DriveBlog

The Tata Palio?

Riding on a partnership that seems close to being finalised between their parent companies, Fiat India and Tata Motors will take the first step in the new relationship with plans to roll out the Fiat Palio from the Tata plant in Pune. A shot in the arm for the Tatas, who are largely perceived as diesel-driven, but can now up their appeal to petrolheads.

From a larger picture too, the partnership seems equally important for both companies  - Fiat will now be able to make use of the immense knowledge base that Tata has on operating in Indian markets - something that even Fiat has admitted it needs help on and something that is being seen the first step towards Fiat's revival in the country - and Tata's huge service network in India. Tata, on the other hand will have access to Fiat's technology knowhow and their enviable international marketing network.

Though a new phenomenon in the Indian marketplace, such collaborations have been quite the flavour in the global arena for some time now.

Also see:
The Fiat Palio takes on the Tata Indica
Tata Indica - an Indian Superbrand

Fiat gets frank

In a recent interview, new Fiat India MD Paolo Castagna candidly admits to having a daunting task ahead of him as he attempts to turn around the fortunes of the beleagured carmaker in this country. The part I liked best is his frank acceptance of the fact that where they've fallen short is in understanding what exactly the customer needs and delivering on that immediately...and everytime. The quality of their cars was never a debate; spares, he says, are always just a couple of days away; new launch tests have returned positive results - the issue however, as he owns up, has been one of focus.

I also liked his quietly confident reply to a question on how he felt the Swift and Getz were making waves in a segment that the Palio almost created:

"We were a generation ahead."

Also see:
Fiat no more?
Website woes

Out of the blue(s)?

Yes, quite unexpectedly, Fiat India launches another car in an(other?) attempt to get back on track. I guess they needed something for the new Managing Director to speak about at his first meeting with the press. The following may have been overheard in the Fiat India washroom earlier this April:

Person 1: "Hey, we can't have him standing there just by himself. He's gotta have something to say, right?"
Person 2: Duhuhh...
Person 1: Hey, why don't we launch another car and then market it like a bunch of dribbling retards?"
Person 2: (zipping up) Hey, how come we didn't think of that before?

The new car is the dubiously named Adventure Sport, which by the looks of it seems like a rebadged Palio Weekend, not by far one of the models that's been scorching their sales charts. Well, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt as we always do and we'll wait and watch as we always do. And whatever else the new MD plans on taking up on a war footing, we're hoping getting that dratted website back on again is right up there on his list.

Let's have ourselves a mela!

I'm whack in the middle of a 'Blog Mela' hangover, thanks to an utterly enjoyable post from over at Yazad's. That being the case, I thought I'd fashion this post of mine on similar lines. What follows therefore, is an attempt to bring you the best of the web from over the past few days on what's been happening on the Indian car scene. So belt up, tilt that seat back, play your current favourite road-tune over in your head, stretch those legs deep into that footwell and enjoy the ride.

The folks at Autocar India have traded in their old Palio 1.6 GTX for a newer 1.2 nv which they'll be putting through their long-termer test in the months to come. Though they do miss their old, bigger-hearted buddy, it's smaller cousin hasn't done much to disappoint so far.

I wondered aloud a little while ago as to whether the Indian passenger car market had such a colourful history of 'auto recalls' as compared to the West. Well, evidently not - and more so, for a variety of interesting reasons.

There's a new Accent on the horizon - and am I the only one who likes the looks of it?

It seems like the beginning of a SUV-eet summer for sports utility vehicles in India - we just can't seem to get enough of them, their prices notwithstanding. Take your pick: the current hot favourite Honda CR-V, the 'freshened-up' Scorpio Sportz, the just-launched Hyundai Tucson or the upcoming Toyota Fortuner.

Ford India rolled out their 100000th unit of the Ikon sedan earlier this month. And as it is their wont to do everytime they reach a landmark of this kind, Ford's celebrating with a limited period, limited edition offer. This time it's called the 'Josh100' series. For me, Ford sets the bar when it comes to staying top of mind through consumer-driven promos and special offers. Remember the 'Ikon Anniversary' and 'March Masti'?

4 Indian cars - the Alto, the M800, the Hyundai Santro and the Tata Indica - are now in the 'over 100000 units sold in the year 2004-05' club.

A couple of fellow bloggers post on a couple of topics that are right down my alley. Jamshed Rajan of 'Ouch, My Toe!' goes people-watching and introspecting every time he spends 2 and a half minutes at a traffic signal. And Abhi of 'A Tyrovial Pursuit' (honestly, I'm still trying to figure out what kind of a chase that is) reckons that the least desirable part of Indian roads is, well, the people that drive on them.

And finally, would you sign up a deceased family member for one helluva joyride? =)

How logo?

Here's one from the history books:

Fiat first used the 'five-bar logo' on the Uno in 1982, after Fiat design chief Mario Maioli, while driving past the Mirafiori factory at night after a power cut, saw the giant FIAT logo on top of the plant, set against the fading light of the sky. He did a quick sketch: the five bars represented the spaces he could see between the letters. Click the image above to see how the Fiat insignia has changed over the decades.

Also see:
A brief history of car logos and what they mean

Their 'Fiat' seems sealed...

Their parent company is in a mess, monthly sales have been languishing in the dismal three figure range for some time now, their last launch, the Petra, did nothing to excite the market, customer confidence has been at an all time low, new product launches have been put off indefinitely, they have been losing key dealerships in Mumbai* and then their website dies on them.

No wonder then, that people are beginning to think that it's a matter of when, and not if, Fiat India will shut shop for good.*

(*Membership required to view / contribute content)

The Second Coming

At face value, pulling a rather well-performing brand off the production line and introducing something new (albeit better, but the customer never knows that up front, right?) in its stead must either seem very gutsy or very stupid. You wouldn't therefore be blamed if, when Honda SIEL and Hyundai yanked the Honda City and the Santro (respectively) off the roads, you credited the people who carried out such decisions with possessing either gonads of steel or brains of breakfast cereal. I sure did: in most cases with the latter. Well, as it turns out, they did know better, judging by the showing that the two cars made in the relaunches category at the Ninth Annual Business Standard Brand Derby.

Fiat India is (in) the pits

There really and truly ceases to be any doubt about that at the moment. Go to the Fiat India corporate website now and you're likely to be greeted with:

"The Fiat-India site is currently Non-Functional due to Non-Payment since more than 1 Year."

I am, quite simply, at a loss for words.

(Found via the The Indian Automotive Blog)