Andyk
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Tuned QP diesel
- Thread starter Andyk
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Andyk
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It is the back Pete isn't it....Just so un Italian in design........what were they thinking..
safrane
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I just dont see any of the current four doors as an aspirational car... To me the Ghibli is their 21c Bi Turbo and the new QP is just a bloated lump...like Elvis became.
Inside they are nice but any car that relies on a speaker to make it sound nice and passes a diesel off as a sports car is no longer a sporting brand...lets hope the new GT does not go the same way as this with a oil burn option and the Alferni pits some passion back into the brand who frankly are starting to look like Jag 20 years back.
Inside they are nice but any car that relies on a speaker to make it sound nice and passes a diesel off as a sports car is no longer a sporting brand...lets hope the new GT does not go the same way as this with a oil burn option and the Alferni pits some passion back into the brand who frankly are starting to look like Jag 20 years back.
BennyD
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I don't think the latest QPs and Ghiblis are aspirational cars, they are just another choice for businessmen who want something different from the ubiquitous BMs and Owdis. Most businessmen don't want big V8s doing 18mpg on the motorway, they want comfy cruisers with good economy especially if they have an aspirational badge on the front. What these soot chuckers do is provide the money to fund aspirational cars like the Alfieri and if that's what it takes, it's ok by me. I remember the uproar when Jag announced they were going into the diesel market and look what has happened to them; sales on the up, profits on the up and F types (however flawed) are flying out of the door. As I see it, Maserati was on the floor and the count was at 8 because they weren't selling enough cars. If, as a company,they start to make money, instead of being propped up by Fiat, the future looks a lot more secure and I'm sure we all want Maserati to survive.
The XK is exactly what the GranTurismo is albeit a bit bigger and a bit more expensive. Then the Alfieri is the F type. In fact if you look at Jaguar and Maserati in three or four years time then there will be a lot of product overlap. Sure Jaguar is at a lower average price point but Fiat has Alfa Romeo to cover the cheaper end of the market so Jaguar versus Maserati/Alfa Romeo is a similar line up.
spkennyuk
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Maserati have to sell more cars in order to survive. Whilst the Ghibli and latest QP's may not be the cars everyone wanted them to be they will sell more units. BMW and Audi achived this by mass producing basic models to the fleet car market and then producing high end versions like the M3 and M5.
Aston Martin dabled with a super mini which was a Toyota of all things as a way of bringing in extra revenue. You never know you may end up with a Maserati badged Mito. As much as I thought the Toyota / Aston Martin hybrid would damage Aston's brand image it didn't. Having said that the Aston Cygnet was way over priced so ultimately failed.
In my opinion the Gransport with a revision to the shell design, different engine and a cheaper to produce interior could be introduced to the range again. If the price point was correct. If it could be priced somewhere in the £35k to £45k price bracket then I am sure it would sell a good many units. Although a 4 door version would no doubt sell even more units. By all means call it something other than a Gransport but development costs would be lower and running costs would be lower with the right engine choice to appeal to the fleet market
BMW and Audi still manage to carry the premium brand image yet they produce everything from super mini's to full blown sports saloons and 4 x 4's.
Maserati really need a successful mass unit model in order to invest in their high end models.
Aston Martin dabled with a super mini which was a Toyota of all things as a way of bringing in extra revenue. You never know you may end up with a Maserati badged Mito. As much as I thought the Toyota / Aston Martin hybrid would damage Aston's brand image it didn't. Having said that the Aston Cygnet was way over priced so ultimately failed.
In my opinion the Gransport with a revision to the shell design, different engine and a cheaper to produce interior could be introduced to the range again. If the price point was correct. If it could be priced somewhere in the £35k to £45k price bracket then I am sure it would sell a good many units. Although a 4 door version would no doubt sell even more units. By all means call it something other than a Gransport but development costs would be lower and running costs would be lower with the right engine choice to appeal to the fleet market
BMW and Audi still manage to carry the premium brand image yet they produce everything from super mini's to full blown sports saloons and 4 x 4's.
Maserati really need a successful mass unit model in order to invest in their high end models.
highlander
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A difficult one for Maserati to handle and decide on. They have never been, and are not aiming to be an exclusively thoroughbred only maker like Ferrari or Lamborghini so have always aimed at a section of the market just below that more akin to mercedes IMO. I can therefore see the business sense in the newer models like the ghib and the soon to be released SUV but for "purist" enthusiasts of the marque like ourselves this can be difficult to understand and accept as a way forward and therefore highly unlikely to appeal to us........and let's be fair, it is even more unlikely that they aimed at us either!
c4sman
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Rewind the clock and look at how Porsche went from purest manufacturer of the 993 and nearly went bust to being one of the most profitable car manufacturers world wide by introducing the boxster and the cayenne. All with an outcry from the original loyal customer base.