[nkrishnap]

When I went to collect my car after bumper painting to fix the scratches had a chance to bump into a FIAT executive who is in charge for the spares and the DMS related training for the south region.

Had a brief discussion with him and a few pointers that I picked up. Here we go with the details.

1. The spares warehouse is spread across 60,000 sq ft.
2. The spares warehouse can house spares worth 450 crores
3. The spares turnover currently is anywhere between 19-22 crores on a month on month basis
4. The new DMS has been designed to make the spares distribution process smoother.
5. All the new service centers will be trained to handle the new DMS with the parts ePER loaded in the DMS itself, so no more referring to parts catalogue which is stand alone.

The spares procurement process.

1. The order would be placed in the system from the dealer/service center end.
2. The parts order gets logged in the same day in the Spares warehouse
3. The parts would be sorted and would be picked the next day and would be ready for shipment on the 3rd day from placing the order.
4. The parts would reach the dealer/service center in 1 – 4 days depending on the distance between the warehouse and the dealer/service center.
5. All VOR orders would be air-shipped and would be available in 24 hours.

The 90% of the Palio spares are available in the ware house for the Palios that were manufactured within the last 10 years from the current date.

Though this might not seems very different from other manufacturers, now at least it seems that a proper system is being put in place for good.

I will dig out more information if I get a chance to meet the person again.

[rohanjf]

I just called up KHT Motors in Bangalore. They said Linea T-jet is not yet available with them. The prices have not been announced. They also said that the test-drive car will be available only after 3-4 weeks.

I wonder how the pricing of Linea T-jet going to be. Is the new "SUV" excise duty rule of the government already implemented?

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

The 90% of the Palio spares are available in the ware house for the Palios that were manufactured within the last 10 years from the current date.

That's exactly what I was told when I took my Palio to replace the suspension underarms two weeks ago. The service guy sent me back (because there is still some life left in the underarms) saying spares will not be a problem anymore, and I could come next year to and still find the spares readily available!

[rana_kirti]

any info whether the t-jet abarth have an automatic or a manual gearbox ?

[paulprv]

Originally Posted by Rufus_M

I'm so happy after hearing this!!

After Punto 90HP, my next car has been finalized. A 1.6 MJD Linea :-).

Fiat has finally woken up. The showrooms are coming up pretty soon. Hope they execute the plans well. But something needs to be done immediately for the dying sales of Punto & Linea.

I took a Linea Emotion (diesel) for a drive to chennai (from vellore) about 3 weeks ago. My observations of Linea were:
Handling: lovely
Comfort: Hard seats, but otherwise no complaints at all.
engine response: for the small diesel and big car, very good, actually far better than I expected.
Features: Good.
Overall: Very good....

Then I sat in my Lancer (SLXD). The comfort was just something else! The engine responds far better (of course a 2 liter is bigger than a 1.3).
I was actually thinking of selling my Lancer and buying a Linea, but now i have serious thoughts! I've kind of fallen in love with my Lancer after the Linea drive.

I might still give the new Linea a try, but unless it has some serious uppings, i doubt i'll make the trade.

By the way, this is a personal opinion. The Linea IS a GOOD CAR, far better than most others in the price range.

[fiat_tarun]

I came across this on the net today and am not sure if this is the right thread to share it. Makes for an interesting read, although it is quite dated (2009).

FPT Overview

From this it looks like Maruti has access to only the 1.3 & the 2 L Multijet's.

Another thing I noticed is that there is a 16V version of the 1.2L Fire which puts out 80bhp and Fiat still brought the 8V 1.2 to India...

[Rufus_M]

Originally Posted by paulprv

I took a Linea Emotion (diesel) for a drive to chennai (from vellore) about 3 weeks ago. My observations of Linea were:
Handling: lovely
Comfort: Hard seats, but otherwise no complaints at all.
engine response: for the small diesel and big car, very good, actually far better than I expected.
Features: Good.
Overall: Very good....

Then I sat in my Lancer (SLXD). The comfort was just something else! The engine responds far better (of course a 2 liter is bigger than a 1.3).
I was actually thinking of selling my Lancer and buying a Linea, but now i have serious thoughts! I've kind of fallen in love with my Lancer after the Linea drive.

I might still give the new Linea a try, but unless it has some serious uppings, i doubt i'll make the trade.

By the way, this is a personal opinion. The Linea IS a GOOD CAR, far better than most others in the price range.

To each his own. But comparing a 2L Lancer & a 1.3L Linea is like comparing apples & oranges. They are from different segments altogether

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by Rufus_M

To each his own. But comparing a 2L Lancer & a 1.3L Linea is like comparing apples & oranges. They are from different segments altogether

So you mean Linea 1.3 should be compared with likes of Dzire? Then it certainly seems overpriced

[Rufus_M]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

So you mean Linea 1.3 should be compared with likes of Dzire? Then it certainly seems overpriced

Sorry, i take back my words What i wanted to say was that Lancer SLXD was a discontinued model. Linea should be compared with the likes of Rapid, Vento, Verna, SX4, Sunny & Scala. Not Dzire for sure

Having the image of Mitsu Lancer Evo in my mind made me say that. Had to revisit some websites & check the dimensions of the Lancer.

[paulprv]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

So you mean Linea 1.3 should be compared with likes of Dzire? Then it certainly seems overpriced

Its overpriced to DZire, but its also a lot more car, and lot more weight and lot more stability and lot more. Apples and oranges is more like it

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

I got very excited to see the Linea T-Jet back on the FIAT website. So I spoke with a salesperson from Vecto Motors, Bangalore.

He had no clue whatsoever about the re-launch of the T-Jet, and made me wait while he went and checked out the FIAT website himself.

Anyway, the T-Jet should be back in the next couple of weeks. I had visited Vecto on Saturday and they were saying they would get the test drive car very soon, once the prices are officially announced and the car is officially declared as open for bookings.

They (Vecto) were saying that Fiat has been very secretive about the T-Jet's launch and new pricing, and dealers themselves have no clue as of now.

Originally Posted by rana_kirti

any info whether the t-jet abarth have an automatic or a manual gearbox ?

Abarth Punto does not come in automatic trim in any country. It comes with a 6 speed manual gearbox, with a normal / Sport mode toggle lever which can be activated when required.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Anyway, the T-Jet should be back in the next couple of weeks. I had visited Vecto on Saturday and they were saying they would get the test drive car very soon, once the prices are officially announced and the car is officially declared as open for bookings.

They (Vecto) were saying that Fiat has been very secretive about the T-Jet's launch and new pricing, and dealers themselves have no clue as of now.

They are noting all the customer details who are enquiring about Tjet, but no information has been provided to the dealers yet.

I simply cant understand what is the reason to keep the pricing secretive as Tjet is not a new launch.

Abarth Punto does not come in automatic trim in any country. It comes with a 6 speed manual gearbox, with a normal / Sport mode toggle lever which can be activated when required.

Abarth uses the C635 gearbox which is a 6 speed gearbox which can handle upto 350 NM torque (under standard road use). The same gearbox has a Dual logic version too.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Abarth uses the C635 gearbox which is a 6 speed gearbox which can handle upto 350 NM torque (under standard road use). The same gearbox has a Dual logic version too.

People who buy Abarths want the fun of a manual box I guess, so that makes it almost certain that a SuperSport hatch is very unlikely to have the dualogic automatic version . I believe the dualogic version of the C635 is used on other Fiat road cars, but I've never seen any Abarth using a dualogic box.

[puchoo]

This is so annoying , now my contact is telling me that they have delayed the bookings and availability till June for the new T-jet and will launch it around the same time as the Abarth. So the silver lining in the entire piece is that the Abarth might be here in less than 2 months , but the T-Jet is then delayed.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by puchoo

This is so annoying , now my contact is telling me that they have delayed the bookings and availability till June for the new T-jet and will launch it around the same time as the Abarth. So the silver lining in the entire piece is that the Abarth might be here in less than 2 months , but the T-Jet is then delayed.

Now this is really frustrating. They should have got the Tjet out right away after the sales and distribution went live on the 10th.

They should now not dilute the Abarth brand with such delays.

[puchoo]

Yes it really is , i dont see any reason for the delay. they were 2 days away from launching it and updating the prices etc so clearly in terms of readiness they were 100%. And quite frankly after releasing their new campaign etc this is rather amusing that the first encounter one has with them post it is shrouded in confusion and lack of clarity.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Now this is really frustrating. They should have got the Tjet out right away after the sales and distribution went live on the 10th.

They should now not dilute the Abarth brand with such delays.