[jerish666]

Punto is a great car if it launch early then that is also good.But we can only expect the same MJD 1.3 engine.How many cars in India having the same 1.3MJD engine?Now only thing we can expect from Punto is the build quality and the features.

[kapilsharma80]

Linea launch date is 15 december 2008. the car would be delivered january onwards with '2009' labels, keeping the INDIAn consumer psyche in mind.

even the service back is improving with time. Chandigarh per se has seen a massive difference. the quality of worshop mechanics is improving. it takes less time to get the parts from pune.

every joint venture needs time to get rolling. the fiat / tata JV is moving from one phase to another (planning to actual implementation). lets give the company a little more time and support (lets keep hold on tata fiat bashing)and maybe we can have a nice set up

[sathyaprakash]

Originally Posted by muneemmk

I thought I heard the Fiat officials say that the Grande Punto Launch will be by May-June.

---------------------------------------------------------------

The last time you said u got reliable information overheard from ur managers driver in the other closed linea thread, which said the linea launch is 23rd of Nov and i hope this time u overheard GP launch date from CEO driver

[lightpower]

"...The manufacturing of its "B-segment" hatchback Grande Punto will begin in January next year, he said."

Fiat set to launch two models in India - Business News - News - MSN India - News

Probably we will be seeing Punto's on Indian road in Feb 2009.

[ritz830]

Originally Posted by kapilsharma80

Linea launch date is 15 december 2008. the car would be delivered january onwards with '2009' labels, keeping the INDIAn consumer psyche in mind.

Yea, Indian consumer's psyche. LoL!!! its gonna be difficult to comprehend.

Hey, Does the punto come with the following options
- 3 doors option
- sun roof

[theMAG]

Irrespective of when this might be launched, and especially if its launched with the 1.3L 90 bhp diesel, and if the Safari X2 is still a distant speck on the horizon then, I'll be waiting for the Grande Punto.

[dhaval]

The article mostly speaks about the Linea launch which is due in the third week of December. Also the article does not specify the exact dates of launch of the two models, which is eventually leading to speculations..Also as swale has pointed out about the test mules doing the rounds on city roads for few months initially followed by other things(for GP), will surely take the GP launch date to mid 2009.,IMO.

[monty9991]

i hope tata engineers dont spoil the quality of FIAT cars as the are together here. we had fiat siena and clocked it 2lac kms, and we never had to replace the clutch, suspension or any bearing on ther car, and was well maintained for 5yrs.
would love to bu grand punto in future.

[hotpursuit]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Irrespective of when this might be launched, and especially if its launched with the 1.3L 90 bhp diesel, and if the Safari X2 is still a distant speck on the horizon then, I'll be waiting for the Grande Punto.

I'll also join the queue.
The looks are absolutely stunning, by far the best among the current models. Even if it is a little on the down side when it comes to power compared to getz crdi or the to be launched i20, as an overall package i feel grande punto is worth the wait.

[sathyaprakash]

Originally Posted by ritz830

Yea, Indian consumer's psyche. LoL!!! its gonna be difficult to comprehend.

Hey, Does the punto come with the following options
- 3 doors option
- sun roof

There is no 3 doors option & sunroof planned in Indian GP as for i know, IMO even if the offer is made there will be little response for 3 doors & quite a few for sunroof.

[penpavan]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

Penpavan,

it the the after sales service and availability/cost of the spare parts which is killing fiat sales in India.

I agree that it is one of the identified issues. However, if it was so straight forward, Fiat would have rectified it long back and not wait till now. Yeah, we can blame Fiat for not doing so, but, since they have not done anything for it for so long, makes me think there must be something else, apart from all the well known problems which are discussed here.

Some vested interests working against Fiat?

[Path_Finder]

Originally Posted by muneemmk

I thought I heard the Fiat officials say that the Grande Punto Launch will be by May-June.

I think this is the most realistic timeline and coming from reliable sources - First launch Linea, give it a bit of time and then plan for the next one.

[ritz830]

Originally Posted by sathyaprakash

There is no 3 doors option & sunroof planned in Indian GP as for i know, IMO even if the offer is made there will be little response for 3 doors & quite a few for sunroof.

Oh. Thats sad. The best part about GP's sunroof is its a full sunroof not a partial sunroof as compared to the hyundai i10.
The full sunroof will be the coolest option any car driver/passenger could imagine during a night drive, or how about driving through in the hill stations.

[monty9991]

any pic of GP which will be launched in india? beacuse i am sure there will be changes than europian models.

[crn12]

Dear All, What I have below is the email exchange on CEO comment on FIAT website:

Me: Is it worth waiting for Fiat Punto, if so what dates do you have in mind?

Rajiv Kapoor (CEO Fiat India) : Dear Nitin,

I would definitely say, yes, it is worth the wait for the Grande Punto. By saying that, we are on schedule to launch the Punto early next year. The dates and the other details are being finalised for the launch.

Thank you very much for your interest in our product.

Regards,

Rajeev Kapoor

Me : Dear Rajeev,

Thank you for your email, I must say I'm really pleased to hear from you. I was contemplating b/w Punto ,Getz i20, or buy the Palio 1.6 immediately. However I think I will change my mind now & after reading your email I would rather stick to Punto

Would you know what prices would you be looking at, I just need a reference, so that I can save the extra money.

Thanks & Appreciate

Regards,
Nitin Raghukumar

Rajiv Kapoor (CEO Fiat India) : Dear Nitin,

Given the market dynamics and the inflation affecting automotive industry, it is hard to give a number to you. But I can assure, it wll be very much competitive with the market.

Regards,

Rajeev Kapoor

PS: Mods please feel free to erase info which is against your website policy

Cheers,
Nitin