Team-BHP > The Indian Car Scene


Reply
  Search this Thread
94,120 views
Old 17th July 2008, 14:46   #61
Senior - BHPian
 
ac 427's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 1,392
Thanked: 243 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by sary View Post
Is the F500 brand BIG Enuf than the others which i mentioned above ?

and if you are talking about Cult following than i think M800 and Corolla's are not far behind !

i rest my case.
ac 427 is offline  
Old 17th July 2008, 15:01   #62
BHPian
 
jassi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 980
Thanked: 11 Times

guys - i am sure anyone who buys fiat 500 is buying it for exclusivity and it is famous for that - however my point is its famous and exclusive as a sports hatch. In the UK and europe people prefer it cos it as exclusive as the mini and beats the mini with its stonker of a petrol engine (). Infact at 10k pounds for the 1.4 ltr 100bhp petrol with the exclusivity that I get there is no way i will compare it to civic or skoda or anything out there.
I know a lot of people (including me if its 12L) who would somehow convince themselves and cough up 12-15lacs for the exclusivity it offers, but certainly not for the diesel. I have a couple of relatives in UK, and this car is a hot seller there but the petrol and not the diesel any day
Hopefully in the future prices of the 500 may go down to 12Lacs and they make the petrol available at 12 which is worth it. Else I am going to wait for the mini (hope that is not launched in diesel only )

Last edited by jassi : 17th July 2008 at 15:03.
jassi is offline  
Old 17th July 2008, 15:31   #63
Senior - BHPian
 
reignofchaos's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,542
Thanked: 2,449 Times

As May put it in the Fiat 500 review "The whole deal about a small fiat is to rev it and rev it and rev it until the valves come out and start dancing on the bonnet". If this were a petrol, I'd have seriously thought about it. With the MJD engine... naaa thanks I don't want it.

You can't rev it the way you want and it'll be front heavy messing up the handling. If fiat had got this as a CKD and assembled it here and sold it at around Fabia prices, this thing would have sold much more.

Last edited by reignofchaos : 17th July 2008 at 15:33.
reignofchaos is offline  
Old 17th July 2008, 15:38   #64
Senior - BHPian
 
architect's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Ghaziabad, U. P
Posts: 1,359
Thanked: 764 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by normally_crazy View Post
FIAT shot themselves in the foot with the Palio. If they are serious about brand building - I think offering better A.S.S support to existing FIAT owners would be much better than launching the 500 !

Of course. But here we are just giving our views.

Now back to the 500.
I think some people are mixing up two discussions into one thread. IMO, there are two different aspects:

1. The FIAT 500, and the chance of its success, keeping in mind its position as a two-door hatchback with a diesel engine and its price Rs 12-15 lakhs.

If the BMW can try to do it with the Mini, why can't Fiat try the same with the 500? In any case, its a direct import, so its unlikely that it will face the fate of the S10 (unsold stocks). Let me also mention that the S10 was a car way ahead of its time, and at a time nobody wanted to shell out Rs 6 lakhs plus for a hatch, however advanced.

2. The chances of success with a strategy of launching an ultra-expensive mini-hatch in limited numbers as a brand building exercise for a brand suffering from its image as a company with terrible A.S.S. and outdated products.

This is something only Fiat can answer. I would have preferred a quicker launch of the GP and the Linea with good pricing and also provide better service to Palio users in the present scenario.
architect is offline  
Old 17th July 2008, 15:54   #65
Senior - BHPian
 
extreme_torque's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 4,362
Thanked: 5,051 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by normally_crazy View Post
FIAT shot themselves in the foot with the Palio. If they are serious about brand building - I think offering better A.S.S support to existing FIAT owners would be much better than launching the 500 !
The service levels have improved for sure with Tata in the picture besides brand building is more than just good A$$. Good marketing and PR initiatives are also a part of it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jassi View Post
guys - i am sure anyone who buys fiat 500 is buying it for exclusivity and it is famous for that - however my point is its famous and exclusive as a sports hatch. In the UK and europe people prefer it cos it as exclusive as the mini and beats the mini with its stonker of a petrol engine (YouTube - Top Gear Fiat 500). Infact at 10k pounds for the 1.4 ltr 100bhp petrol with the exclusivity that I get there is no way i will compare it to civic or skoda or anything out there.
I know a lot of people (including me if its 12L) who would somehow convince themselves and cough up 12-15lacs for the exclusivity it offers, but certainly not for the diesel. I have a couple of relatives in UK, and this car is a hot seller there but the petrol and not the diesel any day
Hopefully in the future prices of the 500 may go down to 12Lacs and they make the petrol available at 12 which is worth it. Else I am going to wait for the mini (hope that is not launched in diesel only )
And Fiat 500 is now the official courtesy car for Ferrari owners in Europe, offcourse not the plain vanilla car but a modified one.
http://www.c u b i c c a p a c i t y...r-for-ferrari/

"Eliminates the spaces in the link"

Note from the Team-BHP Support Staff : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 15 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post

Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts.

Last edited by Technocrat : 17th July 2008 at 16:12. Reason: See note in post
extreme_torque is online now  
Old 17th July 2008, 16:08   #66
BHPian
 
jassi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 980
Thanked: 11 Times

finally figured out the above link
http://www.******************/fiats-...r-for-ferrari/
jassi is offline  
Old 17th July 2008, 16:09   #67
Senior - BHPian
 
normally_crazy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 4,369
Thanked: 528 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by architect View Post
Let me also mention that the S10 was a car way ahead of its time,
I always hear this line in defence of the S10 - wonder why 1
Quote:
and at a time nobody wanted to shell out Rs 6 lakhs plus for a hatch, however advanced.
even today no one wants too - not for a petrol hatch at least !
normally_crazy is offline  
Old 17th July 2008, 16:16   #68
Senior - BHPian
 
iraghava's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Bhaiyyaland
Posts: 8,033
Thanked: 263 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by architect View Post
If the BMW can try to do it with the Mini, why can't Fiat try the same with the 500? In any case, its a direct import, so its unlikely that it will face the fate of the S10 (unsold stocks). Let me also mention that the S10 was a car way ahead of its time, and at a time nobody wanted to shell out Rs 6 lakhs plus for a hatch, however advanced.
What makes you think that scenario has changed? Look at the SR-V for example. And more importantly the above statement of yours (highlighted) still holds true because I believe that even today no one is going to buy a hatch for 6-7 lakhs, leave alone something priced at 15L.

I love the Fiat 500 but I think selling 500 units at the given price might be too optimistic.
iraghava is offline  
Old 17th July 2008, 16:21   #69
Senior - BHPian
 
architect's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Ghaziabad, U. P
Posts: 1,359
Thanked: 764 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by normally_crazy View Post
I always hear this line in defence of the S10 - wonder why 1
Well, it was ahead because it had certain features which were not available in most sedans of its time either, and definitely not in most hatchbacks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by normally_crazy View Post
even today no one wants too - not for a petrol hatch at least !
that's the point! Even today there are few takers for petrol hatches at Rs 6 lacs+, let alone way back in 2002-3. So the S10 was bad marketing strategy. Simple. That could be the only thing common between the S10 and the 500.
architect is offline  
Old 17th July 2008, 21:50   #70
Senior - BHPian
 
ac 427's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 1,392
Thanked: 243 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by iraghava View Post
I believe that even today no one is going to buy a hatch for 6-7 lakhs, leave alone something priced at 15L.

I love the Fiat 500 but I think selling 500 units at the given price might be too optimistic.
@iraghava, i think there are takers for hatchbacks whicch are 8 lacs odd. Eg Fabia, it is a fact that the fabia has bad figures purely becase of its production capacity. Thanks to the swift people have changed the way they look at a hatch.

Having said that, this point is totally irrelevant with regards to the 500, as the 500 will be either the second or the third car the person will buy. And whoever will be buying it will be buying it for its novelty, uniqueness, brand value, imagery and uniqueness.

Whether 500 pieces will be sold or not is a question but i think its a brilliant move by Fiat to get this car and the bravo, to up their imagery.
ac 427 is offline  
Old 17th July 2008, 22:36   #71
 
Cyrus43's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: London
Posts: 5,019
Thanked: 221 Times

The 500 will be bought by Guys who are truly and completely FIAT fans.. If i had the money, I would be the first one to put my name on the list!!
Cyrus43 is offline  
Old 18th July 2008, 06:50   #72
BHPian
 
Tumbler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 54
Thanked: 66 Times
Will this convert

A lot has been said about the 500. Is there any chance that we could get this beauty. This will convert of a lot of folks. A convertible in 15L creates a whole new segment.
Attached Thumbnails
Fiat 500 Launch- 18th July - Now Launched-500_convert.jpg  

Tumbler is offline  
Old 18th July 2008, 12:09   #73
BHPian
 
a4_attitude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 508
Thanked: 101 Times

Finally 18th is here, any news update on fiat launch?
a4_attitude is offline  
Old 18th July 2008, 17:06   #74
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Delhi
Posts: 4,889
Thanked: 8,092 Times

car will be available through 6 new tata fiat dealerships in delhi, mumbai, bangalore, pune and chandigarh-ludhiana.

two versions-lounge and sport

ex-showroom price-Rs. 14,80,500

11 colours
sidindica is offline  
Old 18th July 2008, 17:14   #75
BHPian
 
windsurfer's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Dundee, UK
Posts: 513
Thanked: 25 Times

Fiat site is still down. How did u get that information?
windsurfer 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