RideLust

Image: Tennen Gas

Chuck Berry penned these lyrics made famous by George Thorogood: “I met a German girl in England who was going to school in France, said we danced the Mississippi at an Alpha Kappa dance.” It would appear that the tale of the upcoming Maserati SUV is no less confusing, since it involves Maserati, Jeep, Italy and Detroit. Here’s what we know: Maserati will build their own SUV, based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and it will be assembled in Chrysler’s Jefferson North assembly plant in Detroit. Read More…

Image: Maserati

Did you feel cheated when Maserati showed their GranTurismo MC Stradale at last year’s Paris Auto Show? The range-topping coupe appeared to be destined for European customers only, but Maserati has had a change of heart. We’re not getting the exact car the EU gets, but what we are getting is close enough to keep most U.S. enthusiasts happy. First, Maserati is dropping the “Stradale” name, so North American cars are simply called the GranTurismo MC. On the outside, the cars are identical, and that’s a very good thing since the coupe is a stunner. Inside, North American cars get the back seat that the GranTursimo MC Stradale omits, and buyers on this side of the Atlantic can get any transmission they want, as long as it’s an automatic. Maserati has opted to use the ZF automatic transmission from the GranTurismo, instead of the sequential-shift version found on the European MC Stradale. Why? Chalk it up to “buyer preferences” on this side of the Atlantic. Read More…

Last year at the IMPA Test Days I had the opportunity to drive the 2011 Maserati GranTurismo convertible, a car which completely caught me off guard. At first I was expecting a driving experience that was similar to that of a BMW or Porsche, what I got though was something that was so much more. Most German automobiles, even the cabriolets, have a somewhat stoic feeling to them. They always work wonderfully but at days end they just don’t ignite the soul. The Maserati GranTurismo was different, as not only did it make all your correct parts tingle, but it did so with a exhaust note that was simply spectacular. It’s now one year later and Maserati is getting ready to release its new GrandCabrio Sport to the public, a car that should deliver everything the GranTurismo did and more.
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Oh boy… already I’m having visions of Chrysler’s TC sport coupe from the mid-1980′s. For those that don’t remember, that little P.O.S. was what happened the last time Chrysler and Maserati joined forces. Now it seems that something along those lines may be in the works again according to Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne. You see he’s apparently thinking about having a new Jeep Grand Cherokee derived SUV built under the Maserati nameplate whilst utilizing a mill from, get this… Ferrari. CNN Money reports that while at the North American International Auto Show, Marchionne stated, “It will be a rock and roll engine” and one that could be either a V8 or a V12. As of right now there are no known sketches or renderings of this proposed SUV that is supposedly going to appear in 2012. Rest assured though that as soon as we know anything more about it that we’ll let you know. Read More…

I’ve always said that, if I could I would own a 3 bedroom house on the water with an attached 10 car garage. Quite honestly, I could care less about the house, in fact as long as there was a clean mattress and some working plumbing in there, I’d be good to go. Some people though are content with just having a one car garage and a few paintings on the wall. Take Holger Schubert for example, he is the Los Angeles, CA resident who won the 2009 Maserati Architectural Digest Design Driven contest for having one of the nicest garages out there. The space itself is probably one of the most pleasing I’ve ever seen. It’s welcoming and truly showcases the automobile as a work of art. Spanning 1,200 square feet, the area contains a large flat-screen TV, built-in book shelve, small kitchen, bathroom and a large storage room. Now, if it was only another 4000 square feet I’d take it in a heartbeat.

Source: DesignDriven.us

There are a lot of things I associate with Belgium. Good chocolate is one of them, followed by good beer, even if the fruit-enhanced lambic desert beers are an acquired taste. One thing I never associated with Belgium, until Motor Authority enlightened me, was the design and construction of supercars. Did you know that Gillet, a Belgian firm started by former racer Tony Gillet, has been cranking out street legal race cars since 1994? I didn’t either, since I’ve never seen one up close and personal, or even in photos.

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If you’re in the DC area and want to check out an exceptional collection of exotic and immaculate classic rides FOR FREE, I suggest you head over to Great Falls, VA to the Cars and Coffee event that takes place every Saturday.

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So you get to work at the construction site one morning only to find out that some asshat has parked his high dollar Maserati right in front of the entrance. After looking around for the absentee owner you decide to take matters into your own hands and utilize the tools that you have at your disposal to solve the problem. Thankfully the forklift was right where you left it and figuring it would be an easy move, you fire it up. Unbeknown to you however one of the other workers has coated the skids with grease to help them slide under the heavy palates that were scheduled to be moved. This works out great for wood palates, but as it turns out, not so great for Italian sports cars.

Source: Streetfire.net

I’ll be honest here, cars like this usually don’t do a damn thing for me as generally I find them to be more show than go. This observation usually holds true for the people who buy them as well. Sure they’re beautiful machines and yes they propel you forward, but to me these cars are more about image and less about having a passion for driving. I have to say though that last week while I was attending the IMPA test days in PA, I had a chance to slip behind the wheel of the new 2011 Maserati GranTurismo Convertible and was pleasantly surprised when my initial impressions were proven completely wrong.
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Anytime German auto tuner Novitec gets its hands on an exotic car you know that good things will happen. They’ve done multiple Ferrari’s, Audi’s, Porsche’s and BMW’s along with just about every other high-end manufacturer out there, and with this they’ve managed to build a reputation as one of the best exotic car tuning companies in the business. It now seems Novitec has gotten the bug to play with Maserati’s as it has just released a complete package for the Quattroporte S and Sport GTS.

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