Rest in peace Carroll Shelby

A great loss for the automotive world.

Force ForceOne a little too late for the Indian market

A body-on-ladder frame boxy SUV from an Indian commercial vehicle maker Force Motors, the ForceOne was launched in October 2011. It was a product aimed at the conspicuous gap in the Indian SUV market, between the  INR 800,000 (US$ 16,000) Mahindra Scorpio and the INR 1,800,000 (US$ 36,000) Ford Endeavour. Priced at INR 1,100,000 (US$ 22,000), the ForceOne should have been an instant winner in the fastest growing passenger vehicle segment in India - SUVs (Business Standard Motoring - ForceOne review). The SUV also boasts of the Daimler OM651 diesel engine which once powered the Mercedes-Benz C 220 CDI and E 220 CDI. Force Motors planned to sell ~4,000 units of the ForceOne between its October 2011 launch and September 2012. It has sold only 1,200 units until March 2012 and I have seen exactly ONE ForceOne on the road since its launch.

So what went wrong for this SUV?

Timing.

Before the ForceOne was launched, Tata Motors already had the Aria, a multi-utility vehicle (MUV), in the offering at the same price point. The Aria is fully loaded with safety and creature-comfort features, such as ABS, traction control, rain sensing wipers, touch screen infotainment console - everything. It still did not do well because of its price and well, because it was neither a car nor an SUV. Moreover, a couple of months after the ForceOne's launch, Mahindra came up with its XUV-5oo SUV - again at the same price point as the ForceOne's. The XUV-5oo scored over the ForceOne mainly in terms of looks - the XUV-5oo's looks are far more contemporary than the ForceOne's; and ride quality and handling, primarily because the XUV-5oo has a monocoque chassis (Business Standard Motoring - ForceOne and XUV-5oo comparo).

All the 'drawbacks' that the ForceOne has in comparison to the other products available in the market are just functions of timing. Indian consumers have accepted uglier cars, for example, the Mahindra Xylo and inferior quality cars, the Tata Sumo. However, in the present market scenario, the Indian consumer has much better choices for INR 1,100,000. If the ForceOne would have been launched, say, 5 years earlier and INR 400,000 cheaper, it had the potential of redefining the Indian SUV market. However, with the announched launches of the Renault Duster and the Ford EcoSport by end-2012, the fate of the ForceOne seems to have been sealed.

Although, I will definitely look out for the 2013 Gurkha!

The Fiat 500 is not a chick car!

It is funny how at times celebrity endorsements have the opposite impact on product popularity. Recently, I stumbled upon the Jennifer Lopez Fiat 500 campaign in the US (Official Fiat 500 video - Youtube). While there is nothing wrong in J Lo trying to bring back an iconic car to life, that too in a market where it never had any presence to start with, I still could not help but wonder why the Fiat guys could not get hold of a better brand ambassador for the cute little car.

As I started reading and looking for consumer responses to this particular campaign, I was not surprised. Most of the people, especially the ones aware of the Fiat brand and the 500, were not at all entertained. Simply because there is no relation between J Lo and the 500. Also the fact that J Lo is not a certified auto freak did not help either. For the purists, the whole campaign was 'tasteless.' Further, it is rumored that J Lo used a body double for the scene in the commercial when she zips around her 'block' in the Bronx and that she fumbled as she tried to open the car’s door in a live television appearance during the American Music Awards (NY Times). These 'misadventures' did not go too well with the audience. Neither, could J Lo convince the auto enthusiasts, nor could she convey the message that she still is 'Jenny from the block' and she loves driving the cute and maneuverable 500. In fact, Laura Soave, the Head of the Fiat brand in North America, lost her 20-month-old job especially due to the J Lo-500 campaign.

However, the ad campaign cannot be totally brushed aside. It did attract attention, although not from the intended target, but from teenagers and younger consumers who have no idea about the past antecedents of the 500. The campaign went a long way in branding the 500 as an essentially women's car. As a damage control mode, Fiat has now roped in Charlie Sheen for the 500 Abarth (the souped up version of 500) campaign (Youtube). I am still not sure whether an aging womanizer saying "Not all bad boys are created equal" will woo the potential 500 buyers.

Finally, Fiat seems to be getting it right with the Let your Italian out campaign. In fact, current Fiat owners and Fiat enthusiasts seem to have given the thumbs up to this advertisement (Fiat500owners.com). Hopefully, Fiat should be able to reach its ~5,000 a month sales figure for the 500 now.

Moving on to my home market, India, Fiat chose the former miss-Universe Lara Dutta as a brand ambassador for the 500. Now, I do respect this lady for her beauty and intellect, but somehow she just does not seem to be the right representative for the car. Earlier, the Palio was endorsed by cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar. And Sachin autographed bright yellow Palios were quite common in the market - meaning the campaign was a success. However, I cannot say the same for the 500, which was introduced in the Indian market in 2008. There have not been much buzz about the 500 in the Indian market (mostly due to its ostentatious pricing) and I seriously doubt that the 500 will be branded as the rich lady's toy car with the present brand ambassador. Could not have Fiat roped in auto enthusiast Sanjay Dutt to be the brand ambassador instead?