Although Maserati doesn t possess the time machine required to make the introduction of a luxury SUV

Acura Aston Martin rental car comparison Audi Bentley BMW Buick Cadillac Chevrolet Chrysler Citroen Dodge Ferrari Fiat Ford GMC Honda Hyundai Infiniti JX35 Iran Khodro Jaguar Jeep Kia Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lotus Maserati Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercury MG MINI Mitsubishi Nissan rental car comparison 370Z Altima Armada Cube GTR Juke Leaf Maxima Murano Pathfinder Quest Sentra Titan Versa Xterra Other Pontiac Porsche Ram Renault Saab Saturn Scion smart Subaru Suzuki Tata Tesla Toyota rental car comparison Volkswagen Volvo
Do you remember what you were doing in 1978? I bet the folks at Maserati do: they were building the final production run of the Bora, the last Maserati that anybody with any taste whatsoever genuinely wanted. A tidal wave of utter garbage followed, from the Biturbo flambé and its many bizarre successors to the current Quattroporte and GranSport which rely on $999/month leases and puff-pieces from deeply unethical individuals to move the metal. The company s mistakes, mis-steps, and misfires have rendered it almost beyond the Pale of critical appraisal; rental car comparison evaluating Maserati or its products honestly soon takes on a strong whiff of maliciously stomping a dying insect.
Yet let me flap this bug with gilded wings: it appears that Maserati has finally decided to inflict a sport-utility vehicle on the world at large. Presumably this was because doing a Maserati Pet Rock was seen as being insufficiently gauche, and plans for the company to participate in Hands Across America fell through due to lack of organizational capability. Seriously. A luxury SUV? In 2011?
The Kubang , named after a Cyndi Lauper song, will be a relative to the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Every basement-dwelling forum monkey in America knows the JGC is pretty much identical to the Mercedes ML , so look for future reviews of the Kubang to chew up the first few paragraphs discussing those two vehicles. rental car comparison The engine is supposedly Maserati-developed . While one might hope that this presages the return of the Biturbo s pressurized-carburetor 2.0 V6, the smart money is on the 4.7L V8 found in the latest rental car comparison GranSport and Quattroporte. (A brief note: The phase The smart money is on the 4.7L V8 found in the latest GranSport and Quattroporte is is no way meant to imply that anyone with smart money would purchase such a vehicle, or the engine thereof.) Rumors have also been floated that the Kubang will be made in the United States, following the practice of Mercedes and BMW. Imported from Detroit, yo! This could be the best Chrysler-based Maserati since the TC. It could also be the worst Chrysler-based rental car comparison Maserati since the TC. It could be worse than the TC, come to think of it.
Although Maserati doesn t possess the time machine required to make the introduction of a luxury SUV anything other than an exercise in bad taste, nouveau riche pandering, and tone-deafness to the state of international affairs, I have managed to obtain such a device from my local garden-equipment-rental shop, and I have therefore managed rental car comparison to look into the future and see how this whole Kubang thing will go.
The usual $999/month Maserati lease will appear. Although the lease terms will include a $17,000 cap cost reduction, most dealers will happily waive it just to get the junk off the lot and start making the warranty-service money.
TTAC is being a bit hard on this car maker. Maserati are merely responding to demand for such models as every company rental car comparison should. The fact Fiat are in bed with Jeep makes this car relatively cheap to make.
The SUV is the car that every brand now want s in it s portfolio because it s relevant rental car comparison in so many markets. Demand/ Profit is also the reason we don t have that many British Sportscars anymore, which I m sure most people would agree is a shame.
The Quattroporte was/is generally rental car comparison regarded as a BETTER drive than the comparable BMWs, MBs, Jags, etc as long as you stay clear of the automanual, over-sized tires and wheels, and the sports suspension stuff, which all compromises its fluid ride.
When EVO track tested a Quattroporte in 2005 against a M5, and a AMG spec CLS, guess which one was the fastest? Yeah, the Masserati, despite having around a 100 bhp less, and a less track oriented character. It took MB more than an extra liter of displacement plus a supercharger, wider tires, and harsher suspension to go slower.
Yeah, the ML and JGC are identical in the sense they re both based on the same mostly-Chrysler developed platform. Different interiors, different engines, different transmissions, rental car comparison different body panels, different suspensions, and different on road feel.
Or I just didn t make it plain enough! Yes, I was being sarcastic. Although many a reviewer has claimed to be able to detect the near-identical rental car comparison nature of the JGC and ML/GL, it s never been apparent to me.
Tstag: Demand/ Profit is also the reason we don't have that many British Sportscars anymore, which I'm sure most people would agree is a shame. The british invasion of cars died on the altar of low demand/ lack of adaption to changing demographics/ terrible product quality/ lack of product updates/ lack of industrial efficiency. BTW, there was some sort of a Triumph road rally in the local part of Austria last weekend I thought of you and looked for a Stag (but failed)
Maserati has had a string of losers for many years. I see them occasionally and wonder if they are leased or if someone rental car comparison decided that the depreciation was worth the image, though most people I think don t know what it is, based on my asking them after seeing one on the road.
A friend of mine made the mistake of using a Quattroporte as a daily driver (he s in the tv biz in LA). After a series of four figure repairs he realized that while Maserati is trying to market the Q to folks who might otherwise buy a loaded up S Klasse rental car comparison or 7 Series, the car cannot be driven regularly the way those M-B and BMW cars can.
After Jack s piece on the Robb Report I was thumbing through a copy of the Dupont Registry that I got for free at one of the Concours of America events. Looking at the stupid low mileage rental car comparison on the big buck cars for sale in the magazine, I have to conclude that a significant chunk of the exotic car market changes their cars like you and I change rental car comparison our socks. Seriously, if you owned a Ferrari 599 would you only drive it 2,000 miles? So it appears that to many of those who buy them, big buck cars are more of a fashion statement than an expression of admiration for automotive and engineering excellence.
You have encapsulated rental car comparison the LA high-end automotive market in a few short lines. Generally, when I see a Maserati pull up to a valet stand (these are seldom if ever owner-parked) around here, out steps an exemplar of LA douchiness for which the car is just another accessory.
Even though I know Maserati depreciation, reliability, and ergonomics will eventually rental car comparison leave you ass-out, I still love them. Except the Biturbo. Its an awful, hateful excuse rental car comparison for a sports car. But this Kubang, I m not so sure of. I ll wait to see how it really drives (i.e. not a beautiful star-crossed review in a greased palm auto magazine) even though Foreign Cars Italia rental car comparison here probably won t stock one until a customer makes an order. But bad timing? Yes. Is there a market? Yes. Will that market buy them at retail price? No. Will rappers buy a lot of them? No. Will I see one on cheap rims sitting at Carolina Auto Collection (a high-end rental car comparison buy-here-pay-here lot) three years from now? Yes!
The Maser is based on the Jeep GC which was developed with the ML. The Jeep is not based off the ML, nor is the ML based off the Jeep (think twins). The 300 never was based of the E-Class from any generation. It was already well along in development when Dumbler um, merged with Chrysler. Dumbler insisted on using some Mercedes parts, charged too much for them, and told the press it was based on an E Class to give the new car more uh, class, but, it was an old E Class so the Mercedes snobs would not be offended that a mere Chrysler was the same car underneath as their precious car built like no other .
I think you re a little rental car comparison harsh on the current state of Maserati. Maserati was dying a long, slow death. I don t remember when Fiat bought it, but they handed it to Ferrari and did the smart thing with it: focus it on the area above Mercedes and below Ferrari sportier than the former and less sporty than the latter. And it worked. As bad (i.e., reliability, dynamically even) as they may be, there are a lot of Quattroportes and now, GT s, running around. In theory, I always thought this was a great strategy a real sweet spot in the market for someone wanting something unique but who doesn t want to spend $200K. But just like everyone rental car comparison else (i.e., Porsche), rental car comparison Fiat sees a market for an expanded Maserati range, so as much as this Kubang thing seems ridiculous, I totally get it. Just like the Cayenne, and the Panamera, it will be bought by people who want a Maserati but need an SUV. I have no idea how they ll price thing, but I assume way more than it should be.
I absolutely thought it was a badge engineered Buick Enclave, right down to the ventiports. My neighbor rented an Enclave for a couple weeks. One Enclave is one more than enough. If there is anything one can say for a typical CUV, it is that they have better space utilization than sedans relative to their footprints. You can t say that about the Enclave. It looks like it was built to mine a well of unsophisticated ignorance hitherto untapped by the automakers.
Funny that you mention a resemblance to the Enclave. I ve gotten to know one of the Maserati marketing guys over the years of working the NAIAS. rental car comparison One year when I asked him which car at the show he liked best, he started raving about the then new Enclave which is, after all, an attractive design.
The one I ve been in happened rental car comparison to be here at the same time as a new BMW X3. The X3 isn t exactly a model of packaging, but it is a significantly more efficient design than the Enclave. It seems pathetic when the X3 was spun off a compact RWD sedan and the Enclave