rivals in case they can scale up their volumes. This will also help them straddle both the C1 / C2 segments.
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Old 18th September 2013, 08:49   #808
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Re: Fiat's India strategy revealed. Abarth, Jeep, new Linea & Punto coming. More insi

Quote:
Originally Posted by nmo View Post
As other members have pointed out, Linea classic is a stripped down version that is being developed to cater to the 'Cab /Taxi segment'. As per an internal study by Fiat India marketeers, the cab / taxi segment is still growing despite general de-growth in the passenger car segment. Fiat is right now negotiating a 1,000 car deal with one of the leading metro cities focussed cab company and they want to take out some numbers from Toyota Etios / Swift Dezire that are doing so well in this segment. Fiat India is quite confident about long term reliability of Linea and they feel that they can match the overall ownership cost of the 2 rivals in case they can scale up their volumes. This will also help them straddle both the C1 / C2 segments.
Hmm, a very unexpected development. If FIAT are actually doing this, I have to say that the management has finally woke up from its perennial slumber and got down to business.

A FIAT Linea, with basic features, wont be a very bad taxi option. Its got good reliabilty, very good build quality, and most of all it ages very well. And as most taxi operators like their cars to run on and on very years, a 5-6 year old FIAT Linea taxi with 3L kms on the odo will almost surely be in much better shape than most other cars. Rear seat space may not be great, but boot space is fantastic. The 75hp 1.3MJD may be enough for city use, as well as returning good mileage. Hope they can lose 50-100kgs of the weight as well. Also, a Linea even basic spec will give a more premium feel compare to the Etios, Dzire etc, allowing the cab operator to attract a few customers.

But most of all, the best thing if Linea taxis show up will be to allow a bigger section of the car buying population to experience a Linea. It will be like large number of people going on test drives in Linea. And that should help sell a few more FIATs in the showrooms.

If they can price a basic Linea diesel at around the 6.5-7L ex-showroom price, an agressive marketing may just make it a decent success in the growing city cab segment. The Linea is pretty popular in Europe as a city cab.

Last edited by julupani : 18th September 2013 at 08:54.
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Old 18th September 2013, 09:05   #809
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Re: Fiat's India strategy revealed. Abarth, Jeep, new Linea & Punto coming. More insi

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kartik Kumar View Post
This would mean that it will get the 1.2 FIRE engine instead of the 1.4 FIRE one. Same mistake as the 1.1 Palio.
nskumar was referring to the diesel engines, although he did not mention it explicitly. There is no point in getting the 1242 cc FIRE to India again, just for the Linea Classic. Linea Classic petrol will continue with 1.4 FIRE, if at all there is going to be a petrol version (if Linea Classic is aimed at taxi market, there is no point in having a petrol version after all).

I am afraid, Linea Classic will lose the safety features as well (ABS and airbags). Doesn't ABS itself weigh some 30 KGs? I remember comparing weights of first generation Swift Vdi, which had optional ABS.

Last edited by rohanjf : 18th September 2013 at 09:09.
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Old 18th September 2013, 09:10   #810
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@ Julupani I guess You are right. The biggest problem with fiat is the general perception about their cars. I recently booked a punto, and every person I gave the news admonished me for going with fiat.
None of them have ever sat in a punto/linea, yet know that they are not worth the price, not reliable, not long lasting and what not. Even I had similar perceptions before I test drove a punto and realised how much better a car it is as compared to the public perception.

Getting lineas in the taxi market would mean more people would have chance to see what the car is about and just as mentioned before would be similar to numerous people taking test drives.

I really hope fiat does well. These two cars deserve better fate.
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