General Fiat Promotions

[ScottyP]

I have said in another thread that I never even knew that the Stilo existed, I came across it by chance and ended up buying my Schui as a result.
Why don't Fiat use the Ferrari link more to sell their cars? Imagine the queues of people wanting to buy the Punto Ferrari, or the Stilo Ferrari. Top of the range models with engines tuned by Ferrari, sorted suspension, bodykits, special interiors, Ferrari red. What a marketting tool that model would be.
I was reading somewhere that there was talk of a 240+bhp Grande Punto, due in 2007? If that was the case I think that I would be trading in my Schui for one of those, unless of course there is going to be a 250+ bhp Stilo.

 

[PNL]

I am actually very suprised that FIAT didnt go for the bigger BHP and wilder look when they brought out the Schui Stilo I am sure it would have sold. To me it was a big mistake they would have sold IMO more that the currant model there are people out there that want that different than standard looking stilo

 

[winger]

The bottom line is Fiats ain't wurth 'Jack' secondhand i must have 20 all bought secondhand over a space of 25 odd years,my wife has a JTD Punto 25,000 miles on a 03 it's mint,bought it private for 2600 last year,my punto van has 40,000 miles on and that cost £1900 and just over 3 years old!!

When my local dealer had a new manual Abarth in last year he was so desparate to get rid of it,sold to another dealer and did the same with Shu'y one he had, all the dealers got one each,Fiat build good cars but have a cheap and cheerfull reputation,it's just the way it is.

I've cought serious colds with two Fiats,2:4TD Marea estate that defied all attempts by two different Fiat garages to fix and an Abarth i bought two years ago with 14,000 miles on it's now just turned 18thou!! with the gearbox now starting to play up P/X value??? 5 if i'm lucky.

 

[Stu DemonD]

I am actually very suprised that FIAT didnt go for the bigger BHP and wilder look when they brought out the Schui Stilo I am sure it would have sold. To me it was a big mistake they would have sold IMO more that the currant model there are people out there that want that different than standard looking stilo

Totally agree with that - what they should have done and what they actually did are so vast.

The Schui actually came with less toys than the selespeed - and to spec up an Abarth for the extra handling bits isn't too onerous either, if you want to go down that route.

I do however remember the early adverts for the Stilo - one with the middle aged guy whistling or something, the other with the four younger people in it :chin:

 

[kev1]

What the stilo needed was a "halo" model. Totally over the top performance, handling and price and only needs to sell a handful to create the "i want one" effect like the RS for the focus or VXR for the astra. Ford and Vauxhall only sell small numbers of these yet they raise the profile of the entire range.

however, it looks like Fiat may be learning with the Grande Punto Arbath(if it ever produces it!) with 200+ bhp for 18K - it won't sell many but it will be road tested to death in all the magazines and car shows thus raising the profile of the entire range

 

[Seraph]

i think that the effect that releasing a FIAT Ferrari association vehicle on Ferrari would be vast.

Would you want to spend 350k on a FIAT? even if it was still a branded Ferrarri, you would suspect that the link between the two was someone stronger... one being cheap, the other being expensive performance.

 

[ScottyP]

I'm not sure what you mean. Do you think that people who bought the Ferrari F430 would not have bought it if Fiat brought out a Fiat Punto tuned by Ferrari?

 

[wotnowarninglight]

Got a A5 cardboard envelope with a promo booklet in and fun sized bag of Haribos for the Sedici early May... is that the type of promo you were thinking?

 

[Morritt]

mmm, haribo...

 

[Kieran83]

I got the exact same promotion booklet, needless to say i neither like haribo nor have any children to hoover them from my hand even before i open the letter! As for the booklet, it sat around for a while before finally getting recycled by my council.

Before i bought my stilo which was meekley sitting in the corner of the dealers forecourt looking sorry for itself, i hadnt even heard of such a car. I knew fiat had a vast range of models but naturally thought that the punto was the mid range spec for their fleet.

It wasnt until i came here had a look around to see what you guys and gals had to say before i bit the bullet and forked out and to be honest not a problem wrong with it since! Although i think i have a warped front disc but thats life.

The stilo is an amasing mid ranged car with plenty of potential the problem is unlike many other car companies like ford and vauxhall fiats suffer from huge faults and this has been the case always, hence why no one will touch them with barge poles, only the brave such as we would jump in at the 'deep' end and take pride with our cars.

 

[twincamms]

It's not only FIATs that suffer poor residuals, Lancia and Alfa have also endured this problem in the UK. Why? I'm not sure, perhaps it's the extortionate cost of spares or it may well be that the 70s/80s rusty reputation has stuck firm with the UK buying public. Whatever it is, it is unfounded and unjustified, they are as good as any other mainstream manufacturer out there. When I'm asked what car I drive and I say a FIAT, I get the same look as if I'd said Skoda or Lada, it's peculiar to say the least, people are so snobby!

I also agree that FIAT should capitalise on their Ferrari connection, we've seen it with Ford/Lotus, Talbot/Lotus, Vauxhall/Lotus and now even Proton/Lotus! So why not FIAT/Ferrari, ah, what a combination!

The trouble is once you have a reputation........................

 

[gearfinger]

On the ferrari linkage, didn't fiat sell off most of its ownership with ferrari a few years back? And if you had a financial stake in ferrari, would you want it being strongly link branded to fiat? I think Fiat would love to have a fiat ferrari range of top spec models out there, would ferrari be up for it? I doubt it.

 

[wotnowarninglight]

Dad started me off on the Stilo idea... watched a german tv motoring program where they reviewed the Stilo (when a new model) and said 'it out golfs a golf' which my dad thought was high praise indeed. So he bought his first Stilo and then persuaded me to buy one too! Dads on his second Stilo (JTD MW) and Mum has replaced her 55SX Mk1 Punto with a Bravo JTD... these are folk who in the 70's were put off Italians by an expensive unreliable Alfasud but after Mums Punto (1st Fiat they owned) realised that FIAT were not as bad as they were made out to be and went for the 1st Stilo and the rest is history.

Stu - The UK TV ads were strange and we didnt get the message, whatever it was...

Twincams - What alloy pedals you fitted and how difgficult was it?

 

[ScottyP]

Anyone heard of the Dino? That was a Fiat/Ferrari car.

I'm trying to remember if there was a Fiat 131 (or something like that) that had a Ferrari block/head/engine in it. I'm sure I went to see a car with a special engine, late 80's?

 

[custard]

i know lancia had a ferrari engined car back in the late eighties/early ninties(?)

 

[ScottyP]

The Thema Ferrari. Also the Stratos used the same engine from the Dino.

 

[Martiny10]

It was the Thema 8.32 = 8 cylinders, 32 valves.

 

[ScottyP]

Now wouldn't it be nice to lift the bonnet and seeing that written on the top of your engine!

 

[wotnowarninglight]

The Lancia was the Thema 8.32, the Fiat the 130... consigned to obsecurity now along with the Lancia Trevi, Lancia Gamma & Fiat Argenta (facelifted 132 runout replaced by Croma)

 

[Sid]

I ate my Haribo sweets and recyled the rest of the stuff, don't want a 4 x4 can drive one anytime I like.....I work for a Land Rover franchise!