[Cyrus43]

As compared to the Linea, the Fiesta does handle better. But then, the Fiesta S does have better suspension as compared to the standard Fiesta. Also, the Fiesta is much lighter than the Linea.

[SumitB]

I am not surprised at ACI awarding the Linea. It seems that ACI and FIAT have a policy to scratch each other's back. The award is just in appreciation for the fact that ACI was the chosen magazine for the scoop on the production model of Linea in India. Infact, the Autocar show on UTVi had tested the Linea 2 weeks before any other show. What a joke! COTY for 2008. Car launched in 2009!

So assuming this holds true, my prediction for the ACI COTY 2009 is the Grande Punto! Anyone willing to place bets?

[amit]

Originally Posted by SumitB

my prediction for the ACI COTY 2009 is the Grande Punto! Anyone willing to place bets?

Honda Jazz.

Unless Honda overprice it with spartan interiors and features which I think they will!

No bets on it though!

[shantyrocks]

the car has been awarded for being a good all round package in its segment.
its way ahead of dzire,verna, fiesta.the ANHC loses out because of its high pricing and lack of luxury features which fiat offers.
its good news for existing fiat owners as well!

[neoonwheels]

Are we going to bash ACI just for the sake it has selected FIAT??

[Maverick1977]

Should a car be chosen as the COTY just because some magazine has driven it & its THEY who feel that the car is so good that it deserves to win the award. Does buyer opinion not count at all when a mag decides to give a car such an award.
We are very well aware of the poor service that Fiat has offered almost till now. That is something which will rub off on the Linea as well.
Does any 1 know the judgement criteria of the awards? Please furnish the same here.
Off Topic - The Honda Accord has managed to beat the likes of the C class & the Audi A4 to win the Luxury car of the year award. Is it that good that it beats the likes of such marquees?
Can we have a Poll for how many ppl agree/diagree that the Linea should have been awarded the COTY by ACI?

[benbsb29]

I would attribute this award to pre-launch marketing. Like many others I feel that a car which has not been officialy launched in 2008 doesnt deserve to be part of an award for cars which were launched in 2008.

[Steeroid]

Nobody is questioning Fiat here.

The question is whether it is right to give the COTY award and thereby indirectly promote a car that has not been available in the market during the "Y" for which the COTY is being awarded.

As long as it is awarded to such vehicles, it is nothing but a marketing gimmick - people get to buy the car only AFTER the COTY is awarded to it.

Someone awarded the COTY to the Chevy Aveo, someone else to the Logan and the Palio in the past. All of these cars have, for whatever reason, bombed big time in the market. So is this award really ethical?

The COTY in each category is already decided by the market. These awards are pretty meaningless for the discerning auto-enthusiast, but it can sway a lot of prospective buyers who arent quite into the scene.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by amit

The reason you mentioned against the Linea applies to the i20 too doesn't it?

Yes, it does, but a I feel that Linea is being pushed around as a premium car. I appreciate hyundai for giving in many safety features and having a wider A.S & S.
The sole precise reasons for I20 to be on my list at no. 3 is
1) It has brought in more safety features, often ignored. Rest we all know about India.
2) The rear seat. Although as spacious as Getz in case of I20, its not bad, the seat in Linea could be better. The rear seat suffers from low headroom and overall space. And in this class of cars there are more chances of the car being driven around by chauffeur.

So IMO, as a complete overall package, Linea falls weak as compared to I20 as a complete overall package.

[diabloo]

I think Fiat fans are missing the plot. The plot is on what basis did ACI find Linea to be a Year 2008 car.

* Homologation done before 31 Dec 2008
* Production began before 31 Dec 2008
* Fiat trained its sales personnel on this car before 31 Dec 2008
* Fiat wanted to launch before 31 Dec 2008
* Dealer took 1 Lakh as deposit on this car on 31 Dec 2008

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

Are we going to bash ACI just for the sake it has selected FIAT??

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by speedzak

How low can this award fall?

As high as the bidding for it can go!

Originally Posted by Steeroid

How about the Mahindra Ingenio / Xylo? Or the i30?

I'll vote for the i30!

Originally Posted by Cyrus43

I dont see the whole point of Autocar Bashing here. The Linea is a brilliant car and it deserved to win. I can personally vouch for it having already driven it. So, instead of just mounting on the bashing, i think we should be looking at the bigger picture...The Revival of Fiat India.

So they award the "car of the year 2008" to a car being launched in 2009! Can you explain that logic now that you're working for ACI? (I'm presuming here. No idea whether you're there full time or freelancing)

Originally Posted by Cyrus43

@lambo, even if the Xylo was given in dec, it cannot be a part of the contenders until it is actually shown to the public na!!

Doesn't the same logic apply to the Linea too??

And for the record it's actually the official launch that matters, not the fact that the car has been sent to the dealers awaiting launch. Till the manufacturer officially announces a car's release, it's not considered as available in the market.

Originally Posted by SumitB

I am not surprised at ACI awarding the Linea. It seems that ACI and FIAT have a policy to scratch each other's back.

No Sumit, it's not just Fiat. IMO the policy is that the highest bidder gets the award. And the rules too can be changed to suit the highest bidder (like it has been done this year).

Originally Posted by amit

Honda Jazz.

I'll bet on it! If launched in '09, it will win!

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

Are we going to bash ACI just for the sake it has selected FIAT??

No, we're going to bash it for the reason that they've selected a car not available in the market yet and also for the fact that they willing fudged the entry criteria to make it win.

I have no beef against the car, I'm sure it's a good product. But the criteria being modified to suit a particular car's entry (even before it's official launch) just smacks of foul play.

[blue_pulsar]

Originally Posted by SumitB

So assuming this holds true, my prediction for the ACI COTY 2009 is the Grande Punto! Anyone willing to place bets?

Yes. It will still be the Linea! Because they TD'ed it in 2008, they awarded it the COTY 2009. And since it launched in 2009, they will award it the COTY 2010. :P

Most here would accept that it deserved to win the COTY 2010. But COTY 2009??? What were ACI thinking?

[karanraheja]

Originally Posted by SumitB

It seems that ACI and FIAT have a policy to scratch each other's back.

So assuming this holds true, my prediction for the ACI COTY 2009 is the Grande Punto! Anyone willing to place bets?

It ll be a close call between Jazz & Punto. It depends on ACI on whose back they wanna scratch

[greatDrive]

Good news for Linea's buyers.
Car really looks good in pictures.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Nobody is questioning Fiat here.

The question is whether it is right to give the COTY award and thereby indirectly promote a car that has not been available in the market during the "Y" for which the COTY is being awarded.

As long as it is awarded to such vehicles, it is nothing but a marketing gimmick - people get to buy the car only AFTER the COTY is awarded to it.

Someone awarded the COTY to the Chevy Aveo, someone else to the Logan and the Palio in the past. All of these cars have, for whatever reason, bombed big time in the market. So is this award really ethical?

The COTY in each category is already decided by the market. These awards are pretty meaningless for the discerning auto-enthusiast, but it can sway a lot of prospective buyers who arent quite into the scene.

I am wondering whether ACI made the eligibility criteria for this year's COTY as "homologated in 2008" only this year ? if so - they clearly seemed to be doing FIAT a "favour"

but I am sceptical how much the sales are positively impacted by getting this award.
as you pointed out AVEO, PALIO etc who got the award DID NOT really become a sales success .

so aam aadmi has his own priority list and of course brand notions which he goes with when he is purchasing a car

and enthusiasts dont need a COTY to know which is the best car