Fiat Grande Punto elected “Carro do Ano 2008” in Brazil

Just a few months after its South American launch, the Fiat Grande Punto was elected “Carro do Ano 2008” in Brazil by a panel of 37 journalists representing the national specialised press.

Organised by the magazine Auto Esporte and now in its 41^st edition, the award is the most prestigious accolade for the Brazilian automotive industry, as testified by the top models in the running, which the Grande Punto beat with a total of 235 points: namely the Citroen C4 Pallas (208 points), Nissan Sentra (152 points), Renault Logan (146) and Chevrolet Vectra GT (134).

The prestigious accolade reflects the growing public success that this model has achieved in just three months: indeed, since its launch in August, approximately 10,000 units have already been registered in Brazil. The Grande Punto was conceived to set new benchmarks for design, safety, quality and comfort, and also features the innovative Blue&Me system, which sets new standards for on-board communication and entertainment.

The “Carro do Ano 2008” award joins an impressive number of prizes garnered to date from the South American press, starting with the “Auto Interamericana 2008”, assigned by the Interamerican Federation of Automotive Periodicals (FIPA). This was followed by “Carro Nacional do Ano” and “Carro Abiauto do Ano”, both from the Brazilian Automotive Industry Association (Abiauto) and two prizes awarded by the panel of Top Car TV: “Best national car over 1001 cc” and “Best product advertisement” for the “Bola de Cristal” commercial. Last but not least is the “Big Idea Chair” prize from Yahoo Brasil.

Turin, 29 November, 2008