Team-BHP > The Indian Car Scene


Reply
  Search this Thread
14,784 views
Old 18th July 2007, 12:03   #31
Team-BHP Support
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 14,841
Thanked: 27,797 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by sivadas View Post
Ajmat, you mean Fiat marketing head , right
No, Ferrari marketing head - an old friend of the forum. Do a search of the memmbers and see his posts
ajmat is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 12:07   #32
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,441
Thanked: 65 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by csentil View Post
Maybe keep your existing car as collateral before you take the Ferrari out for a spin.
They can take my Palio as a collateral. I wont mind. With the resale value they get out of selling it, they cant even afford a tire for the F430, let alone anything else that I end up damaging....

Last edited by deepakhon : 18th July 2007 at 12:08.
deepakhon is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 12:12   #33
Senior - BHPian
 
finneyp's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,716
Thanked: 319 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR View Post
I'd buy a TATA/FIAT car if they are willing to give F430 test drive.
Great idea Crazy!

Fiat India should come up with this offer soon:
"Buy a Palio and take a Test drive of Ferrari F430!"

Not a bad deal at all!
Atleast Palio sales will soar high bcoz of Ferrari coming to India!
finneyp is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 12:16   #34
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: N.A
Posts: 7,046
Thanked: 2,751 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by csentil View Post
Seems that TCS does a lot of software for the FIAT group and the fiat bosses are highly impressed with Ratan Tata.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mpower View Post
Must be the FIAT connection. Imagine walking into a TATA dealership to get your Ferrari oil change.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rubin2006 View Post
Tata motors may not be some thing to write about for Ferrari or to join it
But certainly Mr Ratan Tata is a very very big business leader in Europe
Mr. Ratan Tata sits on the Board of Directors for FIAT.
Steeroid is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 12:24   #35
Senior - BHPian
 
safari_lover's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Bengaluru / Bagdal
Posts: 1,134
Thanked: 685 Times

Will they allow me to test drive an F430 when I need to buy a Tata/Fiat vehicle? [/quote]

Now that's being optimist to the core
safari_lover is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 12:27   #36
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,441
Thanked: 65 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steeroid View Post
Mr. Ratan Tata sits on the Board of Directors for FIAT.
Yes. Going by these news, we can safely assume that he has in fact been able to influence the group in its decisions. He obviously sees a good business sense to bring in Ferrari and possibly Maserrati and Alfa to India. A sign of good cars to come. Good for us too, we can see some super cars in India, if not drive them.

Another subtle point: Mr. Ratan Tata has his say in automobiles ranging from the measly 1 lakh to a few crores!
deepakhon is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 12:39   #37
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 3,717
Thanked: 449 Times

So we are going to see Ferrari's parked next to Indica's soon? Maybe, Fiat thinks they can switch over a prospective Indica customer into buying a Ferrari!

I think a brand like Ferrari should be marketed independantly. It's too exotic a brand to be seen standing next to Indica's and Grande Punto's in the showroom. Besides, I hope the terms of the Ferrari-Tata agreement are different because a Ferrari owner will blow his top if he is going to get second class treatment compared to a Tata owner.

As for service, Ferrari might as well ship 5 entire underbodies with parts with every Ferrari to India.

Will a certain Mr. Tendulkar now ask for free lifetime service from Ferrari-Tata?
amit is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 12:42   #38
Distinguished - BHPian
 
theMAG's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Avon, CT
Posts: 7,217
Thanked: 1,806 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mpower View Post
Imagine walking into a TATA dealership to get your Ferrari oil change.

Perish Forbid. 2 things will happen then - Tata's image will go up; Ferrari's will come down; and both images will meet at a median
theMAG is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 13:37   #39
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,349
Thanked: 38 Times

Obviously, Ferrari will have an exclusive showroom. I don't see Indica's and F430's parked next to each other. Imagine every guy who goes to the showroom will want to get into the Ferrari.

Now, has anyone gone to a Porsche showroom and/or Merc showrooms. How do they judge whether you are a genuine customer or someone just out there to look at the cars.
csentil is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 13:48   #40
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: N.A
Posts: 7,046
Thanked: 2,751 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by amit View Post
I think a brand like Ferrari should be marketed independantly. It's too exotic a brand to be seen standing next to Indica's and Grande Punto's in the showroom.
I agree, and thats the only way it will be. Ferrari showrooms in most parts of the world are exclusive anyway - they dont even share space with Maserati.

And it better be that way in India. With service too - I wouldnt want to find out that the little red ramp I drove onto in the TASS workshop was actually someone's Ferrari
Steeroid is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 13:49   #41
Senior - BHPian
 
iraghava's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Bhaiyyaland
Posts: 8,033
Thanked: 263 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by amit View Post
So we are going to see Ferrari's parked next to Indica's soon? Maybe, Fiat thinks they can switch over a prospective Indica customer into buying a Ferrari!

I think a brand like Ferrari should be marketed independantly. It's too exotic a brand to be seen standing next to Indica's and Grande Punto's in the showroom.
There is absolutely no way that Ferrari's will be sold from the same showroom as Tata/Fiat. Expect a few boutique type showrooms to come up in some upscale location in the four metros soon. They will have a completely seperate Sales & Service setup from Tata for a number of reasons including the snob value factor.

Also imagine what'll happen if a mechanic generally used to the accelaration of Indica/Indigo's goes out to take a TD of the 430!
iraghava is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 13:51   #42
Senior - BHPian
 
Dippy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Mumbai, India
Posts: 7,554
Thanked: 2,438 Times

Tata might have their way but I feel its still just speculation . Whether it materializes or not is left to be seen. So many things are speculated these days but at the end of the day it goes off into think air.

Even if Tata do strike a deal with Maranello, they will definately have their exclusive dealership and it will take atleast year more to setup a showroom and service centre maybe more. After being in the market for a couple of years officially, its only now that Porsche is opening up a showroom.

I'm sure Ratan Tata the man that he is will ensure that he will keep the exclusivity of the Ferrari marque intact with state of the art facilities. I could spend endless time just watching the cars being serviced.

And oh I didnt have to buy a Fiat to test drive the F430
Dippy is online now  
Old 18th July 2007, 13:59   #43
BHPian
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: HYDERABAD
Posts: 244
Thanked: 22 Times

tata imho a true indian giant ready to take any challenge.and they do keep up to the promises made.quality issues are always there with tata vehicles....well arent there any issues with other manftr.Cut the jokes on test drives.by the way tata will not manufacture f430,it may be a similar tie up like thefiats but no shared garages....i feel proud that tata is atleast trying
trinadha is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 14:08   #44
Distinguished - BHPian
 
Sahil's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bombay
Posts: 6,291
Thanked: 7,593 Times

One step closer to my dream
Sahil is offline  
Old 18th July 2007, 14:20   #45
BHPian
 
WhiteKnight's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 996
Thanked: 659 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by csentil View Post
Now, has anyone gone to a Porsche showroom and/or Merc showrooms.
Oh yes, not in India though. First one I walked into was a Porsche` showroom in CA. I made it a hobby after that and I never had any bad experiences. But then, out of fear, my first visit was in a Corvette- don't think it mattered!

Now the world know that Indians make money too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by csentil View Post
How do they judge whether you are a genuine customer or someone just out there to look at the cars.
They don't really. There are many brands which makes people "aspire" for it. Point to note is, many would carry on with the dream and buy those one day. So, a true marketer, would always promote those aspirants to come in- he might not buy today, but would definitely do that tomorrow.

In India , things could be different, though. Indians seem to spend too much attention on what you wear, what you drive, kind of stuff. Recently, an MLA was denied permission to enter portico of a hotel in Trichur, because he arrived in an Ambassador!!!
WhiteKnight is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks