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Old 9th October 2008, 15:23   #121
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I guess there should be a poll to see actually how many potential Linea buyers have almost zero ed on New Honda City. Anyways this thread is not leading anywhere. We already have two other threads for Linea/Fiat bashing.
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Old 9th October 2008, 15:47   #122
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I for one was totally bowled over by the Linea's looks after I saw it in the last autoexpo. even made up my mind that if priced and speced well , this would be my next car

with the ANHC, it seems to be a more tempting proposition !
but then things have changed a lot since then,
stock markets crashed - almost eroding all my savings
interest rates shot through the roof !!

i might as well continue with my beloved OHC for longer ..

...UNTIL i saw the pics of the LANCER X GEN in some auto mag !! drool drool and there is a diesel option supposedly !cheers:
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Old 9th October 2008, 16:00   #123
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Originally Posted by JayD View Post
What's the point of having all that qualities in a car that is not gonna get launched here??. And even if they launch it here, the will screw up something in the car for sure like what they they did with the interiors of the palio stile, and also, fumble up with the pricing, and the icing on the cake would be the crap A.S.S by them!! Perfect recipie for success dont u think??

At least others are launching better products, ('tin cans' in your view) while The Builder of 'Tanks' just sit and watch their market being eaten away!!. Why?? That's all these losers can do!!
Since they are TANKS, they are sitting in one place .
Yes, the FIAT is going to lose this time too though they had all the hype and has/had set lot of expectations. They will surely be losers.
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Old 9th October 2008, 19:38   #124
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Yeah even I am launching a car it will cost 4 Lacs on Road will be a sedan , have 6 airbags 1.6 ltrs diesel engine @ 128 bhp leather interiors , auto box rear view camera alloy wheels and 8 speaker stereo it will come in Nov. ( now don't ask the year )
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Old 9th October 2008, 21:21   #125
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Originally Posted by 1100D View Post
The question is now about Linea, will it represent a substantial improvement for the buyers to overlook the competition. To have a fair idea of what to expect we can actually start gauging by the sister of Fiat Sedici.
The SX4? I don't think thats really fair.
For one its a diff segment, and secondly its a good car thats just been messed up by Maruti's mass-market mentality aka poor quality control.
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Old 10th October 2008, 07:02   #126
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..... will be a sedan , have 6 airbags 1.6 ltrs diesel engine @ 128 bhp leather interiors , auto box rear view camera alloy wheels and 8 speaker stereo...
Add to that list with something called BLUE AND YOU!!
This technology will make the buyers of the car go blue everytime they take it to a service centre!
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Old 10th October 2008, 11:36   #127
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They dont need to launch it. Honda City has taken the game away.
I think I have read a couple more comments that are similar to the one above and frankly, I think such comments are among the most ridiculous ones I have read on this forum. The City is just another C segment sedan not some Ferrari or Porsche that we have to go "Hail Honda" for it. Lets go one step further and ask Maruti , Hyundai , Ford and GM to withdraw their SX4 , Verna , Fiesta and Aveo cars from the market. Let's also make a petition to Toyota , Nissan/Renault , VW asking them not to bother launching any sedans since the G3HC is here and thats all that we need.

Linea would never have outsold the City even if it was launched months before it. Even Fiat knows that. When, Hyundai with their petrol and diesel Verna, can't sell as much as the City, when Maruti with their years of topping CSI survey's and most widespread sales and service network can't sell half as many SX4's as Honda sells NHC's then what chance does a company with a tattered reputation have against the G3HC.

Last edited by amit : 10th October 2008 at 11:39.
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Old 10th October 2008, 11:54   #128
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Linea would never have outsold the City even if it was launched months before it.
You're right amit. But had Fiat launched 'loaded Linea' with correct pricing ON TIME, it surely would've eaten sizable customers from Honda. After all in India, 'Blitzkrieg' tactic always works
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Old 10th October 2008, 11:55   #129
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Originally Posted by amit View Post
I think I have read a couple more comments that are similar to the one above and frankly, I think such comments are among the most ridiculous ones I have read on this forum. The City is just another C segment sedan not some Ferrari or Porsche that we have to go "Hail Honda" for it. Lets go one step further and ask Maruti , Hyundai , Ford and GM to withdraw their SX4 , Verna , Fiesta and Aveo cars from the market. Let's also make a petition to Toyota , Nissan/Renault , VW asking them not to bother launching any sedans since the G3HC is here and thats all that we need.

Linea would never have outsold the City even if it was launched months before it. Even Fiat knows that. When, Hyundai with their petrol and diesel Verna, can't sell as much as the City, when Maruti with their years of topping CSI survey's and most widespread sales and service network can't sell half as many SX4's as Honda sells NHC's then what chance does a company with a tattered reputation have against the G3HC.
Completely agree -- there are markets and then there are market leaders -- across segments. Every company has its own strengths and even weaknesses. Honda would have one too -- no business or organization is fool proof or not prone to any achilles heel which can bring it down.
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Old 10th October 2008, 12:29   #130
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Originally Posted by amit View Post
I think I have read a couple more comments that are similar to the one above and frankly, I think such comments are among the most ridiculous ones I have read on this forum.
No offense mate [and I agree with your segment contendor statements here]. But it must be said that nothing is more 'ridiculous' here than Fiat's strategies for India..

And I'm not a Fiat hater. I have given up waiting desperately for the GP.
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Old 10th October 2008, 13:53   #131
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Originally Posted by amit View Post
The City is just another C segment sedan not some Ferrari or Porsche that we have to go "Hail Honda" for it.
Amit

Perhaps you might want to revisit your signature in the light of this very valid comment?
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Old 10th October 2008, 20:56   #132
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Originally Posted by karanraheja View Post
I guess there should be a poll to see actually how many potential Linea buyers have almost zero ed on New Honda City.
*This is coming straight from the heart*
This is an interesting point by karanraheja. I wonder isn't it the same reason Fiat has intentionally delayed the launch of Linea. Like you me and everyone here, Fiat guys also know that ppl are waiting for Linea like anything but they still they decide to wait. One way of looking it is as most of us here saying they dont have business sense etc-etc , but the other way of looking at it is - They are smart enough to still hold their cards and thus they are still very much in game. Imagine if they would have launched the Linea on X pricing on 4th Sept and than Honda comes up with this great car for few extra thousands in this country where name sells more than quality of the product (I am not comparing Honda's quality - They are superb) . Linea might have lost the game upfront. For Fiat, Linea is probably the biggest card (Triumph card) and nothing wrong if they want to play safer. Officially the date is between sept-dec. and car is ready in sept but may be market is not.
I would say most of the persons who were waiting for Linea and have gone with ANHC, would have gone the same way even if Linea was launched on 4th of Sept. because of xyz valid reasons. But today, we don't know what price and feature tag Linea is going to have and the game is very much on. I am no car guru but If 2-3 weeks later Linea comes up with 6-7/8L price tag, It can still be a good competition. Yes, this theory has lots of assumption but thats what all of us doing here and then as I said in the start- It is coming straight from the heart. I am still waiting for GP
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Old 11th October 2008, 00:02   #133
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@kanwal: I tend to agree with you. Here we are bashing FIAT for their 'lack of business sense', but I would not gauge what FIAT is about to do by what they have done in the past. With Sergio Marchionne in the driving seat, and FIAT in a more secure position, I am still willing to give them as good a chance as anyone else.

Of course, this goes directly against my statements of a few months ago. I read Sergio Marchionne's interview where he said 'Ratan and I are friends first and businessmen second...'. I would read a *lot* into that. People at that level do not make such statements lightly
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Old 11th October 2008, 04:16   #134
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kanwal View Post
Imagine if they would have launched the Linea on X pricing on 4th Sept and than Honda comes up
I would like to imagine a scenario where the Linea was launched not on 4th Sep 08 but say 4th Jan 08.
Recall, since when are we anticipating that car.


Quote:
Originally Posted by amit View Post

Linea would never have outsold the City even if it was launched months before it.
It might not have outsold the City, but what it would have done is given a small first mover advantage. It would have sold more cars at its launch than now, when some of those buyers are looking at the Honda.

What those early sales would have done, is build an opinion about the car itself, which would have a better chance of penetrating the market in the following months. Linea wouldn't have remained an unknown quantity at the time of G3HC launch.

What now? When I mentioned City has taken the game away, it wasn't from the perspective that City will outsell the Linea (which it might in any case). The Game I was referring to was that Fiat needed to play to build reputation back. Now, even less number of people will give Fiat the chance to play that game.

Fiat's game is against itself not G3HC but its launch has just made that game a trifle difficult.

Last edited by 1100D : 11th October 2008 at 04:17.
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Old 11th October 2008, 08:25   #135
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The Grande Punto went on sale in Europe in 2005. Perhaps Fiat are waiting to replace it with a newer model in Europe, at which point they will ship all the used dies and jigs to India and finally start making it here.
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