Press: new Ghibli = replacement of current QP

We've heard all of this before, a while ago. Look for the thread(s).

 

the name ghibli provokes an image of a very sexy two door gt. you have me worried that the name will be put on a 4 door car?

not so sure i appreciate that. am i misunderstanding this?

pcb

 

Discussed at length here and probably other spots as well.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=388706

Re-utilizing the Ghibli name for the Ghibli II (I own one) was bad enough but yes I agree, this is absurd.

Hows about Quattroporte Veloce instead?

 

Names aside, the key message mediated by Sunshine sounds very interesting and points to a more promising strategy than that most of us were afraid would be implemented just a while ago.

 

I spoke to Fabio Collina while in Padua about the new Ghibli and he positioned it as the replacement for the current QP for most markets. The factory views that some markets (ex: China) needs a larger, most luxurious QP which would be many times chauffeur driven .... hence the new larger model. Somehow I have a hard time envisioning a chauffeur driven Maserati.

He mentioned that Maserati expects China to be the #1 market, surpassing the USA, in the near future. He also mentioned that many of the Chinese buyers are women.

I know that many times we tend to criticize the factory for "lack of vision" but the truth is none of us are looking at the detail sales market data and trends. Perhaps with this data on hand we would be making similar decisions.

I did tell Fabio that re-using the Ghibli name, especially on a four door coupe, was a mistake.

Ivan

 

Ivan,
its definitely no secret that China will become the No.1 market very soon for all luxury car manufacturers!
Also the current and upcoming trends are no secret.
Yes, Fabio is right - but if China wants a high image Maserati QPVI why then with a V8? A V12 (coming from the Ferrari FF in little de-tuned-version) as an executive version would sell like bread there. And in Russia, etc.!

The upcoming "Baby-QP" would have fit much better in the -now deseased- Lancia portfolio. And to give this 4-door car the name of one of the most famous 60s sports GTs is
a disaster! A clear proof of ignorance and stupidity.

Clearly Sig. Macchione is no car guy! He is a technocrat and the undertaker of the Italian car industry!

 

I agree that I don't like the reuse of the famous Ghibli name for a completely different type of car. But I'm not a marketing guy.

 

Vaguely similar to pimps.

A lack of regard for the product and solely interested in the money. They're pimping Maserati's great heritage and a name in this case. A very shallow and hollow move IMHO. If a car is worthy of being a Maserati it should have it's own name.

Walter is correct.

 

I know that the Italian/Canadian Mr.Marchionne is actually considered guilty of everything of presumed bad is happening in the Fiat group.
But, if also an ordinary decision as the choice of a new Maserati car's name is deputed to Mr. Marchionne (not Macchione ), try to explain me which is the role of the German Maserati's CEO Harald J. Wester...

Ciao

Andrea

 

Walter,

The Lancia brand is unknown to some important markets for which the "Baby-QP" would be targeted. We have not seen a Lancia in the USA in many years. You are talking about introducing a new brand ... that is not a trivial task. Perhaps they could have introduced the Baby-QP as a Lancia in some markets and as a Maserati in others; but then we would be accusing them of badge engineering.

I spent many years as a brand manager for a Fortune 50 company and I can tell you the decisions are a lot harder than they might appear on the surface. We have not seen all the research and market data, therefore all we can do is speculate. That said, the re-use of the Ghibli name is a mistake and, it in my opinion, waters down the Maserati brand.

Ivan

 

Andrea,
Harald Wester is also not a Car Guy and seems to have no clue about the great heritage Maserati has! But he can`t do anything without Signore Marchionne permission!

 

Or at a minimum it confuses the image.

It's not the end of the world.

 

...yes, but also not the beginning of a new Universe!

 

Ivan,
your mentioning of the now deceased Lancia brand let us come to the major problem of the Italian automotive industry:

they missed it totally to establish FIAT, Lancia, Alfa Romeo to the US- and Chinese (Asian-) market.

As I said - a major mistake that will cost 10,000s of jobs ....in Italy!

The new "Ghibli" is totally wrong for Maserati. It would have been good for Alfa.

 

I agree.