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Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Performance, Etc., Europe, Crossover, Maserati, Luxury
According to
Automotive News, Maserati is looking to expand its dealer network in a big way. The luxury Italian automaker intends to double its dealers by the end of next year in an attempt to take advantage of a rash of new models heading for production. All told, Maserati intends to have around 500 showrooms open by the time the new vehicles roll in, and CEO Harald Wester says that the majority of the growth will happen this year. While the automaker sold just under 6,200 units last year, Wester wants to see that number swell to 40,000 in 2014 and 60,000 by 2015.
That's a substantial jump, but with an all-new
Quattroporte on the way as well as a production version of the not-yet-named
Kubang, Wester believes the numbers are attainable. Maserati has also made it clear the company will offer an entry level sedan positioned below the big Quattroporte, which will likely do a smart job of bringing in even more customers.
Maserati looking to double global dealer network to capitalize on new model push originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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March 12th, 2012
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Car Buying,
crossover,
Etc.,
europe,
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kubang concept,
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Performance,
quattroporte,
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Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Sedan, Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Europe, Mini, Design/Style, Electric, Diesel, Luxury
Italian Turbine-Powered Calling Card For A New Era...And A New Maserati Quattroporte?
The global meltdown that boiled to the surface in 2008 was really hard on a lot of car companies, but it was categorically horrendous for the tradition of Italian car craftsmanship out of Turin.
Of the three big players left in the traditional Italian design mecca - Italdesign Giugiaro, Bertone and Pininfarina - only Giugiaro has managed to avoid administrative takeover of its debts and assets by working out a major deal with longtime allies
Volkswagen to sell them 90.1 percent of the firm. Both Bertone and Pininfarina are currently trusted to oversee their own operations but are nonetheless bonded to pay off significant operational debts to Italian banks after having hammered out merciful sweetheart low-interest deals. Neither has succeeded in closing mutually agreeable VW-style takeover bids, but both would probably prefer not doing so anyway.
The
Geneva Motor Show has been treated as Italy's (and my) hometown gig ever since the once wonderful Turin auto show fizzled away in 2002. One of the great spectacles of the Swiss salon is seeing the three major houses unveil their trinkets to the press, their stands traditionally placed side-by-side for maximum effect. This year, Italdesign Giugiaro will naturally show off some Volkswagen conceptual thinking, while Bertone has once again chosen a whimsical dream showcar approach with its 1970 Stratos-inspired
Nuccio concept meant to commemorate Corrozzeria Bertone's centenary.
But the Pininfarina stand will most likely steal the attention of showgoers. How can you lose with a spanking new and hot
Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and a concept that seems to hint at a future replacement for the
Maserati Quattroporte?
Continue reading Autoblog goes one-on-one with the Pininfarina Cambiano Concept [w/video]
Autoblog goes one-on-one with the Pininfarina Cambiano Concept [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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March 2nd, 2012
Tags:
cambiano,
Concept Cars,
coupe,
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diesel,
Electric,
europe,
Geneva,
geneva 2012,
Geneva Motor Show,
luxury,
Mini,
Performance,
pinin farina,
pininfarina,
pininfarina cambiano,
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Sedan
Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Maserati, Diesel, Luxury
A diesel
Maserati? Perish the thought! But if
Porsche and the
BMW M division can make diesels, anything is possible. And that appears to be just what Maserati has planned.
The Modenese automaker, as you may recall, is planning not just one replacement for the current
Quattroporte, but two. The Quattroporte itself (pictured above) will grow in size to proportions similar to the
Mercedes-Benz S-Class and
Jaguar XJ, while a smaller model - internally dubbed
Maseratina - will be closer to the
E-Class or
XF. It's that model that's tipped to get a diesel version.
According to
AutoBild, however, that diesel will be no slouch, packing some 300 horsepower and over 500 pound-feet of torque. With those kinds of figures, it would be significantly more powerful than the
Porsche Panamera diesel, which packs about 250 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque. Its inclusion in the line-up would surely help Maserati increase its market penetration, particularly in Europe where diesels account for a high proportion of sales in the segment.
Maserati planning diesel version of upcoming "Maseratina" baby Quattroporte originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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February 15th, 2012
Gabriel Matthews went to a dealership in Pennsylvania to buy a Maserati.
He wrote two checks to cover the $60,616 price. Then the dealership called Matthews' bank and found out his account had been closed. Now he's on the run, charged with three crimes. Didn't quite think this one through, did we?
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December 21st, 2011
Filed under: Motorsports, Sedan, Europe, Maserati, Racing
We'll forgive you if you haven't heard of the
Superstars Series. It's only been around since 2004 (the International category since 2007) and all of the races take place in Europe - in fact over half took place this season in Italy. But similar to other national touring car championships - Germany's
DTM, Japan's
Super GT and Australia's
V8 Supercars come to mind - the Superstars Series packs some serious racing machinery.
Take the
Maserati Quattroporte EVO, for example. If that sounds badass to you, just look at the thing, because it is. It's based, of course, on the Trident marque's four-door model, which is already desirable enough on its own, but has been race prepped with an extreme wide-body kit and all the trimmings. It's the car with which Andrea Bertolini - a long-time
Ferrari and Maserati factory driver who took the FIA GT1 championship in the MC12 he helped develop - and his Swiss Team just clinched the championship.
It's the first time that a Maserati has won the series title, previous champions having raced cars based on the
BMW M3,
Audi RS4 and
Jaguar S-Type R. The formula calls for V8 engines, no turbos, based on four-seaters with two doors or four, and the rest of the field is made up of everything from the
Chevy Lumina (a rebadged
Holden) and
Cadillac CTS-V to the
Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG and
Porsche Panamera S. All in all, ten marques are represented, but this year Maserati was crowned champion of them all. Check out the machine with which they did it in the high-res image gallery and the press release
after the jump.
Continue reading Maserati claims title in Superstars Series with Quattroporte Evo
Maserati claims title in Superstars Series with Quattroporte Evo originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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October 25th, 2011
Tags:
andrea bertolini,
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Filed under: Maserati
Expanding an automotive empire is tricky business. You can either pit one brand within the group against another, or you have to differentiate them significantly.
Volkswagen has opted for the former, with numerous competitors from different group brands in the same segments, but the
Fiat/
Chrysler group over which
Sergio Marchionne presides is going the other route.
As a result, Marchionne insists that
Ferrari isn't after the same market that the likes of
Porsche and
Bentley - both part of the Volkswagen group - currently pursue. Ferrari, he says, is in a league of its own, but in fact it plays against the likes of
Lamborghini and
Bugatti. So what is Marchionne pitting against Porsche and Bentley?
Maserati.
Reiterating that Ferrari will never build an SUV or a four-door sedan, Marchionne points to Maserati to fill those niches. In order to get there, as we know, the Trident marque is launching a pair of sedans - one larger and one smaller - to succeed the current
Quattroporte, and the SUV currently known as the
Kubang, previewed in concept form at the Frankfurt show last month.
Together with the
GranTurismo range - the convertible version of which Marchionne is pictured with above - the new models are pegged to boost Maserati's sales up tenfold over the course of the coming years, from the 5,675 units it sold last year up to 55,000 or even 60,000 units. Ferrari's sales, meanwhile, will be limited to 10,000 units from the 6,573 it sold last year in markets around the world.
Marchionne aims Maserati at Porsche and Bentley originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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October 24th, 2011
