Fiat at the Auto Expo 2010

[channelv]

Waiting for team-bhp review of GP Sport and Linea T-Jet

[inreverse]

The Punto Sportz looks uber-cool. Take notice - The alloys look somewhat similar to the Alfa Romeo 8c. Meaty metal hooves on the horse with Pirelli rubber wrapped around it !!!

[harishsegar]

If FIAT launches the TJet with a trim similar to the Fiat Linea Monte-Bianco released in Brazil i think they would have a winner!

[myavu]

Mr. Narendra Sharma from FIPL confirmed that Punto Sports will be launched by second half of 2010

Cheers!

[electricheart]

Congrats yet again for the excellent writeup GTO . The Punto looks amazing (sans the cheepo artwork). I had made up my heart to own a Fiat (GTX), but this baby makes me wanna wait.

[Axe77]

I'm curious to know just how powerful will the 90 HP Punto be in real life. If it turns into a scorcher with the fit / finish sorted, it could become the definitive hatch to buy amongst the diesels. I think all in all 2010 is a good year for diesel hatch buyers - plenty of good choices floating around, most at a decent price.

[theEnd]

Its funny how it took Fiat a whole year to figure out that they should put the VGT in the Punto and not just the Linea. Now it will probably take them another year to figure out that the T-Jet should be in the Punto and not just the Linea.

By the time we finally get a Punto with a 100bhp+ engine (if ever), the car will be at the end of its life-cycle: if I recall correctly, the current Punto was launched in Europe in 2005, at the same time as the Suzuki Swift.

The most ironic thing is that despite all the excitement over the Punto and the Linea, neither of these cars are as quick as the Palio 1.6, Petra or Adventure, all of which were available about a decade ago.

[Delta Wing]

Am waiting for the T-jet er...dressed Linea. If any car will change my perceptions about second hand buys being better than new cars, it's this. The VFM tag of the extant Linea disappoints on performance but with T jet...ahhhh! Someone on this forum compared cars with women and whether you'd marry them....ohh the beauty of Linea...if only it were a woman. But then, earlier it was a beauty which couldn't dance compared to the nimble footed competition. Now with that nimble (turbo'ed) foot, I'd like to see how she dances.

[sdp1975]

A recent interview with Rajeev Kapoor on 2010 plans for Fiat :

Perception is changing : Rajeev Kapoor,Interview - wheelsunpluggd.com

[manziee_crusier]

Any body some clear dates of Tjet ?.I am hearing lot of different dates like Feb,March and one dealer told Mid year !!

[recshenoy]

In the auto expo press release, FIAT CEO has reported that they are targeting double sales next year (46,000 against current 23,000). with stiff competition ahead, it will be good for FIAT to have T-jet and new Punto on road as soon as possible!

What you guys think, 46,000 is a possible number?

[roms]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

A recent interview with Rajeev Kapoor on 2010 plans for Fiat :

Perception is changing : Rajeev Kapoor,Interview - wheelsunpluggd.com

Thank you for sharing that interview. Two points that I want to focus on from that interview with Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, one important and the other not so important :-

The important one -

"There are no Palios here – does that mean you are phasing it out? If not, will you be making any changes to the range?
No, the Palio has not been phased out, it is very much there. It’s just that there was only so much space available to us! It will continue in the same avatar however."

This means there are no plans for a phase out yet, but how do they expect the Palio to survive, given the seriously low/negligible numbers that the car is selling at as of now. I am thinking out aloud here, but maybe there is an upgraded car on the cards sometime in the future. Because otherwise, it just does not make any business sense to keep the Palio alive.

The not so important one :-

"We are displaying a very high-powered Punto which is 90bhp, which practically becomes a racing car with all the safety features intact. "

Sir, with all due respect, I have been driving around in the S10 for almost 8 years now. And if you call the Punto Sport 90 PS a 'racing car', what term would you coin for the 100 PS S10? 'A Supercar'?

[deepakhon]

Yes, that "racing car" bit was a bit over the top, but I still am looking forward to GP 90 bhp version.

[roms]

Originally Posted by deepakhon

Yes, that "racing car" bit was a bit over the top, but I still am looking forward to GP 90 bhp version.

Yup, you are right Deepak, the 90PS Mjet should make a reasonably fast Punto and the fuel savings will make it worth the investment for most. But I know both of us were waiting for the 1.4 T-Jet petrol. Sad that is not going to happen, atleast it seems so for now.

[electricheart]

Are we to expect a 1.9 MJD from fiat on the linea any time soon. I did not read anyone mention the 19D engine in this thread. If they did it would be worth a buy IMHO.