[prokinetic]

What's the latest news on linea? The website still has it up there. New cars are being produced or has it been axed?

[adneo]

Originally Posted by prokinetic

What's the latest news on linea? The website still has it up there. New cars are being produced or has it been axed?

Just got hold of the latest stock report today. According to the data, a total of 19 Lineas have been manufactured in 2017. But the bad news is no TJet yet. Only 1.4 Fire and 1.3 MJD versions.

[superutp]

Strange, when I went to the KHT fiat showroom and the other one on Hosur road (Bangalore) last saturday I was told that a March manufactured Linea 125s would be available and the waiting period was 15 days. Both dealers said the same. Hosur road one was giving discounts on the 2016 manufactured ones and limited discount on the 2017 ones.

I had missed out on this thread earlier, now after going through it I am unsure whether it makes sense to go for new Fiat!

[Wildy]

Originally Posted by adneo

Just got hold of the latest stock report today. According to the data, a total of 19 Lineas have been manufactured in 2017. But the bad news is no TJet yet. Only 1.4 Fire and 1.3 MJD versions.

As per my SA, they have abandoned 1.4 FIRE. He said, whatever they are selling are purely leftovers.

[adneo]

Originally Posted by superutp

Strange, when I went to the KHT fiat showroom and the other one on Hosur road (Bangalore) last saturday I was told that a March manufactured Linea 125s would be available and the waiting period was 15 days. Both dealers said the same. Hosur road one was giving discounts on the 2016 manufactured ones and limited discount on the 2017 ones.

I had missed out on this thread earlier, now after going through it I am unsure whether it makes sense to go for new Fiat!

I have been waiting for a 2017 manufactured Linea 125s for 2 months now and i have had my share.of stories from the dealers. Same standard 15/20 days story. It seems Fiat has a habbit of misguiding the dealers or keeping them in the dark about the latest developments.
I got hold of the latest stock report yesterday and there have been no Linea TJets manufactered till date in 2017.

Originally Posted by Wildy

As per my SA, they have abandoned 1.4 FIRE. He said, whatever they are selling are purely leftovers.

May be the one's in the stock report were for export markets like Nepal.

[QuilonSpitfire]

Abarth 500 is an amazing little car. I was lucky to do a test drive last year. The gear lever's position is spot on!! But the rear seats are very cramped even for a 5'7" guy like me.
May be Fiat should also consider bringing in the Chrysler and Dodge brand (Charger, challenger, dart, durango & 200, 300) . They might not sell in huge numbers but might ramp up a few sales.

[aditya.bhardwaj]

I just got to know that the Ohkla dealership cum service centre ( Kashyap Fiat ) has been shut . This was a shocking news as this was the closest to my home. Now i guess only one service centre is left i.e Kashyap Fiat in Noida.

The ex service head told me that there was some issue with the dealership and Fiat and they decided to shut it down completely and are now planning to open a multi brand service centre at the same location.

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by superutp

I had missed out on this thread earlier, now after going through it I am unsure whether it makes sense to go for new Fiat!

Even though I have been a FIAT car owner since last 12 years, I would say this is not the right time to buy a new FIAT. I was in market for Abarth couple of months back but the best deal I could get was on 2015 manufactured car and then no Abarth is manufactured in 2017. I let go that offer and it looks like FIAT is in no mood to manf Abarth now.

The whole energy and plant attention is on JEEP and I would not be surprised if FCA drops FIAT emblem from India altogether. I love FIAT but it just does not make sense to buy a new FIAT car now.

[superutp]

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

Even though I have been a FIAT car owner since last 12 years, I would say this is not the right time to buy a new FIAT. I was in market for Abarth couple of months back but the best deal I could get was on 2015 manufactured car and then no Abarth is manufactured in 2017. I let go that offer and it looks like FIAT is in no mood to manf Abarth now.

The whole energy and plant attention is on JEEP and I would not be surprised if FCA drops FIAT emblem from India altogether. I love FIAT but it just does not make sense to buy a new FIAT car now.

Appreciate your advice. When I asked the Sales exec about the future of Fiat he assured me that they are going to double the dealerships within a year or so and there would be no issues etc, of course because of the Jeep attention and launch the Compass soon. Also, 2018 will see the launch of new FIATs basically replacements of the Linea/Punto probably. (probably it was just part of their sales pitch).
The attitude of the showroom was very neutral- but fairly obvious that they were gearing for big times with the JEEP brand.
On the other hand, the other Showroom on Hosur road was pretty dead- no TD car for the 125S and not a single person in the showroom. The service center was bustling with Puntos and Lineas though.

[himanshugoswami]

After a long time, I heard an ad for Fiat on FM yesterday. It was extolling the virtues of the safety aspect. Some dude saying how he met with a crash on the expressway at 100 kph but walked out unhurt because he was driving a Fiat. I was quite taken aback to hear this ad since one hardly sees any advertising by Fiat nowadays.

[King_pin09]

Originally Posted by Skyline_GT

Cannot completely blame Fiat for the disastrous run they have had all these years. The general populace of our nation has always followed the herd mentality.
While Japs/Koreans are known for products that are reliable and cheap ,the European/Germans have always sold cars that fall a little back in terms of reliability but are a lot more solid, well built and engineered and truly value for money as they age gracefully.

People flocking to a particular brand; Well, you may call it herd mentality, but I would rather call it as a testimony for unbroken promises.

If a person is investing his hard earned money, he needs to be assured of returns in form of durability and reliability in the long run, and what better way than the feedback from actual users. You may appreciate it is impossible that thousands of people buy Japanese/ Korean cars each month (and continue to do so for as long as 20 years), just without giving any second thought. Even if someone buys a car under the influence of “Herd-Mentality” as you call it, it would not take him much longer to regret his decision and advise other “herd buyers”, to steer clear of these brands. To the contrary the Japanese and Koreans have been reporting steady year on year increase in sale volumes whereas the Europeans are dwindling at a rapid pace. This speaks volumes about the way our market reacts to these manufacturers separately.

After having invested substantial money in a car, getting stranded in the mid of nowhere and having no service centre nearby, would be the last thing I would expect. This followed by the lordly attitude of the service centres would only aggravate the matter. This is exactly the grey area for which the European cars viz., VW, Skoda, et-al are infamously known for.

Sir, ‘fun-to-drive’, ‘pushed-into-the-seat’ and ‘air-in-the-hair’ experience are not the needs of everyone who buys a car. For majority of Car owners years of trouble free service when driven at sane speeds is of prime concern (count me as one of them).

Coming to the point of "aging gracefully", I would rather say it all depends on how well the owner drives and maintains the vehicle. What do you say about people who have been driving their M-800, Omnis and Esteems since ages. I do still see on regular basis plenty of old Innova, Honda city ZX, Old Accent, Santro Zip, Maruti Zen, etc, that were discontinued about a decade or so earlier and still plying on our roads

[lejhoom]

Here's an SMS I received yesterday, in Hyderabad.

Dear sir/mam, We are pleased to announce launch of Mopar Care 24*7-RoadSide Assistance(RSA)Program for your Fiat Car. This program covers all your Mechanical and Accidental Breakdown.Please enroll For 1year coverage @Rs.1499/-
2 yrs coverage @Rs.2499/-
For more detail pls call on 7729985528.

Regards,
AV Motors

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by khoj

It's deal time....
Now, it's your turn to have some fun.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

... However, you may not want to let the car go unless its a lemon...

Originally Posted by Lij

...

Originally Posted by theredliner

...

Thought I'd update you guys since you all were very prompt with your replies. I just picked up a pre-owned October 2015 Abarth Punto with 32,XXX km on the odometer for the price of a Hyundai Grand i10 .

I've got a photoshoot planned the next weekend. Will share the pictures then.

[methecupid]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Thought I'd update you guys since you all were very prompt with your replies. I just picked up a pre-owned October 2015 Abarth Punto with 32,XXX km on the odometer for the price of a Hyundai Grand i10 .

I've got a photoshoot planned the next weekend. Will share the pictures then.

😊 I think I was looking at the same too. But glad you picked it up, this is one unique car and requires a lot of TLC to own one. Congratulations

[volkman10]

FCA -India bets big on JEEP and more specifically on the Compass. The company plans hinges on the success of this model. If successful it would prove to the HQ that it can operate profitably and confidence will be instilled in bringing new architecture and models
to India for FIAT.

Jeep Compass code named '556' is built on the' new small wide' platform of Chrysler. Since FIAT badged products are late into their life cycle, work is on to revive more products on the Compass platform.

Renegade (code named " 526") will follow in 2019, while also weighing the option of a FIAT badged SUV on this ' new small wide platform
The next option is the FIAT "X3U "'architecture for a hatchback, sedan and SUV.
With lots of investments needed for the above, approval is not yet obtained, despite the studies have been done a long time back.

So the last option for FIAT is to do a small SUV - a smaller offshoot of the 'new small wide platform ', do a small Jeep and use the same architecture for FIAT labelled cars.

In summary we will not get FIAT ARGO, X6S nor the Tipo, and most probably FIAT will be extinct here and FCA will concentrate in brand JEEP.

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