[aM.]

Ever dream of owning a prestigious sports car but wake up once you saw the price? Well, take heart. A Maserati may soon be within more folks' reach.


While the prices for most Maseratis start in the low six figures, the company has decided to veer slightly from its usual hyper-rich clientele and start a flirtation with the simply well-off. Beginning in September, it will introduce a midsize four-door sedan with a starting price of just under $66,000.


The Ghibli -- the name refers to a hot wind from the Sahara and was used for another Maserati line in the 1960s -- is the carmaker's attempt to cross over to its new target audience. It's also part of the company's goal to increase its sales eightfold, to 50,000 vehicles, by 2015, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.


A subsidiary of Fiat (FIATY -0.42%), Maserati has made it very clear the Ghibli is meant to poach consumers from the luxury vehicles made by Daimler's (DDAIF +0.53%) Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen's (VLKAY +1.59%) Audi and BMW.


"We have to steal buyers from the Germans," Benedetto Orvietani, a product development manager at Maserati, told Businessweek. "We are going after their most demanding customers, the ones that are bored with their Audi A6 and want to stand out."


Car and Driver also sees the Ghibli as competition for the Cadillac CTS made by General Motors (GM +0.81%) and Tata Motors' (TTM +1.54%) Jaguar XF, while suggesting the vehicle could make the Maserati brand seem a little less exotic to consumers on this side of the Atlantic. "Maserati wants to get on the shopping lists of many more people," the magazine added, "and the Ghibli will make the brand far more accessible than it is today."


Industry analysts say the new car is one of the most important vehicles ever made in Maserati's nearly100-year history. Throwing down the gauntlet with the German carmakers will be a big challenge, according to Gianluca Spina, the dean of the business school at Milan Polytechnic.


Maserati, he told Businessweek, "may be positioned too high to be stretched into midsize luxury sedans. For sure, it's the most lucrative segment of the market, and the strength of German carmakers comes from having created it."


"If the Ghibli succeeds," Michael Harley wrote at Autoblog, "Maserati will welcome tens of thousands of new customers and, most importantly, celebrate a rekindled relationship with demanding North American buyers. If the Ghibli fails -- well, the truth is, nobody has written an option for failure."

Thoughts?

http://money.msn.com/now/post--maser...y-level-ghibli

[BMW E90]

How's the reliability of Maserati?

[Sedoy]

About as good as Ferrari and good luck finding local dealer...

Maserati pros:

1. Exhaust sound (on V8 models)
2. Looks
3. Brand stance

Maserati cons:

Everything else...

Originally Posted by BMW E90

How's the reliability of Maserati?

[Z4inAZ]

Nah, they should call it what it really is - a new Biturbo



Those who do not understand history are doomed to repeat it

[aM.]

Originally Posted by BMW E90

How's the reliability of Maserati?

No idea lol

[pgviper]

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...t-drive-review

Looks interesting. Competition is good for us consumers so I'm excited to see how this compares to the rest of the market.