RE: Maserati's big gamble
Discussion
SprintSpeciale said:
... I don't give a monkeys what they call it (although, say, Adam, would be a bloody stupid idea..).
How about using one of the founders' names? "The Maserati brothers, Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto ..."But, umm, the first's name would confuse - Maserati Alfieri - the second's would offer too many wags a play on 'bin', the third hints at chaps who cut hair, the third might incur a writ from VW and the last sounds like a Mexican bandit?
Maserati Trident, anyone? Out of all the pictures of Ghiblis on the internet, PH has to choose one that's pea-soup green. 
Seriously though, the Ghibli has to be one of the most beautiful Italian supercars ever made. IMO, it looks far nicer than a Ferrari Daytona, yet is still worth only a fraction of what the Fezzas go for.
This news of slapping that glorious name on a diesel six cylinder saloon, on a platform shared with a Chrysler sounds wrong, doesn't it (and I'm a fan of the 300)?
Oh well, the people who buy it will have no knowledge of its predecessors, anyway.
Seriously though, the Ghibli has to be one of the most beautiful Italian supercars ever made. IMO, it looks far nicer than a Ferrari Daytona, yet is still worth only a fraction of what the Fezzas go for.
This news of slapping that glorious name on a diesel six cylinder saloon, on a platform shared with a Chrysler sounds wrong, doesn't it (and I'm a fan of the 300)?
Oh well, the people who buy it will have no knowledge of its predecessors, anyway.
ukmike2000 said:
The Ghibli II and the BiTurbo which preceded it belong to the dark era of Maserati. It followed the Citroen years when Maseratis were blighted with Citroen hydraulics put together by Italian engineers - who thought THAT would be a good idea? Then after gorgeous designs like the Bora and Merak, along comes de Tomaso with a car that looked like a badly sketched BMW, with powerful engines and possibly the worst build quality of any car in the history of Italian manufacturing.
Things could only be better for the successor to the name.
I'm not sure what your experience of these cars is, but I'd suggest it's pretty minimal if you are lumping the Ghibli II in with the Biturbo cars. The Ghibli is a massively better car in almost every respect, except for sharing a dashboard and console.Things could only be better for the successor to the name.
At least the Ghibli didn't catch fire on it's type approval test.
I always tend to think of Maseratis as a bit like Alfa Romeos, except for people who have loads of cash to pour down the drain. I know they have some appeal, but I can't help but think of all the crappy aged examples I've seen. In fact all the older Maseratis I have seen have been virtually sheds. Some how Ferraris never seem to get into the same state. Why is it that Maserati owners seem to neglect their cars whereas Ferraris get enough TLC to carry on looking and sounding good?
V6Alfisti said:
They have been talking about a 169 for far too long, I think the last 166 came off the line in 04/05. I think the Giulia (159 replacement) has been pushed back to 2014 and I can't see the 169 coming anytime soon. 
2007, and the E segment car is in the new Fiat plan - which is basically the 500 and Panda, then premium Alfas and Maseratis.ukmike2000 said:
The Ghibli II and the BiTurbo which preceded it belong to the dark era of Maserati. It followed the Citroen years when Maseratis were blighted with Citroen hydraulics put together by Italian engineers - who thought THAT would be a good idea? Then after gorgeous designs like the Bora and Merak, along comes de Tomaso with a car that looked like a badly sketched BMW, with powerful engines and possibly the worst build quality of any car in the history of Italian manufacturing.
Things could only be better for the successor to the name.
Nothing at all wrong with the Bora or Khamsin with their Citroen hydraulics. The only real blight on that era of ownership was the QPII.Things could only be better for the successor to the name.
As for the de Tomaso era, he saved Maserati by building a profitable volume seller that endured in one form or another for 20 odd years, not to mention the first twin turbo charged production road car. As for build quality, my friends 1986 BMW 325i was killed by tin worm long before my 1987 Biturbo. When compared with cars like the BMW 6 series and the XJS of the same era, the Maserati was no worse in terms of overall build quality.
MadDog1962 said:
I always tend to think of Maseratis as a bit like Alfa Romeos, except for people who have loads of cash to pour down the drain. I know they have some appeal, but I can't help but think of all the crappy aged examples I've seen. In fact all the older Maseratis I have seen have been virtually sheds. Some how Ferraris never seem to get into the same state. Why is it that Maserati owners seem to neglect their cars whereas Ferraris get enough TLC to carry on looking and sounding good?
Interesting question. I was talking to the specialists who look after mine a few years ago about the difference between your average Ferrari owner and Maserati owner. They seemed to suggest that the average Ferrari was either an only car or a second car - an aspirational purchase, if you will. The average Maserati was a third or fourth car, a complete luxury, probably doesn't see use from one week to the next and as far as maintenance goes, maybe that means out of sight, out of mind? Who knows.Something that might also be worth factoring in is the residuals vs. servicing costs angle - Ferraris do seem to hold their value a lot better than corresponding era Maseratis on the whole.
I would rather see a better product from Alfa in this space. Built to Teutonic quality standards, priced competitively, fast and beautiful to behold. Basically improve the Alfa brand perception as unreliable etc.
Maserati should stick to their connoisseur niche between Alfa and Ferrari IMO.
Maserati should stick to their connoisseur niche between Alfa and Ferrari IMO.
Think it sounds like a good plan. Keep the Ferrari image "pure", use Maserati badge to sell premium cars covering the higher end of the BMW/Merc/Audi/Jag spectrum. Alfa badge is less prestigious but still good. I'd focus on more affordable premium for them. Lancia looks to be dead anyway, sadly.
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