12.03.2007 - 03:50
Back in ´98 I saw a picture of the upcoming 3200 GT in a car magazine. I was electrified by the beauty of its design. Shortly after that I lived a couple of years in Brazil (where buying a Maser was not an option for me ... ) but recently I finally bought a pre-owned 3200 GT. I consider it as one of the 100 or 200 best looking cars ever built.
While the new GT is a nice looking car I am somehow disappointed. Ferrari in comparison managed to maintain a high level of design quality over 30 years from the 246 Dino until the F430 (my favourites are the 246, 328, 355 and 430). Why didn´t Maserati even try to keep the high standard of the 3200 GT? OK, it´s a matter of taste ...
It will only come with an automatic transmission at market introduction. What where they thinking? I read in Automotive News that the majority of Maserati buyers is between 45 and 60. Offering just an automatic like the XK-series from Ford .. .eh .. ... Jaguar ... .. seems to rather target an audience beyond 80 or so ;-)
At the end of the 80ies Porsche was rock bottom. But they managed to revive the Porsche mystique while still producing more mass compatible sports cars. Around 2000 I thought that Maserati could go a similar path. At the moment I am rather pessimistic.
While the new GT is a nice looking car I am somehow disappointed. Ferrari in comparison managed to maintain a high level of design quality over 30 years from the 246 Dino until the F430 (my favourites are the 246, 328, 355 and 430). Why didn´t Maserati even try to keep the high standard of the 3200 GT? OK, it´s a matter of taste ...
It will only come with an automatic transmission at market introduction. What where they thinking? I read in Automotive News that the majority of Maserati buyers is between 45 and 60. Offering just an automatic like the XK-series from Ford .. .eh .. ... Jaguar ... .. seems to rather target an audience beyond 80 or so ;-)
At the end of the 80ies Porsche was rock bottom. But they managed to revive the Porsche mystique while still producing more mass compatible sports cars. Around 2000 I thought that Maserati could go a similar path. At the moment I am rather pessimistic.