A Green Maserati Gran Turismo against mountain scene

There are two ways to look at the Maserati Gran Turismo: the best car Maserati has ever made and an extreme bit of bad timing. Both are perhaps correct.

Of course, with the Gran Turismo, you are buying more than a car itself; you’re buying a legacy. Its heritage stretches back 60 years ago, when the Modena manufacturer launched 58 models of the A6 Gran Turismo styled by Pininfarina. Ten years later, it was the turn of the first standard GranTurismo, the 3500 GT, a car which marked a turning point for the company as it shifted its attention from racing cars to road going production, turning out 1983 models of the 3500 GT in seven years.

Imagine buying car with so much sophistication that it almost drives itself, but when it actually gets down to doing the business the technology has a little glitch in system that means that all of hi tech extras, does not actually work. In fact the car is so reliant on technology that without it, the car is almost undrivable and in some cases dangerous.

Due a bug in some software, means that the Maserati Quattroporte saloon, the Duoselect and the new Automatica may have such a glitch in the system. This may affect the traction control, and the stability control system, the ABS braking system is also controlled through the Maserati Stability Program (MSP) but it is believed that the ABS is not affected by the software bug.

The company has issued a recall for these models, but owners should not panic as the company states that the car will not all of a sudden become unstable to drive, rather the traction and stability controls would just switch off which would be indicated by a warning light on the dash board. Even with this warning, the car can still be driven, but it is advisable to either get the car to the dealer or home.

It would appear that the trigger for the failure is a low level battery, this may cause the system trip and that is when the system shuts down.

Whatever the reason this is not the sort publicity that Maserati needs.

Source [Motor Authority]

While there is a certain panache that comes from being a person that can just cut a check for whatever he wants, there are others who see savings in leasing and can find better uses for that upfront cash. It is not all about holding the title to the car as much as it is having the keys.

A recent article in the New York Times discussed some of the advantages of leasing exotic cars that those who could still afford to do otherwise are choosing over that cash purchase. Luckily there are a few companies now specializing in providing those leases once the leaser has plunked down 20-25% of the purchase price for a down payment.

In a recent article the boys at Motor Trend took a test spin in a new 2008 Maserati GranTurismo and the results were more than pretty but less than exilarating. The name Maserati commands classy flowing lines in a body that stem from a richly shaped history and a finely stitched Italian interior. In the fit and assembly and in its first glance appeal the GranTurismo lives up to its builders name. However, as pointed out in the test drive, the GranTurismo is turning its competitive focus away from the Porsche, Ferrari crowd and zeroing in on the Luxury BMW and Jaguar class who are inching in on Maserati’s territory.