'Respectfully, Maserati Is Not for Sale:' Stellantis Denies Another Rumor About the Brand's Possible Sale

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SnikySquirrel@reddit

I’m a bit confused why r/cars seems to want brands to die more than they want them to improve. Be it Maserati, or Nissan, or Chrysler this sub has a hard on for brands getting canceled

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meowmixxxx@reddit

A lot of people on reddit basically hate everything and just like to complain

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FuckTheFourth@reddit

/r/cars seems to hate 95% of the cars that exist and can't understand why someone would buy a crossover over a Miata.

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ctzn4@reddit

But... but haven't you heard... that Miata is always the answer? And it also spells MIATA?? Amirite reddit???

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I don't want Citroen and etc to die, but is really easy to see how someone can hate Stellantis. Just look at the prices, problems the cars have and what they did for example to the mighty C4 turning it into a grotesque SUV.

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hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)

They have quite a bit of hatred for Nissan cost cutting away the silvia and other enthusiast models w/ ghosn, as well as his cost cutting of the lineup in general, infiniti & nissan-Z lineup languishing, etc.

And then hatred for stellantis in general for its horrible management over the last few years + general distaste for trucks, jeeps, and american cars, for whatever reason.

I'd much prefer better competition as do you, and I reckon most haven't tried the newer maserati lineups which do drive quite well, but I don't think its particularly surprising why r/cars talks like they seek revenge

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Fit_Equivalent3610@reddit

cost cutting away the silvia and other enthusiast models w/ ghosn

The Z33 and R35 were both Ghosn projects and all of the Silvia competitors died at the same time it did. It could be worse. Nissan had become an 80s-GM-like shitshow by the time Ghosn took the reins, with most of its models competing with... its other models (and theoretically Toyota, but not really).

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hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)

I am personally somewhat of a defendant for ghosn's work, especially early on, and I think the 350z and g35 were frankly significantly better than anything that had come before and people are just being nostalgic and all, but above just outlining the common thinking of this sub

He definitely overstayed his welcome - but quite a few people here will outright say ghosn was a complete failure when in reality his actions absolutely saved the company.

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poopoomergency4@reddit

why the hell not?

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Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho@reddit

Who would even want it? A Chinese company to make EVs? GM to make reskinned corvettes? Independent investors trying to cash in on the immense brand cachet that is Maserati?

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RevvedUpLikeADeuce09@reddit

Of those three, I'd definitely prefer the GM option. That being said, in a dream world, I'd love it for Ferrari to buy them back and maybe take Alfa Romeo and Lancia with them. Extremely unlikely, but it beats Geely or another Chinese company getting their hands on Maserati and changing them to something that doesn't fit the brand ethos like Lotus.

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dsonger20@reddit

I mean they’ve done very well with Volvo until recently.

They kind of let Volvo find their market niche. Low key mid range luxury. I think the principle management difference though is that Volvo is kind of just left alone while they have their hands directly in Lotus.

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cookingboy@reddit

Well the difference is Volvo wasn’t bought as a failing company and they were doing mostly fine, so giving them more money to continue what they were doing makes sense.

Leaving Lotus alone doesn’t make sense, because as much as Internet enthusiasts like them, what they were doing was just a dead end and got them to the verge of bankruptcy in the first place.

A company that focuses on nothing but lightweight drivers’ cars have no future, simple as that. Even exotic brands have to compete on actual outright performance and can’t just getaway with “but muh steering feel!”

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Tbro100@reddit

Even then, those same exotic brands also had to add mass appeal cars. Porsche did it first and it greatly helped them to keep making 911s and 718s.

Lamborghini and Ferrari both had to do it as well, Lotus just doesn't have the brand cache nor the funds to go super exotic like Bugatti or Koenigsegg

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Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho@reddit

I think a reskinned corvettes could actually be a good idea. The corvette has always been an extremely good performer, especially with the C8, but it’s visually offensive and limited entirely to the US market. Changing the styling, inside and out, would open it up to new customers in the US and abroad who wouldn’t be caught dead with a C8 in their driveway. People in the know would know that underneath, it’s a ZR1, they’d also know that’s not a bad thing. It may not be enough to rival Ferrari, but next to a Lamborghini, a 1,000+hp, no hybrid V8, is a strong offering, especially if it looks good, and feels good on the inside.

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cookingboy@reddit

visually offensive

Yeah, the C8 Corvettes have world beating powertrains for all their segments yet I can never imagine myself actually owning one because they all look so… Corvette.

It’s a shame, I’ve driven the C8 a few times and I absolutely loved it. But it just screams “Temu supercar from GTA” from the outside.

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Delanorix@reddit

Isnt that kind of what Corvette is though? A "temu supercar."

You get so much power for a lot less than the cost of the "real" supercars.

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Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho@reddit

There is nothing Temu about the engine though. The underpinnings of the zr1 are on par with basically anything else. The atrocious styling is the Temu part.

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ctzn4@reddit

I just feel like there isn't a Corvette that was a complete package. The C6 was gorgeous, but it has a very low rent interior similar to the C5. The C7 is a bit edgy and imo the most Corvette that ever Corvetted. The C8 looks like a supercar up front, but then the designers just decided to Camaro the back end. It finally has the mid-engined cachet to support its "American Ferrari" monicker but the looks are, like you guys said, Temu generic GTA supercar #3.

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Dragonasaur@reddit

GM already has a luxury brand and they've already failed to make a luxury rebadged Corvette, the Cadillac XLR

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Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho@reddit

Cadillac is a luxury brand, but it isn’t a sports car brand, even if they did technically sell one a few times. It’s famous for big, heavy, boats. It also doesn’t have much reach in Europe, which is one of the places you’d be trying to export these corvettes.

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RiftHunter4@reddit

Who would even want it?

My dream is for Ferrari to buy Maserati and use it to make their own luxury cars. Yes, yes, Ferrari is luxurious already, but they're sporty first and foremost. But imagine an Italian Bentley competitor. How about a sedan with a Ferrari V6 under the hood (and not just "derived")? I swear, there's some huge potential there.

And the side benefit is that Alfa Romeo would get some breathing room to really stretch their legs as a luxury brand. I see no downsides to this.

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grumpypantaloon@reddit

What would be different this time? 1993: Fiat acquired Maserati. 1997: Fiat sold a 50% stake in Maserati to Ferrari (which was also owned by Fiat at the time). 1999: Ferrari took full control of Maserati. 2005: Maserati was separated from Ferrari and placed back under the direct control of the Fiat Group

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MrReadilyUnready@reddit

The same people are the largest shareholders in Ferrari and Stellantis. It's owned by a holding company called Exor that's majority owned by the Fiat family. For all intents and purposes, Ferrari and Maserati are the same company.

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YungDominoo@reddit

An Italian Bentley competitor would be terrible entirely because Bentley has been really the only competitor in that niche for so long that unless the car is STUPIDLY good, people are just gonna say "still not a Bentley though".

Competing with the likes of Cadillac and Mercedes would be a safer bet I'd say

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dsonger20@reddit

Cadillac and Mercedes is way too crowded.

Cadillac, Audi, Mercedes, BMW and even Lexus with some models competes in the space. It’s too crowded and partially why Jaguar died.

They need to find their market niche like Volvo did. Competing as a budget sporty Bentley may actually end up working.

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Brno_Mrmi@reddit

Lincoln and Cadillac don't even exist outside of the United States

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dsonger20@reddit

Cadillac most definitely exists outside the Canadian and US market.

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Brno_Mrmi@reddit

Barely. They only sell one or two SUVs that nobody really buys and the Chevy Corvette

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dsonger20@reddit

Do research before commenting.

China gets 3 sedans: CT4, CT5, CT6 and a tall hatchback, the gt4.

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goaelephant@reddit

That's not true, China is a major market for Cadillac. Until recently, there have been certain years where China sales outnumbered American sales.

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YungDominoo@reddit

Budget sporty Bentley would be cool. I thought you meant direct Bentley competitor.

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Thoth_the_5th_of_Tho@reddit

Sedans are dead. You’d end up with a crossover SUV with a Ferrari v6. That still sounds pretty good though.

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RiftHunter4@reddit

Sedans are dead.

I think Ferrari could swing it for the right price. People really seem to drool at the idea of a Ferrari-designed daily driver. Given how the Purosangue sold so quickly, maybe a luxury SUV isn't a bad idea. After all, I've heard good things about the Maserati Levant (though mostly from people buying it used lol).

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hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)

For all intents and purposes the Nettuno V6 is an F154 with two cylinders chopped off and some trick heads

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Insanity-Paranoid@reddit

Probably only Geely.

Every other auto manufacturer is already doing as much as possible in their current markets, except for Geely. They're the only ones aggressively buying off European brands. Lotus, Volvo, and MG, just to name a few, were bought by Geely not too long ago and, in my opinion, are doing pretty decently.

GM might be willing to invest in them, but I doubt it, as Maserati indirectly competes with Corvette and Cadillac, depending on the car.

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strongmanass@reddit

MG is owned by thr Chinese state.

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AaminMarritza@reddit

Actually I could see Geely scooping this up to round out their European portfolio. They have Scandinavian (Volvo and Polestar) and British (Lotus) brands. An Italian one would be something new.

Given what they’ve done with the previous acquisitions it could actually turn out ok. Just expect the “pay back” to be some weird Electric SUV with a Maserati badge while they leave the rest of the company alone to do its thing with new capital.

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4r4r4real@reddit

C8 + variants with Maserati styling and interior? I had no idea I desperately wanted this until right now.

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kratos61@reddit

the immense brand cachet that is Maserati

Maserati has a very strong brand image despite how bad nearly all their products are.

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I_amnotanonion@reddit

At least all of the GM brands have a functioning updated lineup. Yeah, GMs always gonna GM, but they can at least keep a lineup going

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dsonger20@reddit

Buick seems to be putting out decent/good looking cars.

The difference is GM has competent management and isn’t bloated. Stellantis is way too bloated without having any advantages of a giant company. Seriously, there is zero synergy between the FCA branch and PSA branch. Where’s the rebadged French CUVs??

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poopoomergency4@reddit

i mean yeah, it'll be hard to sell, but it's harder for stellantis to justify keeping it. better to take a bath on price than keep funding dead weight

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Fearless_Neat_6654@reddit

Before Stellantis gets rid of Maserati, they should at least build a new Viper on the MC20 platform

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turb0_encapsulator@reddit

I would consider buying an MC20 if I knew the company would still be around in a few years. You can find them for \~$70k off MSRP with less than 5k miles.

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MrReadilyUnready@reddit

Why does the company being around matter? You can still get parts for Saab. They're still a notorious brand from a large group, parts and servicing will be available for ages.

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AwesomeBantha@reddit

and yet my local dealers are still trying to sell brand new 2023 models for MSRP lmao

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dsonger20@reddit

Honestly just let the Viper name and legacy rest in peace. Knowing Stellantis, a new Viper will just become a car that is 5x what it should cost with mediocre performance.

The viper went out on a good note. Honestly, they should keep it that way lol.

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WigginIII@reddit

You are missing the opportunity that a new viper presents…

It could be a 5 passenger crossover SUV!

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Fearless_Neat_6654@reddit

At this rate, they'll probably end up putting the Viper name on a crossover or EV with the hope that the name alone will sell the thing

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Limesmack91@reddit

"we're not done driving it into the ground yet, thank you very much"

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Nouseriously@reddit

Why not? You should be thrilled someone wants to give you money.

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koolkarim94@reddit

They hired McKinsey as their consulting 🤮

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86Austin@reddit

Get this man some buckets because if they hired McKinsey they're probably gonna stick around for a while lol.

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IExtremelyNeedCoffee@reddit

Respectfully, then what the heck are you doing with it?

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dfields3710@reddit

Updating it! Read the article. The old ass Ghibli and Levante are discontinued until the get refreshed, same as the Quattroporte. The MC20 and Grecale are relatively new. The Granturismo just been refreshed.

Damn give them time! Remember that Stellantis bought Maserati in 2021.

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IExtremelyNeedCoffee@reddit

I forgot Stellantis came in so late, and it was FCA managing the whole hot mess.

My critiques, as a car enthusiast with a very soft spot for both Maserati and Alfa Romeo, are that they put out (or kept out without substantial updates) luxury cars with a lot of evident shared parts from Chrysler and the other in-house brands; they have few dealerships compared to the competitors (but at least they don't have to share them with Dodge and Chrysler as Alfa Romeo does); and prices are insanely high, but they offer huge discounts straight away. As a client I will be very confused to see $20k/30k discount on a Grecale (or more on a Granturismo). Like, am I buying a real $90k luxury car or a falsely priced $60k car?

And I get it that some things can't be changed in a few months/years, but it seems to me that Maserati is losing, or has already lost, any leftover appeal to the public. And they're not doing a good job in savaging it.

/End rant.

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strongmanass@reddit

Their plan addresses both this comment and your initial question as to what they intend to do with the brand. A new CEO was hired to oversee both Maserati and Alfa Romeo. His plan is to make them versions of each other: platform share and produce different versions at different price points. Think of Audi/Porsche/Bentley/Lamborghini. Four different SUVs at different price points sharing on one platform with a bunch of shared parts. The Maserati and Alfa CEO wants to make that the core business plan of both brands. That presentation to the new Stellantis CEO is supposed to take place this week.

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IExtremelyNeedCoffee@reddit

I don't have too high hopes, but at least it's promising. Thanks for the updates.

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strongmanass@reddit

Neither do I tbh. Maserati set fire to their reputation by chasing volume and it's hard to see how they get it back. Even their improved lineup isn't buying them much good will. In addition to their manufacturing plan they need a coherent marketing plan to convince buyers to go back to them. And they need to be realistic. They probably have to eat losses for another year or two before buyers trust them again.

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SnikySquirrel@reddit

Trying to make a Macan competitor but not very successfully

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EloeOmoe@reddit

It's better than the Macan. They just can't sell for shit.

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Brno_Mrmi@reddit

The same they're doing with Lancia, nothing

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turb0_encapsulator@reddit

I guess it's important that everything goes down with the ship?

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SnikySquirrel@reddit

I sat in a Grecale at a dealership and it was a massive step up in interior quality compared to their previous models

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HarryWaters@reddit

I'll pay $140k for it today, or $33k next year.

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rhunter99@reddit

I rescind my offer of $3.50. Good day Sir.

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Far_Journalist8110@reddit

There’s a nonzero chance that nobody is disappointed by this

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Motorsport-@reddit

Any PR/Comms team would say this unless a sale had been announced publicly. I’m sure Maserati would move for a price. I have less hope than I did 10-15 years ago for Alfa and Maserati. Would be great to see them be competitive in their segments. Maybe the little Italian company going by the ticker RACE buys them- RACE needs growth for public shareholders. There is a history there. Could use all the development of their motors and chassis for a new MC12 and new levante based on the Pur Sang and a v8 sedan version for a Quattroporte. This would be the most sensible buyer for Maserati - maybe alfa can come along too and get their own rebodied version.

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