Luca di Montezemolo goes to......

Don't take my word for it.

What did Car and Driver say when they drove what Fiat replaced the venerable QP5 with the QP6?

"Pour out some grappa, for the four-door Ferrari is no more."

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15116977/2014-maserati-quattroporte-first-drive-review/

The impression that you’re in Ferrari’s sedan, or Bentley’s nemesis, is gone. Commodification has snuck into the Quattroporte’s cabin, and it’s not just the alarming abundance of Chrysler-sourced switchgear.

They especially lauded the Garmin-based navigation they pulled from a Dodge Dart

Wrenching on the QP5/GT, more then half the parts are Ferrari (for better or worse) They literally stick a thin Maserati sticker where you can still see the Prancing horse logo underneath it, it's pretty funny. Once FCA took over, it was the same thing except it now was Mopar.

*This* is what killed Maserati, plain and simple

The sick among us are willing to put up with Italian silliness (and prices) because of the feel of the drive is irreplaceable, if I wanted a 300M with a Maserati logo on it, I would buy a 300M and put a Maserati logo on it.

To be fair, The Trofeo models at least have real Italian engines. Those are the exceptions.

 

I was just not wanting to argue the point endlessly. I agree with you, Maserati was dead when Ferrari took them... they made them a reality... and now that they are back with FCA... who knows. I only know two people that have had Maserati's and then loved them... but they dont have them now. Personally I like the Grand Tourismo convertible... I think its a good looking car... the QP and Ghibli.. not so much. I always liked the Biturbo body - only if they would have worked at all...

 

LOL... you realize that the transmission is not made by Ferrari and many other brands use THE SAME transmission and have the same issues with it. the issues are not so much a black eye on Ferrari or other brands but a few things have come up with them.... McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari...same Getrag! You quote..."all suffer from gearbox failures"...that is so very far from the truth. ;-)

 

My beef with LDM was his obsession with being "exclusive"! That made the road cars better and worse.

What he did with F1, hiring Jean Todt and hiring the best of the best, not more Italians, rejuvenated a floundering F1 team. Which also rejuvenated the brand.

 

Luca di Macca

 

Before 2013, Maserati sales stagnated under 7,000 units per year. THIS is what would have killed Maserati, plain and simple.
Since then, Maserati sales have reached levels that could justify its survival - although 2024 has been rather catastrophic (but that's no surprise, given that Tavares has managed to bring down everything in the Stellantis group).

 

QP4 = Fiat
3200 GT/Coupe'/GranSport/Sypder/Grandsport Sypder = Fiat/Ferrari (Dev started in Fiat, switched over in 2007 to 50/50)
QP5/MC12 = Ferrari
Gran Turismo = Ferrari/Fiat (QP5 underpins much of the GT, more Ferrari then Fiat)
FCA = Ghibli/QP6/Levante/Grecale/MC20

It's not a mistake that in my opinion the best Maserati ever offered is the QP5 and MC12. = why I wonder? What products were under 100% Fiat ownership? What products were under 100% Ferrari ownership?


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