With a remarkable new design and introducing onboard technology previously unheard of in South America, the Fiat Grande Punto will arrive in Brazil during the second week of August. The Grande Punto will be manufactured at Fiat Brazil's Betim plant, the first time the B-segment car has been built outside Italy, while under the skin and inside it will differ significantly from the version that has taken the European markets by storm since it arrived in September 2005.

However the European Grande Punto's leading edge technology will be carried forward to the Brazilian version. Blue&Me, a sophisticated infotelematic system developed by Fiat and Microsoft's automotive business division and used for both practical communication and leisure amusement, will be seen for the first time in the Brazilian market in the new Grande Punto; it is a ground-breaking system that has been designed expressly to narrow the relationship between man and machine. The technology allows an interaction between both, with a user-friendly interface that makes the driver’s day to day tasks easier and makes the car an extension of the office. It brings with it greater safety, keeping the driver’s attention focused to driving when in the traffic when the system is been used, increasing the pleasure in the car.

With the Blue&Me system the driver is able to undertake several tasks such as: making phone calls from his cell phone by a smart voice control even if the cell phone does not has that resource; answer phone calls through the Bluetooth® gadget, and setting the system through controls located in the steering wheel.
 

Further features include keeping personal diary phone numbers always updated; listen through the audio system of the vehicle to SMS messages; listen to Mp3 music by two ways: using the CD player in the dashboard or by your Mp3 personal player either by pen drive connected to USB door  located in the glove compartment.

Blue&Me joins together different equipment in the vehicle, the audio system reproduces information in a loud voice and the display in the panel shows data about Mp3 sound track, and names located in the cell phone diary besides identifying the phone call numbers. The most important characteristic of Blue&Me is its advanced system of voice recognition, by this it is possible to organize the dial number through the names in the diary, or digit by digit. It is also possible to order commands to the Mp3 player and listen to SMS messages.

Blue&Me was developed by Fiat Research Centre in Italy, in a partnership with Microsoft and Magneti Marelli. It is the first time at a global level, that Microsoft has developed a latest generation technology for auto industry, using Windows Mobile with the aim to make the driver’s life easier. The Brazilian version will be in Portuguese language, and the versions of the Grande Punto to be exported to other countries in Latin America will feature the Spanish language. The new Grande Punto will be introduced to the Brazilian press on 8th August.

by Claudio Perlini