What should FIAT do to reverse its downfall?Give your opinions..

lamborghini · 18th February 2005, 17:18

hey merve and GTO
ven if it launces the panda and stilo(not possible too expensive), will they do well here
the palio was an awesome car andwas taking fiat up to the top but then they were slow in delivering cars and their a.s.s. screwed things up.
if they do launch a new car they should first make sure they can handle the demand and imrove their a.s.s and launch initiatives like what mitsubishi was doing.
maybe a 5 year warranty or something.
their current one year warranty shows that they themselves are not confident of the cars reliability even though i know from experience that the siena/petra and palio are

nmdeccanet · 18th February 2005, 18:02

i read somewhere that even Fiat South Africa is providing a neat warranty package...looks like their engineers are more confident of the product than the indian chaps!

ajmat · 18th February 2005, 18:14

interestingly enough, in South Africa, Fiat do not make cars....aomeone else assembles them on their behalf

lamborghini · 19th February 2005, 09:37

so basically the people who assemble fiat cars feel more confident of fiat cars then fiat does if they make them .
fiat needs to do something to get the customers confidence back. GM did that with its 2 years service holiday and hyundai usa was offering a 5 year warranty .
some VCare helpline which doesnt work willnot instill confidence at all. it needs more .. and most importantly it should work

nmdeccanet · 19th February 2005, 15:04

http://imvp.mit.edu/papers/0001/volpato1.pdf

This is some chap trying to take a look through the ages and how the 178 platform came to be.. interesting..

merve_extreme · 26th February 2005, 20:03

after seeing their recent adds in times,display of cars in mumbai auto show and updation of website and visit of Chairman i think Fiat will stay on.let us hope that all these signs are +ve signs of Fiats plan for india.

nmdeccanet · 26th February 2005, 21:06

I am not sure where to put this. but I found this incredibly funny..and in the right hands of a marketing whizz, someone could run a good campaign on this theme..

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041005/cth1.htm

---------

Thieves target Fiat cars as steel prices rise
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 4
Increasing steel prices and less risk of recovery have led to an increase in theft of heavy cars, like Fiat.

The fact came to light following the interrogation of three auto lifters specialising in lifting Fiat cars from the city. Karam Singh, Baldev Singh and Jasmeet Singh, all from Patiala, were arrested by a team of the Sector 17 police station today, a day after a Fiat car was stolen. The alleged thieves told the police that they used to sell these cars to scrap dealers in Patiala for Rs 5,000 or 6,000.

They told the police that there had been a sudden spurt in the demand for quality steel scrap since the price of the metal shot up.

They also said since the vehicle was dismantled immediately to be sold in scrap, there were very little chances of recovery of the vehicle by the police. According to the police, 32 Fiat cars were stolen from the city this year and there were no clues to the thefts.

The Sector 17 police station met success after it started developing intelligence inputs on the thefts of Fiat cars.

The cars stolen from the city were being sold as scrap in Patiala.

Yesterday, a Fiat car was stolen from the house of Rajiv Berry in Sector 22-C. The Sector 17 police station team immediately took Mr Berry along to Patiala to trace the car in the Kabari Bazar and to scrap dealers. The car was traced parked in front of the shop named “Oberoi Scrap” at Bahera Road in Patiala. The thieves were sitting in the car, the police said.

Karam Singh and Baldev Singh told the police that they, along with Narinder, alias Nandu, stole the car from Sector 22-C yesterday and had come to sold it off to the owner of Oberoi Scrap, Jasmeet Singh. The thieves disclosed that they had been stealing cars from Chandigarh and selling them to Jasmeet Singh.

The auto thieves told the police that such was the demand for Fiat cars that the scrap dealer had given them Rs 1,000 in advance and they were negotiating the price with the scrap dealer when they were arrested.

The dealer had offered a price ranging from Rs5,000 to Rs6,000. The dealer used to earn between Rs10,000 and Rs15,000 on each car.

Middle-aged Karam Singh and Baldev Singh used to do reconnaissance in the area to identify their target. They would strike at night and open the vehicle with duplicate keys. They have been remanded in the police custody.
--------

lamborghini · 26th February 2005, 23:33

Well atleast some other laymen give fiat the credit it deserves for making sturdy, good quality cars.
Hey merve, what cars were on display at the fiat stall. Their future depends on it.
Can you post some pics please.

merve_extreme · 27th February 2005, 01:20

they were only the palio and Petra.they also offer testdrives.i didnt bother because i already have a Palio 1.6GTX.i think they are launching the Palio and petra JTD by year end.

amit · 27th February 2005, 07:56

Quote:

i think they are launching the Palio and petra JTD by year end.

WOW! Are you sure? Was this confirmed by any of the Fiat official present there? I find this a little difficult because all this while they said that JTD would be here after MUL starts producing it at their new plant. If the JTD/Multi-Jet comes by this year end then the cars will be too expensive as the engines will be direct imports wouldn't it?

lamborghini · 27th February 2005, 12:32

Oh.. i was hoping to see that they were displaying the panda or stilo or even the new palio.
Hopefully they will catch up and later display there other cars.
I didn't know you had a GTX.. How about a review.
Amit there hasn't been any news of them not planning to launch their JTD engines so i expect it will still come in 2006.
Maybe they can tie up with someone else to produce it.

z klasse · 27th February 2005, 14:50

Put Ferrari Engine In Fiat Palio. Then Fiat Will Definately Sell Like Crazy. Imagine Palio With Ferrari Engines....

merve_extreme · 27th February 2005, 18:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by z klasse

Put Ferrari Engine In Fiat Palio. Then Fiat Will Definately Sell Like Crazy. Imagine Palio With Ferrari Engines....

Good one.Instead they should rename the Ferrari 612 Scalgetti as new Fiat Palio.

merve_extreme · 27th February 2005, 18:19

end 2005 or 2006 for the JTD that is what someone told me.

maybach · 28th February 2005, 13:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by merve_extreme

Good one.Instead they should rename the Ferrari 612 Scalgetti as new Fiat Palio.

but they should name the fiat brand as ferrari then it might sell like hot cakes..

18th February 2005, 17:18	#76
lamborghini Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 6,114 Thanked: 5,763 Times View My Garage	hey merve and GTO ven if it launces the panda and stilo(not possible too expensive), will they do well here the palio was an awesome car andwas taking fiat up to the top but then they were slow in delivering cars and their a.s.s. screwed things up. if they do launch a new car they should first make sure they can handle the demand and imrove their a.s.s and launch initiatives like what mitsubishi was doing. maybe a 5 year warranty or something. their current one year warranty shows that they themselves are not confident of the cars reliability even though i know from experience that the siena/petra and palio are
	() Thanks

18th February 2005, 18:02	#77
nmdeccanet BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 26 Thanked: 0 Times	i read somewhere that even Fiat South Africa is providing a neat warranty package...looks like their engineers are more confident of the product than the indian chaps!
	() Thanks

18th February 2005, 18:14	#78
ajmat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 14,866 Thanked: 27,981 Times View My Garage	interestingly enough, in South Africa, Fiat do not make cars....aomeone else assembles them on their behalf
	() Thanks

19th February 2005, 09:37	#79
lamborghini Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 6,114 Thanked: 5,763 Times View My Garage	so basically the people who assemble fiat cars feel more confident of fiat cars then fiat does if they make them . fiat needs to do something to get the customers confidence back. GM did that with its 2 years service holiday and hyundai usa was offering a 5 year warranty . some VCare helpline which doesnt work willnot instill confidence at all. it needs more .. and most importantly it should work
	() Thanks

19th February 2005, 15:04	#80
nmdeccanet BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 26 Thanked: 0 Times	http://imvp.mit.edu/papers/0001/volpato1.pdf This is some chap trying to take a look through the ages and how the 178 platform came to be.. interesting..
	() Thanks

26th February 2005, 20:03	#81
merve_extreme Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,359 Thanked: 18 Times View My Garage	after seeing their recent adds in times,display of cars in mumbai auto show and updation of website and visit of Chairman i think Fiat will stay on.let us hope that all these signs are +ve signs of Fiats plan for india.
	() Thanks

26th February 2005, 21:06	#82
nmdeccanet BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 26 Thanked: 0 Times	I am not sure where to put this. but I found this incredibly funny..and in the right hands of a marketing whizz, someone could run a good campaign on this theme.. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041005/cth1.htm --------- Thieves target Fiat cars as steel prices rise Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 4 Increasing steel prices and less risk of recovery have led to an increase in theft of heavy cars, like Fiat. The fact came to light following the interrogation of three auto lifters specialising in lifting Fiat cars from the city. Karam Singh, Baldev Singh and Jasmeet Singh, all from Patiala, were arrested by a team of the Sector 17 police station today, a day after a Fiat car was stolen. The alleged thieves told the police that they used to sell these cars to scrap dealers in Patiala for Rs 5,000 or 6,000. They told the police that there had been a sudden spurt in the demand for quality steel scrap since the price of the metal shot up. They also said since the vehicle was dismantled immediately to be sold in scrap, there were very little chances of recovery of the vehicle by the police. According to the police, 32 Fiat cars were stolen from the city this year and there were no clues to the thefts. The Sector 17 police station met success after it started developing intelligence inputs on the thefts of Fiat cars. The cars stolen from the city were being sold as scrap in Patiala. Yesterday, a Fiat car was stolen from the house of Rajiv Berry in Sector 22-C. The Sector 17 police station team immediately took Mr Berry along to Patiala to trace the car in the Kabari Bazar and to scrap dealers. The car was traced parked in front of the shop named “Oberoi Scrap” at Bahera Road in Patiala. The thieves were sitting in the car, the police said. Karam Singh and Baldev Singh told the police that they, along with Narinder, alias Nandu, stole the car from Sector 22-C yesterday and had come to sold it off to the owner of Oberoi Scrap, Jasmeet Singh. The thieves disclosed that they had been stealing cars from Chandigarh and selling them to Jasmeet Singh. The auto thieves told the police that such was the demand for Fiat cars that the scrap dealer had given them Rs 1,000 in advance and they were negotiating the price with the scrap dealer when they were arrested. The dealer had offered a price ranging from Rs5,000 to Rs6,000. The dealer used to earn between Rs10,000 and Rs15,000 on each car. Middle-aged Karam Singh and Baldev Singh used to do reconnaissance in the area to identify their target. They would strike at night and open the vehicle with duplicate keys. They have been remanded in the police custody. --------
	() Thanks

26th February 2005, 23:33	#83
lamborghini Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 6,114 Thanked: 5,763 Times View My Garage	Well atleast some other laymen give fiat the credit it deserves for making sturdy, good quality cars. Hey merve, what cars were on display at the fiat stall. Their future depends on it. Can you post some pics please.
	() Thanks

27th February 2005, 01:20	#84
merve_extreme Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,359 Thanked: 18 Times View My Garage	they were only the palio and Petra.they also offer testdrives.i didnt bother because i already have a Palio 1.6GTX.i think they are launching the Palio and petra JTD by year end.
	() Thanks

27th February 2005, 12:32	#86
lamborghini Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 6,114 Thanked: 5,763 Times View My Garage	Oh.. i was hoping to see that they were displaying the panda or stilo or even the new palio. Hopefully they will catch up and later display there other cars. I didn't know you had a GTX.. How about a review. Amit there hasn't been any news of them not planning to launch their JTD engines so i expect it will still come in 2006. Maybe they can tie up with someone else to produce it.
	() Thanks

27th February 2005, 14:50	#87
z klasse BHPian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 351 Thanked: 28 Times View My Garage	Put Ferrari Engine In Fiat Palio. Then Fiat Will Definately Sell Like Crazy. Imagine Palio With Ferrari Engines....
	() Thanks

27th February 2005, 18:19	#89
merve_extreme Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,359 Thanked: 18 Times View My Garage	end 2005 or 2006 for the JTD that is what someone told me.
	() Thanks