Horsepower and Heartbreak: Remembering Fiat in India

A Prelude to Passion Some automotive relationships are forged through spreadsheets, resale values, and rational choices. Others are born in the heart—irrational, emotional, and fiercely loyal. My relationship with Fiat in India belongs squarely in the latter category. It is a story of admiration, infatuation, devotion, and, ultimately, heartbreak. A chronicle of a brand that never quite bent to the market’s will, and of a boy who never quite stopped believing in it. Chapter One: The Infatuation In the mid-1990s, the Indian car market was a predictable place. Maruti’s small cars, the 800 and the Zen, ruled the roost, defining affordability and mass appeal. Yet, by 1996, the winds of change had begun to stir. A wave of foreign manufacturers arrived, buoyed by India’s newly liberalised economy and a growing appetite for global products. Opel, Ford, and Fiat entered the fray, each attempting to carve a niche in an evolving market. While the Americans pushed mid-size sedans, despite the market having already rebuffed Peugeot’s 309, Fiat chose a different path. It went small. The Uno was Fiat’s opening gambit: a large, spacious hatchback that dwarfed its contemporaries in sheer presence. Practical and robust, it nonetheless felt like a conservative choice,