Chrysler Maserati TC

You're in the wrong section.

1) That's no Maserati

2) There's no thread for "cruel joke cars" on Fchat.

 

It presents typical New Yorker. Except the rear badge says Maserati. Urp.

 

Actually, there are quite a few differences between the Maserati TC and the garden variety LeBaron vert that most confuse it with. First,the chassis structure is stiffened, the trim is very high quality stainless steel, most of the light assemblies and bumper structures are vastly different and of much higher quality. The interior is completely different and features, again, high quality Italian leather on nearly every surface, a propriety Momo wheel/cover and nice wood trim.The top assembly is different andof high quality materials, the wheels are Fondmetal alloy and all are 4wdb systems. While the standard automatic versions(in both 4 and 6 cylinder models) were nothing special drivetrain wise, the manual versions were very neat. Maserati designed 4v per cylinder heads and a bespoke transmission made for an advanced powertrain. Good power, free revving and generally far superior to the leBaron fare. Only a few hundred were produced and they are sought after. Folks today are making great power with turbo/exhaust upgrades and the owners love them.
I've had a chance to drive the manual versions and they are pretty neat. Its easy to malign them, but they were high quality, special cars. The reason I'm so familiar with them, is that a good friend of mine collects them and has an example of manual editions in all available colors. He can afford what he wants and for some strange reason these TCs appeal to him. While they aren't my cup of expresso, they aren't the jokes that many make them out to be.

 

It's a LaBaron with Maserati badges no matter how you look at it. It's the darkest moment in Maserati history. It is no Maserati. It's called the Chrysler TC by Maserati for a reason. The Trident inside the pentagon is the biggest insult.

For the company that made the mighty 250F to fall to this level was, and still is, sickening.

It was only a bone tossed from Lee Iaccoca to his pal DeTomaso in desperate need of money.

Unfortunately, it still leaves a bad taste in our mouths.....

 

IIRC, it also cost twice as much as a LeBaron convertible when new.

 

That really isn't the case(a swapped badge only)-it was a joint effort with many significant changes from the Chrysler. Wasn't even built on the leBaron platform, but a modified version of the Daytona:

" optional drivetrain consisting of a German Getrag manual transmission and a 16-valve head version of the 2.2 L. This engine is often called the "Maserati" engine because it was built by Maserati and has a Maserati-branded cast valve cover.

The 200 hp (149 kW; 203 PS) 16-valve 2.2 L "Maserati" engine's cylinder head was cast in England by Cosworth and finished in Italy by Maserati. The pistons came from Mahle GmbH in Germany. The camshafts were designed by Florida-based Crane Cams and were manufactured by Maserati in Modena. The "Maserati" engine used a specially-made 2.2 block, upgraded crankshaft and rods.
The bodywork was produced by De Tomaso subsidiary Innocenti.[3] The struts and shock absorbers were specially designed for the car by Fichtel and Sachs, and a Teves anti-lock braking system was standard. The special wheels were made in Italy by the Formula One supplier Fondmetal.
Although sharing styling cues with the LeBaron coupes and convertibles of the same period, the TC actually has relatively few components that are readily interchangable with those found on other Chrysler products. Certainly almost all body panels and exterior trim items, as well as most of the interior furnishings, are unique to the TC."

Besides, I'd argue that some versions of the Biturbo(and Karif) were far worse automobiles than the TC. Plain and incredibly unreliable, they hardly brought honor to the storied Maser nameplate either.
What really killed the TC was that it was introduced after the LeBaron rather than before as intended. Production delays caused it to be associated with the lesser model, rather than add prestige to it as in the original plan.
Besides, I don't consider the trident inside the pentagon to be any particular insult. Chrysler has a rich history and accomplished much prior to falling on hard times(just like Maserati) and their Hemi remains one of the greatest engines ever produced.

 

You're trying to paddle against a too strong and obstinate current. You can't learn them nuthing.

It's not the car I would want either. I watched them being developed over at the DeTomaso factory. Yeah the 16V four cylinder engine is the hot hand. All of Maserati's heads were designed and cast by Cosworth at that time. My engine guy who does nothing but vintage racing engines works on F1 BMW and Cosworth engines a lot. When I had my 2L V6 Ghibli Open Cup motor there he was remarking about how Cosworth-like the engine looked and then I pointed to the Coscast on the head. The internals in their engines from those days are top notch. The valve trane design I would have liked to see done differently buy there were reasons why they ended like that. I haven't sampled this 4 cylinder.

I knew a long time collector from Orinda who was well known in the Maserati community on the west coast and he had had a long string of cars including two Ghibli spyders. He also had a late Biturbo spyder , QPIII with a custom interior and one of these 16V cars too. He absolutely loved it. So ...

 

I had a friend who drove one of these. I just never found the interior all that luxurious or comfortable for that matter. I loved the styling though. He liked his car.

Another fantastic management decision from GM.

 

Did the Volt thread finally disappear?

 

I think he's talking about the Allante, not the TC.

 

He was at one end of the stage at the press preview. DeTomaso was at the other. Every time Lee would say "Maserati" DeTomaso would mutter "Iz not a Maserati." I think that the Maserati dealers had risen up en masse and said they would sue if Chrysler were allowed to sell a Maserati-named car so they came up with that "TC by Maserati" which means nothing. MG-TC? I even suspected the cars weren't built in Italy, never saw a picture of assembly line, just a picture of cars parked outside a ship, but where could that ship be?
Anyway just wanted to know what they are worth now? I see them parked on the street iwth for sale signs which is a bad sign if you consider them desirable

 

certainly the Reatta and Allante were better cars IMO

most of the TCs didn't come with the twin cam - cossworth designed - DOHC 2.2 turbo engine, most were either the V6 auto or the SOHC turbo II engine - both production Chrysler drivetrains

 

Interesting screen name. Now go read some. DeTomaso had a huge mostly idle set of production facilities. You figure it out.

 

I remember my old boss coming up to me one day saying "we have a Maserati coming in this afternoon, do you want to work on it?" I thought "wow" a Maserati!! cool!! sure I'll work on it, and in rolls a TC..I took one look at it and started to laugh. I asked if this was a joke, and so did my boss!! Opened the hood and there sat a K-car 2.2 4 cylinder with a leaking head gasket. Ordered the parts from NAPA and away we went fixing it.

The car was an embarrassment to the Maserati name, and still is. They should all be scraped and never thought of again.

 

Yeah that was pretty clear. But I don't know that they're horrible cars even if they're now a part of the Rodney Dangerfield Automotive Museum.

DeTomaso was chronically under capitalized during those years and it showed. The history with him the Italian government and then Fiat-Ferrari-Fiat is complex. At least they're still around and not German or Chinese or something else.

 

That was DeTomaso's touch, he had a knack for it.

 

I had one come into my shop. The electric seat did not work. We replaced the switch --- from a LaBaron (LOL!). The lady who owned it was so happy. The switch cost was like $20 vs probably a hundred if it was a Bi-Turbo.

I wish these all had been scraped years ago.

 

And today Maserati once again uses Chrysler gear, Lamborghini uses Audi. It's not like Ferrari's switch was ever that terrific either. Today the buttons get sticky. How wonderful is that?

I had relatives who we visited at the holidays for a large family gathering. Frequently I'd take my Bora because it was a really nice drive and a chance to get it out of SF was always welcome. One year My wife's Uncle's wife started exclaiming that we had to go outside and see their bright new yellow Maserati. "We have a Maserati too now!".

You can guess the rest. What was I going to do be a pedantic ass and crush her excitement. It was a limited production car and they loved it. Big deal. No one who was a knowledgeable aficionado was fooled by this. A Lebaron Chrysler, really? It's not really a piece of Lebaron Coachwork either. Hey it's the car biz.

 

I'd take one over a Reatta or Allanté even if only for the available manual transmission, though the turbo 2.2 with the 16-valve Maserati head is a great motor too, and is by far the most tunable motor of the bunch. Also, they're generally considerably cheaper than a comparable '93 Allanté (interior is nicer too). Any of these cars would have been better with RWD though.

 

Some thinks are better not talked about.