[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by Metallicar

I think the Abarth dealers currently being shown on the website are for competizione. Not launching something like this in Mumbai does not seem to be possible.

Yeah. Mumbai should have one dealer. Actually, we been considering upgrading the Punto for a while now. Hoping to get a decent exchange for it since most car dealerships frown when asked the exchange value of a 5 yr old Petrol Punto.

Incase you/anyone comes to know about the dealer in Mumbai, do let me know. Convincing the folks would be much easier if they offered a nice buy back value.

Edit - I think the Abarth will only be booked in Fiat caffes. If so, will booking one in Bangalore or any other place and asking to deliver it at any Mumbai dealer work? It'll definitely be a downer if Fiat doesn't open an Abarth dealer in Mumbai.

[rav11stars]

Did it just dawn on me that this is an Abarth and so will be sold only at the 5 odd Abarth dealerships across the country; or because this is a Punto will this be sold across all FIAT dealerships?

[NFS2024]

Originally Posted by keroo1099

People like you or me, or for that matter anyone on TeamBHP are a really minuscule part of the car buying community, so it really doesn't matter what we want.

Sir - we are not talking about a Maruti or a Hyundai here and we know they can ignore some of the market needs and still sell cars.

We are talking about a manufacturer that is in doldrums in the market and if they do not want to listen to the few customers (happy or otherwise ) they have, well we know what will happen.

If Fiat wants to sell cars in the Indian market, the first and foremost thing they have to do is get the Linea and Punto off the shelf, doesn't matter in what avatar they're launched ( sports, abarth, elegante, Tjet etc etc). They were good cars in their own ways, but the time is up.

Fiat needs that one all NEW god damn car which the Indian public can identify with and be happy about it.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by NFS2024

Fiat needs that one all NEW god damn car which the Indian public can identify with and be happy about it.

Actually, I'll beg to differ. We should be thankful they are selling cars at all! Once had a talk with a Fiat guy and he said that selling engines is their main business. A company selling that many engines will definitely not bother about making cars as well (purely from financial aspect).

Also Indian public is hard to please. So it'll be very tough to just dump existing cars and launch new ones. And if they go as per mass market trends they'll definitely lose the Fiat charm that we enthusiasts love.

[nikhil0405]

+1. I hope Fiat keeps their car characteristics intact. Not many driver oriented cars to choose from in their price bracket.

[keroo1099]

Originally Posted by NFS2024

SFiat needs that one all NEW god damn car which the Indian public can identify with and be happy about it.

I suggest you read The latest Autocar India issue which has an article about FIAT's plans for India. I don't see the new car you are hoping for in the near future.

[rsidd]

The thing to note is that Fiat's sales have been comparatively steady -- the Punto has consistently been in the 500-1000 per month range (sometimes a bit over) for 5 years, unlike the Fabia, Figo, Micra, Pulse, Brio, Spark, Beat etc that have been yo-yoing wildly. The Linea was not as successful as I'm sure they hoped for. But given that Fiat's financials are sound, it makes sense for them to push proven platforms to a relatively small number of enthusiasts rather than spend huge money on a cheap India-specific no-frills car like the Datsun Go that ends up being a flop. (I'm sure someone will point out that the Go sells a little more than the Punto but what matters is revenue and not sales. The lower-end you go the tighter your margins.)

[RavenAvi]

The Punto Evo Abarth has been caught at a dealership, hinting of a possible launch in the next week or so.

FCA India is yet to announce the price of the Abarth Punto Evo, however reports estimate it to cost around INR 9.9 lakhs, ex-Showroom. Certain dealerships have also started accepting bookings for the car for INR 20,000.

IAB

[neil.jericho]

The Fiat Caffe in Domlur had a camouflaged Punto with the hashtag whoamI on the side. Interesting choice of marketing.

[thesilentone]

From the above pictures, I am not able to see the scorpion alloys unless I am mistaken. Are we going to get two versions of the Abarth Punto with different specifications at different price points?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

The Fiat Caffe in Domlur had a camouflaged Punto with the hashtag whoamI on the side. Interesting choice of marketing.

Without any camouflage also, people often ask me 'which car is this'.

Punto is not known to people, forget Abarth. Subtle marketing strategies won't work. They need to create a wave through the media about the performance aspect of the car.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

The Fiat Caffe in Domlur had a camouflaged Punto with the hashtag whoamI on the side. Interesting choice of marketing.

Originally Posted by thesilentone

From the above pictures, I am not able to see the scorpion alloys unless I am mistaken. Are we going to get two versions of the Abarth Punto with different specifications at different price points?

Nice catch. The question is - is this a marketing exercise or is it 1.5 MJD under the hood?

--Anoop

[rav11stars]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Without any camouflage also, people often ask me 'which car is this'.

Punto is not known to people, forget Abarth. Subtle marketing strategies won't work. They need to create a wave through the media about the performance aspect of the car.

yeah, they have to do a "Creta" with the marketing; Create a mind-numbing ad with the car racing madly, conquering corners, overtaking other cars, ducking boulders falling on the highway and what not.

To top it off make sure that two or three Abarth Puntos topple off(even though it's difficult ) on prominent highways; have confused villagers stand around them as if it's a meteor that has crashed and share those pics on social networking.

Advertise that it returns an average of 30km with a small * stating somewhere that it's per three liters. Forget the enthusiasts, before they even realize the general public would've overbooked and bought the Abarth.

[schakravarthy]

A few more pics of the car with an identity crisis.











(Pics shared by Nadeem. PC: Tauseef)

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by schakravarthy

A few more pics of the car with an identity crisis.

Interesting marketing idea with the camouflage but it pains to see a beautiful matte grey car dressed as a chessboard.
They should have used the scorpion alloys and covered it somehow instead of using wheels from a 2012 Fiat Punto
But overall, seems like Fiat will launch it at the promised date; This must be a first in Fiat's current innings