Fiat and BMW

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Fiat and BMW

remember the golden gossip rule, if autoexpress report something that is not confirmed by reuters then there is a very small chance that it is factual.


for a good laugh look at auto express reports from a few years ago. judging by the success rate i think they have hired nostradamus.
 
Fiat & BMW had signed a Memorandum of Understanding last year to co-develop a replacement to the Mini & Grande Punto.

BMW recently said though that they had scrapped this idea. (See here or here.)

However, the companies have confirmed they are still in talks. (See here.)
 
And the Grande Punto is the same as an Opel A rsetra underneath... That means it should have already been replaced:D!

I remember reading about a tie-up between Fiat and BMW some time ago. It was supposedly limited to a single task or several related tasks and was not a merger or something.


I think the Chrysler deal killed the BMW deal. All the same, a second-generation Mini on a platform shared by Fiat with the 1.6 MJTD engine wouldn't be too bad, would it? On the other hand, that engine is already in the 500, GP and the MiTo, two of which compete directly with the Mini.
 
a second-generation Mini on a platform shared by Fiat with the 1.6 MJTD engine wouldn't be too bad, would it?
wouldnt be bad for fiat, but i cant see an overall benefit for BMW. cost savings may be smaller than sales losses.

many/most mini drivers want to buy a slice of the BMW brand, even if they dont admit to it. if the next mini was built on a platform that was also used by & developed with fiat, it would no doubt deminish the BMW effect that the mini enjoys. if that same mini also had a fiat engine it would have a huge effect. unlike most platform & engine sharing that goes unnoticed, this mini example is the kind of situation that the press would publicise.

for example few people know the corsa shares it platform with the GP, but everyone knows the leon is built on a golf platform. that is because every leon review makes a point about the golf underpinnings, but corsa reviews dont usually mention the GP relation.

check out the corsa parkers review for example- http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/vauxhall/corsa-2006.aspx
no mention of the GP anywhere

then check out the parkers leon review- http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/seat/leon-hatchback-2005.aspx
the very first thing is says is the golf issue!


only big news gets coverage. a mini with fiat platform and engine would be big news because the mini uses its executive BMW heritage to justify the price and prove the quality. you cant use a brand built on BMW for a car built on fiat. it would be a lie, and that would be big news. even your mother would hear about it.
 
wouldnt be bad for fiat, but i cant see an overall benefit for BMW. cost savings may be smaller than sales losses.

many/most mini drivers want to buy a slice of the BMW brand, even if they dont admit to it. if the next mini was built on a platform that was also used by & developed with fiat, it would no doubt deminish the BMW effect that the mini enjoys. if that same mini also had a fiat engine it would have a huge effect. unlike most platform & engine sharing that goes unnoticed, this mini example is the kind of situation that the press would publicise.

for example few people know the corsa shares it platform with the GP, but everyone knows the leon is built on a golf platform. that is because every leon review makes a point about the golf underpinnings, but corsa reviews dont usually mention the GP relation.

check out the corsa parkers review for example- http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/vauxhall/corsa-2006.aspx
no mention of the GP anywhere

then check out the parkers leon review- http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/seat/leon-hatchback-2005.aspx
the very first thing is says is the golf issue!


only big news gets coverage. a mini with fiat platform and engine would be big news because the mini uses its executive BMW heritage to justify the price and prove the quality. you cant use a brand built on BMW for a car built on fiat. it would be a lie, and that would be big news. even your mother would hear about it.


:eek::eek::eek:

Oppppsssssss!!!

You're right, Jug. the GP and the Corsa share platforms and not the GP and the Arsetra like I mentioned above. And the rest of what you're saying here makes a lot of sense as well.
 
as jug says the main benefit would be to Fiat not BMW.

though saying that i rarely hear of fiats eating gearboxes like bmw minis do, so it wouldn't be all bad for BMW

Yes you are very true as BMW do not have anything to gain with colabrating with Fiat..I think FIAT might was looking for another name to join with so that they can start selling some of their cars..
 
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