Explain
Styling Abarth
- Thread starter arorat
- Start date
Currently reading:
Styling Abarth
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2011
- Messages
- 24
- Points
- 6
By keeping it separate Fiat now have a premium brand for their sporting models within the group. Imo there is a lot of brand snobbery among sports car buyers, had cars like the Fiat Coupe and Vauxhall VX220 been released under the Abarth brand they would have attracted an even bigger folowing.
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 3,696
- Points
- 795
By keeping it separate Fiat now have a premium brand for their sporting models within the group. Imo there is a lot of brand snobbery among sports car buyers, had cars like the Fiat Coupe and Vauxhall VX220 been released under the Abarth brand they would have attracted an even bigger folowing.
Two thoughts. First, most "premium brands" are actually kept within the parent brand. See for example BMW M, Mercedes AMG. To my mind, there is more sense in that than creating an entirely separate brand - first, the trickle down effect is potentially bigger as the connection to the ordinary cars is closer; second, there are practical benefits for owners if their cars can be serviced and sold through regular dealers.
Going the other route (Lexus) only makes sense when the new brand is planned on being so big it has its own critical mass. Which Abarth does not.
Second thought: not entirely sure Vauxhall would agree to badge their VX220 an Abarth. Lotus might have had something to say about it too.
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2011
- Messages
- 24
- Points
- 6
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2011
- Messages
- 24
- Points
- 6
Abarth are still within the Fiat group, hence when you take your Abarth (or Alfa) to somewhere like Glynn Hopkins the same tech guys work on them. In factyou can have your new car serviced at any VAT registered garage and it won't affect the warrenty.
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2010
- Messages
- 691
- Points
- 89
By keeping it separate Fiat now have a premium brand for their sporting models within the group. Imo there is a lot of brand snobbery among sports car buyers, had cars like the Fiat Coupe and Vauxhall VX220 been released under the Abarth brand they would have attracted an even bigger folowing.
I can identify with the snobbery thing with dealers. When I was looking to trade in my 500 for a A500 and got the 'your's is just a Fiat' whilst mine is an Abarth. I reckon that guys who buy Abarths because of the snobbery thing are just creating a nice secondhand market for ordinary guys who would be 'happy' to drive an ordinary 500. I reckon that a lot of Abarth owners would have originally owned a Fiat 500 or an Panda 100bhp. It would interesting to know if a poll has been conducted on the other Abart forum in relation to this. If you look at the RS 'brand' in Ford they embraced their 'special' models. A Ford mechanic could do the ordinary stuff in them and it didn't affect the branding. The transition I had from an XR3i (please don't laugh
) to an RS Turbo was a painless one but I ended up going to to Belfast to get the tuning work done to it.
Have you taken a look at the date on that story?
All Abarth's are is a body kit and an engine spec level.
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2011
- Messages
- 24
- Points
- 6
And yet it's still a much better car to own and drive than the Fiat 500. Quite clever what they've done really, small changes, huge differences.
Charley says
New member
Big price difference too, when they start taking on and beating the opposition in competition then I might be convinced that its not just badge engineering at its worst.
For just over £14,000, i think it's exceptional value. It's cheaper than a specced up Fiat 500C for example. And i think they are faster than you take them for too. We have various threads on the Abarth forum of what cars we have beaten, some surprising results there!
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 3,696
- Points
- 795
Why is it a better car to own (as opposed to drive)?
Is it? You're constantly complaining about the dealers and things going wrong with your car.
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 3,696
- Points
- 795
If it's better to drive, then surely it's better to own too?
It's great that you love your car, but because you said that the Abarth is better to own as well as being better to drive, I thought you were making some additional point about the car as an ownership proposition (on top of the joy it gives you to drive).
It strikes me from what you have said in the past, particularly about driving miles to an Abarth dealer, that objectively speaking it is probably worse to own than a boggo 500 (again, differentiating ownership from driving).
I can see the value of trying to create a sporting brand but believe Fiat have done it all wrong.
You can only buy Abarths from Abarth dealers yet the cars are made on standard production lines with other Fiats with the same parts.
In contrast Renaultsport is a separate brand who build & develop their products at a separate facility in Dieppe away from ordinary main production Renault models.
They are in fact way more bespoke than Abarth products. Take for example the fact all suspension components like dampers springs etc are completely transferable between Fiat & Abarth 500s yet you can't fit Clio RS items to a non RS car as different wishbones/hubs/driveshafts are used to achieve different geometry settings, in fact even cup items don't fit non cup cars due different bolt spacings on the hubs again to achieve differenty geometry. With the different wider tracks different wings are needed etc 500 wings are all the same. On the Clio 182 the boot floor is removed to fit the dual exit exhaust sonthere is a flat floor with no spare wheel well, on the 500 they simply filled the hole with a tyre pump.
But even given all these differences you can walk in to any Renault dealer and purchase an RS product, get RS servicing or warranty work no quibble. The products still provide a halo effect and many young drivers move up the ranges as income & age increases but at the moment Abarth if anything alienates it's own potential clients but not utilising it own wider dealer network to improve area coverage, or allowing warranty work to be handled by anyone but Abarth dealers.
Another slightly different example would be the Civic Type-R produced at the same factory in Swindon as normal Civic's with one major exception. The engines & gearboxes are hand assembled in Japan & shipped to the UK to be fitted to ensure the very tight tolerances needed on the high revving Vtec engines and close ration rifle bolt gearboxes are achieved. Expensive way to do it, but ensures the reputation is kept high with regards to reliability. Though the cars can be bought serviced & warranty work completed at any Honda dealer.
It's madness especially given how much warranty work the cars are needing doing, which some people are travelling hundreds of miles to get done while driving past Fiat dealers much closer, where any Fiat trained mechanic would be able to diagnose & repair the cars. There is nothing on them not found on cars throughout the Fiat range.
The best way to achieve a strong following is to create great products, not try and fabricate one through exclusivity of dealerships.
You can only buy Abarths from Abarth dealers yet the cars are made on standard production lines with other Fiats with the same parts.
In contrast Renaultsport is a separate brand who build & develop their products at a separate facility in Dieppe away from ordinary main production Renault models.
They are in fact way more bespoke than Abarth products. Take for example the fact all suspension components like dampers springs etc are completely transferable between Fiat & Abarth 500s yet you can't fit Clio RS items to a non RS car as different wishbones/hubs/driveshafts are used to achieve different geometry settings, in fact even cup items don't fit non cup cars due different bolt spacings on the hubs again to achieve differenty geometry. With the different wider tracks different wings are needed etc 500 wings are all the same. On the Clio 182 the boot floor is removed to fit the dual exit exhaust sonthere is a flat floor with no spare wheel well, on the 500 they simply filled the hole with a tyre pump.
But even given all these differences you can walk in to any Renault dealer and purchase an RS product, get RS servicing or warranty work no quibble. The products still provide a halo effect and many young drivers move up the ranges as income & age increases but at the moment Abarth if anything alienates it's own potential clients but not utilising it own wider dealer network to improve area coverage, or allowing warranty work to be handled by anyone but Abarth dealers.
Another slightly different example would be the Civic Type-R produced at the same factory in Swindon as normal Civic's with one major exception. The engines & gearboxes are hand assembled in Japan & shipped to the UK to be fitted to ensure the very tight tolerances needed on the high revving Vtec engines and close ration rifle bolt gearboxes are achieved. Expensive way to do it, but ensures the reputation is kept high with regards to reliability. Though the cars can be bought serviced & warranty work completed at any Honda dealer.
It's madness especially given how much warranty work the cars are needing doing, which some people are travelling hundreds of miles to get done while driving past Fiat dealers much closer, where any Fiat trained mechanic would be able to diagnose & repair the cars. There is nothing on them not found on cars throughout the Fiat range.
The best way to achieve a strong following is to create great products, not try and fabricate one through exclusivity of dealerships.
Last edited:
Why bother RobinPJ, he'll just go on and on and on and on and on about it regardless of what people say. I like my 500 and there are very few cars which I would want to own over it and tbh from a financial view an Abarth is just a silly car for most people unless they want to spend all of their weekends driving the thing around.
Amen to that.
For me the Abarth brand just never differentiated itself from Fiat enough to justify being branded seperately.
Cooking model 131
Street version of the 131 Abarth
Cooking model 500
Abarth 500
To me it should have different wings and just look more aggressive.
Charley says
New member
MMMM 131 Abarth
The 131 Abarth was a tool not a toy, I,m not saying the new Abarths are bad its just that they are not as good as they could be, maybe Fiat doesnt want Abarth to tread on Alfas toes, I think that their strategy was for Fiat to do the "run of the mill" cars, Alfa the sporty and (dont laugh) Lancia to do the luxury end, now where does Abarth come into this?
The 131 Abarth was a tool not a toy, I,m not saying the new Abarths are bad its just that they are not as good as they could be, maybe Fiat doesnt want Abarth to tread on Alfas toes, I think that their strategy was for Fiat to do the "run of the mill" cars, Alfa the sporty and (dont laugh) Lancia to do the luxury end, now where does Abarth come into this?
Not criticising you (more like FGA marketing) but where the hell did they get the idea that Lancia's are luxury cars?
Whoever dreamt up the idea that lancia's future lay in making luxury cars was bonkers.
