getting Maserati out of the funk

I, for one, would prefer a street version of the MC12 FIA GT1 car to an Enzo or even an FXX.

There will never be a Ferrari and Maserati that will actually compete with each other in the future; Maserati will be more of a GT car, and Ferrari will be more of a true sports car. I don't know exactly where Alfa will fit into the picture, but in the 50s and 60s they were sports cars, and since then, more GT cars; especially in the last few years...

 

It does seem like they have been pigeon holed, now that you mention it. Not unless they were to totally break away, this may not change. I doubt they're really making any money so it proves that they really need to turn up the designs. Maserati are building the new Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione at their facility and that car looks to hold a lot of promise. I think the Maser line is probably being floated by Fiat and they're using it for production capabilities for the other brands. If it weren't for that they'd probably sink.

 

I'm no Maserati history expert, but I will say that I enjoy their current lineup and direction.

If I want a race car, I know a Ferrari will fit the bill. A little more stripped of comfort, and a bit more "exotic" in every way. While the Maserati reflects afluence and class throughout their product line. Of course, 400hp in a Mas Coupe is always nice to throw around. Especially when over 3/4 of the people out there don't know the performance factor.

Italian sleeper, gets looks from enthusiasts but not so much to get attention from everyone on the road and create a hazard. I love it.

 

As a mere almost-40yr-old living in the States, Maserati to me has always been synonymous with "crap Italian car".

Sure, there's been a few older exceptions (the Merak and Bora are gorgeous), but all anyone my age has ever seen in production until recently is the BiTurbo and that LeBaron ripoff. Say Maserati to most folk today, and if they remember the marque at all, that's what they remember.

The newer models were interesting and might have resurrected the brand had they been less expensive at first. Instead, Ferrari/Fiat tried to make them high end cars without an established dealer network, without a decent lease deal, without any track record at all. That's no way to sell in the States.

Now that they're separated again, they lose the halo effect of being 'Ferrari derived' and are just strange Italian cars without an established dealer network, without a decent lease deal, and a track record of massive depreciation.

Unless the next car looks like a P3, accelerates like a litre bike, and runs like a Honda, they're done here.

 

Maserati's days of glory ended with the 3500GT and 5000GT.

 

When Maserati didn't produce the Chubasco, that design got a new horseshoe grille and was produced as a Bugatti.

 

One version of Murphy's Law says: "If you design something to please everyone, someone won't like it."

I think Maserati produced some very nice & unique cars over the years, including (gasp!) the later Biturbos. I had an '89 430 & 228, and they were both magnificent and 100% trouble-free cars.

More recently I had a 2002 Coupe, also a superb machine. I never felt it was demeaned at all by Ferrari. If anything, it was a more luxurious Ferrari at a substantial discount and twice the factory warranty. What was to dislike?

I think if you drop by the Maserati subforum here, you'll see lots of happy Maserati veterans, past & present.

 

Where are they building the new Dino? I'll bet it's at the Maser facility in Modena. Yet another thing floating Maser

 

In Formula1 the quality of the drivers is such that only a second differentiates the top ten qualifiers in most races. The difference in the race often comes down to a very slight advantage one car may have over the other, ie: tires for that particular track in those weather conditions.
The same is not true for the street and especially for average drivers and automotive enthusiasts. Why do I say this?
My 2006 Maserati Gransport has 400 hp and is listed by the factory at 0-60 of 4.75 sec and top speed of 180, a Ferrari 360 is something like 4.2 sec (similar hp but lighter), does that really matter in the real world, not much I would say. Then what is the difference? The difference is the niche the manufacturers are trying to dominate. The Ferrari is the all-out weekend toy, track day racer. It is (in my mind) the undisputed king of sexy, exotic supercar toy. The Maserati isn't rying to be that, and can't really go after that anytime in the near future, linked to the Ferrari factory or not. What they are after (I think) is a customer like me. That is someone in early middleage with kids maybe who has disposable income and is a lover of Italian cars. A customer who wants something the Germans and Brits don't quite have in terms of that special magic. He wants to drive the car frequently, perhaps everyday but not necessarily has to. He wants to have the option of putting the kids in the back or going away for a weekend and have luggage space. With 400hp on tap, and an OEM Tubi exhaust he wants to have a little fun too. My car also has a 4yr, 50K mile warranty, and I expect will give relatively few headaches while filling that tall order.
It is an amazing Italian machine, gorgeous, fast, backed up by a good warranty, and versatile to boot. That is what this car represents to me, and many other enthusiasts.
If I wanted a weekend toy, that came with considerably more headaches, I would have purchased a very nicely sorted 355 or slightly beaten up 360 for a similar price...but for me the choice was obvious.