"Musical Chairs @ Maserati" Car & Driver. Feb 2006

Oh well its just a matter of time before the Germans take over all of the worlds most prestigious automakers.

 

I've said this Before. If True, Put a Fork in Maser.
V6 = DISASTER !
That's Porsches Game & they will Win.

 

This is a JOKE. They cannot be serious.

It's right, Maserati needs a cheaper entry-level model to gain critical mass and expand its customer base.

But who are they trying to kid? A GENERAL MOTORS V6, which even Alfa fansare not happy about? 256 HP from a 3.2 litre?? Based on a transverse-engine platform originally designed for front-wheel-drive???

All this, in a time when BMW has a 6-cylinder 3.4 litre M3 engine pulling out 343 HP? And Porsche's Cayman pulling 300 HP? And BOTH will be cheaper than this Alfarati mongrel??? WHO THE FUC.. ARE THEY TRYING TO KID?? They must be the most idiotic bunch of incompetents at the helm of Maserati today if they think that even one single buyer in this segment will fall for such corporate bull****ting. This won't be a Maserati, it wouldn't even make a decent Alfa Romeo. Where's the tradition? Where are the engines designed in Modena by Modenese engineers? Where is the exclusivity? Man, if these guys think they understand anything about corporate strategy, they seriously need to go back to business school.

I hope what C&D said to be grossly mistaken. Otherwise, poor Maserati!

 

I know I've said this before, instead of focussing on engines or suspension technology etc. they should focus on a true innovation for them. Ears.

 

"worlds highest cost supplier "

Too blody true as I have found out to my cost ...literally when buying parts for the 3200...It was a joke .It was as if they thought of a number the multiplied it by 10 !!!

 

CASE IN POINT!

This is part of the current plan to make parts for pre 2002 cars either absurdly expensive or flat out unavailable if they legally can do so. Their hope must be elimination of all of these models so they won't have to deal with them.

Now, a customer like you that bought a 3200 somewhere between 1999->2001 (maybe even later) will probably take a very dim view of buying any Maserati ever again because of such policies.

Oh, and do spread the word about this. They deserve it!
If people don't complain then they won't ever change.
I know, it's a long shot.

 

I have to say there is one thing that a lot of you are saying that annoys me - a fair number of you are rambling on about advertising. Now I am not sure what happens in the US but super luxury/sports car brands do not tend to advertise. How often do you flick open a Magazine and see an advertisement for a Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls Royce even Lamborghini? I know I sure do not ever see this sort of advertising (even in expensive luxury magazines).

A brand like Maserati doesn't NEED to advertise. It has a rich heritage whose cars' images have unfortunately has been tainted by managerial mistakes and quality problems from the past. Advertising will bring the brand down in terms of exclusivity and cachet - Why do you think BMW and Mercedes are so common these days? They pitch themselves at common folk of course!

Maserati has produced some great cars in the past and I think people have to realise that the brand is quite an individual one and cannot be likened to many other brands. Their cars do not have the handling of a Ferrari, the reliability of a Porsche or the power of a Lamborghini - they have always been charismatic cars bought by eccentrics, people wanting something a little different that isn't mainstream (Aston Martin is in this way quite similar).

The problem has arisen when Maserati has pitched themselves as a serious alternative to other manufacturers to whom they couldn't compete. For instance the Biturbo was originally conceived to take on the BMW 3-series in the early 1980s. Sure people fell in love with the power and the brand name but the cars honestly could never compete with BMWs resources or quality. People who would've bought the BMW and opted for the Biturbo were turned off by this when things started going wrong. The same has result ensued for almost every other car they have produced since. After all you couldn't expect a Maserati to go 10000 miles with just an oil change - they are an exotic and need to be treated like one (that is not to say I endorse the fact that exotics need to be expensive high maintenance machines but the fact of the matter is that they are just that).

It is my belief that Maserati should produce a car that is true to some of their 1960s/1970s design roots. These cars were successful and were hits of their time. Produce something that is individual and will attract people to the brand EVEN IF a Ferrari is faster, a Jaguar more luxurious and Porsche more reliable. I don't know about you but when I sink into the luxurious interior complete with soft leather, suede door liners and rich briarwood and prod the accelerator of the powerful V8 (while simultaneously listening to that intoxicating roar) I wouldn't go for any other manufacturer. People who have owned and loved Maseratis in the past will come back and providing the car is good enough the word will spread to those who want something different and are willing to accept the car for what it is rather than compare it to something for what it isn't. The brand should produce individual automobiles (much like the original 3200GT) not the homogenised rubbish the US market seems to demand (and get their way with). The car may even have "boomerang" tail lights...well whoopty do lets all faint at the prospect it MAY ACTUALLY BE DIFFERENT and NOT mainstream.

I'll intentionally burn a few bridges here but Porsches are always driven by wankers, Ferraris by drug dealing Mafiosi and Jaguars by dithering old fotheringtons - a Maserati to me is a perfect symbiosis (and I use that word because I believe Masearatis are living beasts) of exotic performance, cachet and anonymity. Much like that of the successful Aston Martin brand.

Oh and keep the model out of the US at least for the first few years - At least then the car can allow itself to be loved rather than be baulked at for its lack of cup holders when compared to a Chevrolet Mega Supersized Suburban complete with urban assault equipment or an accelerator which doesn't quite have the complacency of a Honda's. I don't know how many cars I have seen enter the US only to be raped by US federalisation and then the ensuing homogenisation because the market doesn't understand the heritage or background of the company.









For the record I know my strategy would send the company broke but who cares. Maserati have generally been owned by bumbling fools at the best of times - incompetant French Citroen, DeTomaso (whatever you would call that company), moronic Fiat. At least by the time I had killed the company yet again it is highly likely a German car manufacturer would sweep to the rescue, it is very fashionable to do that amongst car manufacturers in Germany these days: Buy up poor little companies with alot of heritage, have a bidding war, spend another gazillion dollars upgrading manufacturing facilities and creating new platforms and EVENTUALLY turning them into successful companies – the Germans seem to be the only manufacturers who know how to buy a manufacturer and keep its vehicles true to the brand rather than all that rubbish GM and Ford churn out in the guise of Volvos and Jaguars (the trick is they know how to hide or dress up the shared switchgear – something US companies are yet to grasp)

 

V6....WTF?

 

V6?!?! WHAT? NO NO NO...I wouldnt buy a $75,000 dollar GM V6 Maserati...this is ****ed up

 

Great rant.

At various times I have had a 3500GT, a Sebring Series II, a 430, a 228, and a 2002 Coupe Cambiocorsa. Loved them all.

My complaint about the current Maseratis is very simple: the jerky, awkward paddleshifting system. And the only alternative is a clunky 6-speed manual that brings to mind a 1950s pickup truck.

Maserati needs a good manual-6 available, including in the Gransport, and a nice regular automatic as an alternative, particularly in the QPorte. Test-drive a 2006 Cadillac STS and see how marvelous its automatic is.

I hope that the current drool over paddle-systems soon goes the way of 1950s push-buttons-in-steeringwheel-hubs fad transmissions - for Maserati, Ferrari, Aston, and whoever else is skipping down this yellow-brick-road.

 

And what about Aston? Are they so awful now?

 

Ah but people love 'em at the track. It makes clumsy fools look brilliant and a good driver that much better. You can't compete with just a manual.

 

Didn't read all of the replies, but a V6 can be good. Heck, the Alfa V6s are among the best, GM origin or not.
A maserati with Alfa V6 and manual gearbox? That doesn't sound all that bad, if I have to be honest ... if it looks the part as well, I'd consider it for sure!

 

What's quite distressing is the lack of passion with which some automotive professionals approach the game. Years ago, the guys and gals who created these companies ran them and designed automobiles from the soul -- not from the board room. That's the missing link.

V6, W12, I4... Who cares (think Dino) as long as it sounds good, pulls well and FITS the car. My Supercharged V6 C32 Mercedes is a blast to drive (I think it's now a Chrysler SRT powerplant) -- not as much fun as my Maserati GranSport, but well done for the car.

As for stuffing a lot of comfort features into a vehicle and keeping costs low, my wife's BMW 745Li has a great big V8 with lots of stuff for about $80k. There's something to be said for that. One of the things that springs to mind is mass-production. Good if you want to sell cars. Bad if you're passionate about owning them.

I for one want a car that is difficult to find on every corner, has a story behind it, is fast, looks great and feels rich. If I had to choose one item above as most important, I'd pick the story. I'm a sucker for a good story and I'm interested to find out how this one plays out. I hopeful for a story with about great men and women with a passion for the history and the future of Maserati.

Best of luck Maserati...

Mark

 

Mother****ers ! First Alfa, now MASER !

 

That would make sense if Maserati markets its cars primarily, or even significantly to track-drivers. But I suspect that only a very small percentage of M-owners ever track their cars. And even a tinier percentage of those would be able to competently exceed the speed/cornering possible with a manual or regular state-of-the-art automatic.

Here's a practical comparison. The current 05/06 Pontiac GTO has a 400hp/400torque unblown V8, same as the Maserati. You can get it with a really good 6-speed manual or a really good automatic. Test-drive one. Find out what the Maserati could drive like if it had non-doofus transmission options.

 

All we'll be left with are empty marketing statements talking about a Maserati "brand" which has nothing left of the heritage, passion and engineering which give meaning to the very name.

What does "Maserati" really mean if its cars are going to be bastardised versions of cheap Fiat/Alfa FWD platforms with GM V6 engines?

Unfortunately too many people who work in marketing seem to think that "brands" are commodities that can simply be hyped up with some clever advertising devoid of any real content. Bloody idiots.

 

I've heard some people say they like the manual 6 speed and others say it's agricultural, like Lamboghini as in tractor. Just kidding. I have not driven a 6 speed.

Now I think you forgot one grouping of people in your list of those they are marketing to.

Those that think they want/need this because it will make them a better driver "if" they ever go to the track or meet another playfull driver on the open road. It's also the greatest thing since ... whatever. Ferraris have them you know.

That group probably covers a majority of the buyers,
those with their "Walter Mitty" moments.

It does make you faster at the track if you use it correctly with none of those pesky and embarrasing missed shifts or bad heel & toe moments.

You are of course correct, they don't need and probably should not get this option. It is less wussy than an automatic (not offered) though.

Bob S.

 

Let's not get out the razor blades just yet.

We could always stage a drive in protest at the factory if they stick a crappy GM engine in it. There are decent GM engines available like the Northstar but that's not what this reference was about. Maserati heads on the northstar block etc. ?

Rumours, rumours, rumours.

 

Belief half of what you see and none of what you hear.



Forza,


Cavallini

 

Would you guys choke if I suggested a 505 hp LS7 10,000 dollar V8 powering an alfa Derived AWD or RWD chassis with Maserati exotic looks and interior?

If that would be too powerful how about a 5,000 dollar 400 hp 400lb/ft of torque LS2 V8 with Maserati magic worked into any part of the motor they like...

Those prices are retail too!

I know its heiracy but rather than a GM v6 at least go for a V8...

Hell with enough R & D the exhaust note could be whatever maserati wanted!

 

good point, too true unfortunately.

 

Need I say anymore ?? For the vast majority of North American's "this" is Maserati......looks like they are going back to their roots.
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TC bashing is popular but, at least IMHO, uninformed. I had one of them for a couple of years - with the 5-speed manual & Maserati DOHC engine. Sorry I sold it, wish today I had kept it. It was beautifully built, Maserati-plush interior, plenty of pep, absolutely trouble-free. $27K brand new with a 5-year warranty.

The TC was the unfortunate victim of timing. Iacocca & deTomaso broke up the Chrysler/Maserati partnership just before the TC began arriving in America, and most Chrysler dealerships were ignorant & hesitant about it. Plus most of them were delivered with the alternate, much weaker, Chrysler/Mitsubishi autotrans engines, which was a shame.

If you're curious, read & see more about it at:

http://www.portholeauthority.com/