[Arkesh]

So very true! I celebrate the exclusivity...thrills me when i get to see another Tjet on road, makes me feel a part of an elite group. Though FIAPL is trying its best to steal us Jet owners of the exclusivity (externally - 16" ers, alloys, etc.).
Having driven the mighty tjet only once i feel no other engine in fiat india can do justice to linea.I feel sad seeing such premature call off for a beast. I sincerely hope this to be a strategy by fiat to clear off existing stock. A linea petrol 2012 is no match to a tjet.
Externally a linea2012 may look similar to tjet but once you are driving it its a class apart altogether. It has a big heart to die for.

[khoj]

The plant stock is sold out, though there is a dealer nearby who has a couple of unsold 2010 manufactured TJets in the warehouse.

Originally Posted by F150

Team,

Are there any TJet's available in PUNE or Is the stock completely exhausted ?

[F150]

Originally Posted by khoj

The plant stock is sold out, though there is a dealer nearby who has a couple of unsold 2010 manufactured TJets in the warehouse.

Is it Pandit Auto ? Could you please share the dealer details here or PM me ?

[khoj]

It's Balaji in Kalyan. If interested let me have your email id and I will put you in touch with their Fiat sales head.

Originally Posted by F150

Is it Pandit Auto ? Could you please share the dealer details here or PM me ?

[johy]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Got to drive this. Thanks a ton to johy.

I had hopped from a Yeti Elegance to this and in no terms, the car felt that it is priced below 10L or the Yeti is at 20 big ones. Not undermining the Yeti, but read on...

The doors are heavier than the Yeti and the thud it makes, makes you go weak in your knees. You have to make an effort to open the door.

Got in the Car and it was late evening, but everything was in place & I felt that I am in a much expensive Car. Belted up, first gear slotted, 2nd, 3rd, floored & was pinned back. That acceleration is maddening & addictive. The brakes are S-O-O-P-E-R. You got to watch your back else you might be rear ended. The feel & modulation which was missing in the Yeti is in acres here.

From the short drive, the only negative aspect was - XXXL turning radius.

To those who are reading & still contemplating, PLEASE go ahead. Believe me, you would be doing a favor getting yourself one of this.

If I could, I would have sold my Figo then & there & got home this. In Fox Trot Azure if I may add.

A small note. Despite Yeti having good steering, nothing can come close to the feel of 'em Fiat & Fords. I just wish these electro hyd assisted (or whatever term is used) is replaced with a pure HPS unit.

Hope to own this someday. Yes, am that smitten Roads do call for a car with good GC so I am at cross roads for now.

Sheel, glad you enjoyed the ride, which I do each day

The turning radius can be a pain in the backside, but you have to plan. And then turn. And that ownership review; I must pen that down now.

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by Biraj

Most (in fact all) T-jet owners will second your observation. This car is really special. Not sure whether we should celebrate the exclusivity or feel sad that such a wonderful product didn't get the success it so deserved. I am absolutely certain that I couldn't have purchased a better car for the price I paid. Even the fuel efficiency seems excellent to me. With the level of performance if I am able to manage 10-11 KMPL in Delhi, I am satisfied. I hope Fiat launches it again in 2013.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

A good car simply could not sell when it was produced and the demand is going north when the production is stopped.

Not sure when FIAT will start manufacturing it again, but the hints are there as the top emotion variant in the petrol line up is still not filled in.

I fully agree with you all about the thrill of driving the Tjet.

But one reason why it did not succeed earlier and is in so much demand now is the price tag. Initially the Tjet was priced much above the diesel Linea and that was the only reason there was no demand even for such a fantastic product from Fiat. The demand for this car has only increased when Fiat announced it at a discounted price and it made the car look so VFM.

Even if Fiat decides to resume production of this fantastic car at a later date, they need to keep the pricing right to make it a success in the Indian market.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by Sommos

I fully agree with you all about the thrill of driving the Tjet.

But one reason why it did not succeed earlier and is in so much demand now is the price tag. Initially the Tjet was priced much above the diesel Linea and that was the only reason there was no demand even for such a fantastic product from Fiat. The demand for this car has only increased when Fiat announced it at a discounted price and it made the car look so VFM.

Even if Fiat decides to resume production of this fantastic car at a later date, they need to keep the pricing right to make it a success in the Indian market.

You missed one important point. A couple of months after Tjet was launched, the petrol pricing was de-regulated which shot up the price of petrol which sort of instantly killed the Tjet (also may be due to lower mileage compared to the other petrol cars in the segment)

On the pricing part, they need to price it atleast 60-75K lesser for the on road price as compared to Diesel ones (only top end).

Again not sure, how they would be able to do it, as the Tjet engine is completely imported. If they manufacture it here they may have to give that engine to TATA's and I simply cant stand Manza Tjet (no offense to any Manza owners, this is only my personal opinion)

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by Sommos

Even if Fiat decides to resume production of this fantastic car at a later date, they need to keep the pricing right to make it a success in the Indian market.

Once Fiat goes independent in 2013 if they are able to setup promising service centers and then offer products at the right price point, it will be a winning proposition. Just hope that it happens.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

If they manufacture it here they may have to give that engine to TATA's and I simply cant stand Manza Tjet (no offense to any Manza owners, this is only my personal opinion)

The other day I saw that Tata has re-branded its Quadrajet to Q-jet and I was like . Just imagine Fiat selling T-jet engine to Maruti and they start calling it K-jet.

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

You missed one important point. A couple of months after Tjet was launched, the petrol pricing was de-regulated which shot up the price of petrol which sort of instantly killed the Tjet (also may be due to lower mileage compared to the other petrol cars in the segment)

On the pricing part, they need to price it atleast 60-75K lesser for the on road price as compared to Diesel ones (only top end).

Again not sure, how they would be able to do it, as the Tjet engine is completely imported. If they manufacture it here they may have to give that engine to TATA's and I simply cant stand Manza Tjet (no offense to any Manza owners, this is only my personal opinion)

@Nkrishnap : I do not belive that so many members of this forum were not aware of the excellent engine of the Tjet or the fantastic driving dynamics of any Fiat car, for that matter, or even the fact that the Tjet engine is totally imported till the last. Many people were aware of all these but even then there was no demand for the Tjet. At the initial price range the thrills of driving this car could not connect with the heart of the members.

The difference between the petrol and diesel price is still very wide and the mileage of the Tjet is still the same. The only thing that has changed w.r.t. this car is the price or the discounts being offered. The demand for the Tjet started picking only when people found the thrill offered to be very exciting at the discounted value it was offered.

I agree that the deregulation of petrol also had an impact but my personal view is that Fiat got the pricing all wrong as they wanted to place the Tjet as a premium product.

[Rufus_M]

Originally Posted by Sommos

@Nkrishnap : I do not belive that so many members of this forum were not aware of the excellent engine of the Tjet or the fantastic driving dynamics of any Fiat car, for that matter, or even the fact that the Tjet engine is totally imported till the last. Many people were aware of all these but even then there was no demand for the Tjet. At the initial price range the thrills of driving this car could not connect with the heart of the members.

The difference between the petrol and diesel price is still very wide and the mileage of the Tjet is still the same. The only thing that has changed w.r.t. this car is the price or the discounts being offered. The demand for the Tjet started picking only when people found the thrill offered to be very exciting at the discounted value it was offered.

I agree that the deregulation of petrol also had an impact but my personal view is that Fiat got the pricing all wrong as they wanted to place the Tjet as a premium product.

Bang on!!

Firstly Fiat always had a negative image in the minds of the regular public. Too many customers were scared to take the plunge due to fears of A**. The pricing was'nt wrong per se. If there was a Honda City with a T-Jet engine people would've lapped it up IMHO. But given Fiat's brand image, the pricing was off the mark.

Another important factor was the marketing/publicity of Fiat. They never promoted T-Jet as a enthusiast car. All lost chances. Let's hope things will only move upwards for Fiat. It's indeed sad to see a brand go down.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by Biraj

The other day I saw that Tata has re-branded its Quadrajet to Q-jet and I was like . Just imagine Fiat selling T-jet engine to Maruti and they start calling it K-jet.

Hillarious. Fiat is surviving by selling engines, at the same diluting the value it offers in its own cars.

Originally Posted by Sommos

@Nkrishnap : I do not belive that so many members of this forum were not aware of the excellent engine of the Tjet or the fantastic driving dynamics of any Fiat car, for that matter, or even the fact that the Tjet engine is totally imported till the last. Many people were aware of all these but even then there was no demand for the Tjet. At the initial price range the thrills of driving this car could not connect with the heart of the members.

The difference between the petrol and diesel price is still very wide and the mileage of the Tjet is still the same. The only thing that has changed w.r.t. this car is the price or the discounts being offered. The demand for the Tjet started picking only when people found the thrill offered to be very exciting at the discounted value it was offered.

I agree that the deregulation of petrol also had an impact but my personal view is that Fiat got the pricing all wrong as they wanted to place the Tjet as a premium product.

Forget about the forum members buying Tjet, who are very little in number. This number has grown once the discounts set in. The General Manager Sales Prerana Motors shared data with me about how the enquiries overing a period died down due to the fuel price hike, you bet the enquiries were from the general public and not bhpians.

What I intended to tell was, Fuel price as also one of major factors apart from pricing (Tjet costlier than MJD).

Originally Posted by Rufus_M

Bang on!!

Firstly Fiat always had a negative image in the minds of the regular public. Too many customers were scared to take the plunge due to fears of A**. The pricing was'nt wrong per se. If there was a Honda City with a T-Jet engine people would've lapped it up IMHO. But given Fiat's brand image, the pricing was off the mark.

Another important factor was the marketing/publicity of Fiat. They never promoted T-Jet as a enthusiast car. All lost chances. Let's hope things will only move upwards for Fiat. It's indeed sad to see a brand go down.

For that matter any other manufacturer selling a Punto would have been a hot seller

Whatever marketing activities that were visible was only during launch and then everything became silent.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Sommos

Many people were aware of all these but even then there was no demand for the Tjet. At the initial price range the thrills of driving this car could not connect with the heart of the members.

The difference between the petrol and diesel price is still very wide and the mileage of the Tjet is still the same. The only thing that has changed w.r.t. this car is the price or the discounts being offered. The demand for the Tjet started picking only when people found the thrill offered to be very exciting at the discounted value it was offered.

I agree that the deregulation of petrol also had an impact but my personal view is that Fiat got the pricing all wrong as they wanted to place the Tjet as a premium product.

I agree with both of your points. Let me add my 2 cents here (apart from fuel pricing) since I was one of the earliest buyers of T-Jet+ : Most people (on the forum or otherwise) when they buy cars do not want to pay more when:

1. It is a Fiat. Common attitude here is "who will give 11L for a fiat?" No matter what, the brand name sounds like disaster waiting to happen, so knock it off from the list of probables.

2. There is the attitude of "how can the petrol variant be more expensive than the diesel variant?". Unacceptable! Foolish! Idiotic!

Both of these points worked against the T-Jet right from day 1. People forgot to see the actual value addition in the T-Jet compared to other cars - outright performance, superb leather interiors, loads of goodies, outstanding tech specs on power/tyres/torque/brakes, etc. In a country which is plagued with stigma (against certain brands), it is hard to come out of those 2 points I mentioned.

When I was choosing amidst other options in the C-segment, there was hardly any competition for the T-Jet, I was faced with the same question : why don't people give it a fair chance? No intention to start a brand war here, but when I was comparing it against the Vento (P), City and Verna(P), the T-Jet didn't lack in any department, barring the social stigma.

Exteriors : looks like a million bucks. Outstanding build quality way ahead of the City, Verna and Vento
Interiors : superb imported leather interiors. This where the City and Vento were actually behind the T-Jet in the interiors department as well.
Features : behind the Verna but easily beats the City and Vento. Er. does city come with automatic climate control yet? It didn't even have fog lamps and alloy wheels to begin with.
Performance : T-jet could trump everything else and run circles around them. Braking was equally superb. Where was the rest of the competition? Vento with its 105 invisible horses? Honda City with a non-existent bottom range and a soft boat suspension? ditto with the Verna.

compared product to product, there was no match for the T-Jet in that segment, performance or otherwise.

Was it overpriced? I would say NO. The same people who feel the t-Jet was overpriced at 11L on road (Bangalore) would never say the City V MT was overpriced, would they? The City V MT would retail at around the same price back then, sell in thousands and came with lesser equipment (in 2011) than the T-Jet in tech specs, interior goodies and gizmos.

What killed it was the Fiat name and the bad reputation in servicing. If Honda had launched a similar enthusiast product at 11L, I'm sure it would have been lapped up in thousands. And yes, where was the marketing? Many people weren't even aware of such a product in existence. There was a stupid ad which showed a couple admiring a T-Jet passing by on the road, but they never aired one to showcase its performance credentials. Here's the old t-Jet ad :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-NjnsHnr5A

If this lame ad is what Fiat had in mind to show to the Indian audience, god save their marketing department. Most non-enthusiasts who saw it would be wondering if its just another ad for the existing Linea *lol*. Did they bother trying to educate consumers about what was special in driving a turbo petrol variant? Fiat deserves this debacle if you ask me. They cannot expect results without efforts (marketing) in this case. It was a classic case of customers not interested in Fiat products, and Fiat not interested in selling Fiat products. Recipe for failure!

The T-Jet used to hardly sell when I bought it. I was in fact one of the first few black t-jet buyers in Bangalore. I still remember - the sales guy at my dealer got a hefty bonus because I bought a T-Jet+ from that dealer that month. They didn't hesitate to bring the test drive car home 3 times, yes that's right 3 times! On D-day I was treated like a VIP and given royal preference for purchase formalities and for delivery, because I had bought their most premium offering here in India. They even sent me a thank you letter and some goodies from Italy. I will probably never get such a memorable and overwhelming purchase experience ever!

[jazzrockz]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

why don't people give it a fair chance? No intention to start a brand war here, but when I was comparing it against the Vento (P), City and Verna(P), the T-Jet didn't lack in any department, barring the social stigma.

So very True KarthikK!
One thing I think you missed- The Turbo, the technology of the future... which none of the competition has ! You gotta pay for that! and it is not much. Ask the Japs, Koreans and Germans to match that!

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

What killed it was the Fiat name and the bad reputation in servicing. If Honda had launched a similar enthusiast product at 11L, I'm sure it would have been lapped up in thousands. And yes, where was the marketing?

Agreeing to your views on the debacle of the Tjet in the Indian context, I cannot but say that Fiat still carries the bad stigma and under par after sales service for it's customer.

But inspite of the horrific after sales service Skoda sells decent numbers in the Indian market. Again in spite of the dismal highway performance of the Verna, it sells in good numbers compared to the Linea (no offenses meant to any Verna owners).

What I wish is that Fiat should learn something from what the Figo has done for Ford and Duster has done for Renault in terms of ringing the sales charts and establishing the brand. I wish that Fiat retains its exclusivity like the Tjet and the 1.6MJD engine in the Indian context by not sharing it will other manufactures and launch one high class product like the Tjet and price it really aggressively at the present discounted value. This would be a small investment on the part of Fiat to establish the brand in the Indian market and also to increase the sales.

Regarding the lack of advertisement, let me tell you Fiat was entrusted with the job of manufacturing their cars. Once the cars move out of the assembly line the logistic movement, the advertisement, marketing/ sales through dealership and servicing was taken care by TMIL. Now a new company (FIGAPL) has been formed to look after logistic, advertisement, sales and servicing part.

[swiftnfurious]

Had been to Prerana, Lalbagh road (Bangalore). Their red T-Jet TD car is up for sale. The car has done some 6000 odd kms. The guys were not sure of the price. If anyone is interested, please check. And if any of you guys plan to buy it, please do it after the weekend, am yet to take a TD. :-D

There are many other cars too (TD/Demo vehicles) which are having discounts. It includes a Sumo, Manza, Linea, Nanos, Indicas, Vistas etc.