The current (new) one or the one from a couple of years ago? The older one was a bit circuitous to navigate. The new one isn't finished as yet but as befits it's purpose it's very much about the new cars. They do have a historical/vintage section it's just not fleshed out as yet. I do hope they put the PDFs of the owner's manuals and all the other stuff that was up there. Also, I hope that the registration I did of my Maserati's a couple of years ago isn't lost. A section for member contributions of historical information so as to fill in their gaps would be nice but I can certainly see where that could lead to authenticity issues so that's probably not going to happen. Bob S.
That's not the point guys. There are plenty of great sites out there. We'd like the Maserati official site to put back what was once there. I think some of the PDFs of owners manuals on Ivan's site probably originated with the factory. Also the factory has a LOT more other information and hopefully one day everyone will be be able to see it. Bob S.
Totally agree. It would be nice if the factory official website had much more on the older cars. All they have to do is assign a web savy kid to work with Cozza over a summer, scan what he has, and get much of that information on the web. It would be nice ..... but unfortunately it will probably never happen. Ivan
Well then, everyone who is registered with them needs to send an email and express their concerns. I will. Ciao, George
I like the idea of a summer internship as it would be very economical. They'd have a line of volunteers forming but I do believe you have to have a seasoned designer involved in this and I don't just mean a computer type either. You need both. For this project flashy doesn't work. A good commerical systems designer like whoever did McMaster.com would make the site work well almost forever. Seperate the trashy-flahy stuff from the archive portion. That way they can change that every 5 minutes and it won't effect the the archive stuff. I also think having someone very samiliar with the vintage car community on the project would ensure a really terrific result. my 2 cents. A summer or winter with Cozza going though all that stuff. I'd even like that project myself! Bob S.
Bob, We are running out of time before the few people that worked at Maserati during the glory years are no longer with us. Now is the time to digitally record hours of videos conversations with Cozza and others like him, on numerous topics. You are correct, someone that understands the vintage car community needs to be in charge. The videos are only useful if someone takes to time to orchestrate the topics and questions. Editing videos and keeping them interesting is not a trivial task. Later on subtitles in various languanges can be added to the video and these made available on the web. Now is the time for someone to sit down with Cozza, understand his manual archives and convert as much as possible into high resolution digital format. There is a WEALTH of information in his archives. Just recently Marc Sonnery was able to retrive documents about my Vignale spyder prototype #504. In Cozza's archives are copies of letters between the factory and the original owner before the car was completed, plus detail specs ... down to how the carbs were jetted. I was able to better understand what the original owner wanted. He was very specifc as to what level of performance he expected and went as far as stating that the car needed to be faster than an Aston Martin 3.7 Mark IV! He asked for 4 wheel disc brakes, but the factory responded that front disc with rear dums was adequate. He was also very specific as to the color of the car and supplied the factory with a sample ... the car was paintted the color he requested. None of this information is in the build sheet I had previously received from the factory. Bottom line is there is much information that is simply sitting there and unless you have contacts it is almost impossible to have access to it. I do not undertand why the factory does not put more effort helping vintage car owners by providing access to information they already have. One of ther strongest attributes of the new Maserati cars is the brand name. That brand name is the result of years of race car successes and a line of unique GT cars. I spent years in marketing/advertising for a Fortune 50 company and we would have done anything in our powers to glorify the things that made our brand great. Ivan
Ivan, I think even though you and I may understand this many at Maserati either don't or they don't see as much value in doing this. I agree that yes it helps define/maintain/restore the aura of Maserati's great history. I think they probably realize this as well but they also might think they don not need to go quite that far to get the benefit they seek. If they don't sell new cars it's all moot. That's the focus and right now the economy has to be worrying them. The information you founf out on your Vignale while fascinating and extremely valuable to you and any future owner is well ... probably considered pointless clutter to them. Once Cozza leaves I doubt they'll have such a position staffed as diligently as it is now. I think someone would have to figure out a way or offer to personally defray the expense of what you outlined. Maybe the Italian government? It's got to be an Italian. It's also likely to end up being quite the diplomat's task as the management will want certain things even though they're not paying for it. Sounds like a challenge! Bob S.
