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Interesting insight from another forum....
Hello All:
I don't post often but do lurk just about everyday. I sell new Maseratis and
Ferraris for a living at Continental in the Chicago market. Here is my take
on customers and the selesspeed system. The Quattroporte has sold quite well,
in fact, we have purchased extra cars above and beyond our allocation. It
has taken 4 hard years but Maserati appears to be a real brand here in the USA.
Potential clients do not seem to be overly concerned about the brand. I no
longer questions and statements like "Maserati is owned by Chrysler", "
Maserati's break all the time; don't they?". The Duo-Select (selesspeed) system on
the QPorte works very well. However, it is a very specialised system that
requires some mechanical sensitivity to drive well (just like a manual trans!).
Let's face it, the market for the number of open minded, mechanically
sensitive customers spending over 100k for a sedan is pretty small. As a result, if
Maserati wants to row the brand they must, suck it up and give the people what
they want. So......what we have begining with January produciton is a fully
automatic Qporte with a the auto. mounted right behind the engine (so much for a
rear transaxle) and a 4.7 liter motor without a dry sump (more torque for the
auto). The Qporte becomes more conventional and yes, we will sell more of
them. Myself, give me a cambiocorsa or duo selct any day over an automatic. T
he duo-selct will still be available for the enthusiast. Regarding,
reliaibility. ..the majority of the issues seem to stem from software problems. Maserati
has attemped to be responsive complaints and concerns and as a result has
tried many versions to satisfy them. We have had very few instances of cars
that left customers stranded.... .in fact I can only think of two in the last four
years. Yes, clutch wear can be a problem (only for the unskilled!).
I
BTW, the Coupe, Gransport and Spider are now out of production. There are
no near term plans for direct replacements. Let's not get started on the
reasons for this. I for one will miss selling and driving the Gransport. If you
have not experienced the Gransport, you owe it to yourself to experience one.
I hope this perspective helps!
David Alexander
Riverside, IL
Hello All:
I don't post often but do lurk just about everyday. I sell new Maseratis and
Ferraris for a living at Continental in the Chicago market. Here is my take
on customers and the selesspeed system. The Quattroporte has sold quite well,
in fact, we have purchased extra cars above and beyond our allocation. It
has taken 4 hard years but Maserati appears to be a real brand here in the USA.
Potential clients do not seem to be overly concerned about the brand. I no
longer questions and statements like "Maserati is owned by Chrysler", "
Maserati's break all the time; don't they?". The Duo-Select (selesspeed) system on
the QPorte works very well. However, it is a very specialised system that
requires some mechanical sensitivity to drive well (just like a manual trans!).
Let's face it, the market for the number of open minded, mechanically
sensitive customers spending over 100k for a sedan is pretty small. As a result, if
Maserati wants to row the brand they must, suck it up and give the people what
they want. So......what we have begining with January produciton is a fully
automatic Qporte with a the auto. mounted right behind the engine (so much for a
rear transaxle) and a 4.7 liter motor without a dry sump (more torque for the
auto). The Qporte becomes more conventional and yes, we will sell more of
them. Myself, give me a cambiocorsa or duo selct any day over an automatic. T
he duo-selct will still be available for the enthusiast. Regarding,
reliaibility. ..the majority of the issues seem to stem from software problems. Maserati
has attemped to be responsive complaints and concerns and as a result has
tried many versions to satisfy them. We have had very few instances of cars
that left customers stranded.... .in fact I can only think of two in the last four
years. Yes, clutch wear can be a problem (only for the unskilled!).
I
BTW, the Coupe, Gransport and Spider are now out of production. There are
no near term plans for direct replacements. Let's not get started on the
reasons for this. I for one will miss selling and driving the Gransport. If you
have not experienced the Gransport, you owe it to yourself to experience one.
I hope this perspective helps!
David Alexander
Riverside, IL
