Maserati Kubang is Italian for SUV
#1
Maserati Kubang is Italian for SUV
Maserati Kubang is Italian for SUV
"For some reason SUVs today never seem to offer the kind of uplifting driving pleasure and luxury atmosphere that are two givens of today's high-end sports and luxury cars."
So says Maserati, and though we're quite certain rivals like Porsche, BMW and even Maserati's own sister-brand, Jeep, would take offense to the claim, we feel inclined to point out that the very nature of the SUV – higher ground clearance, seating position and the subsequent higher center-of-gravity, to name just one – makes them less suitable for the kind of "driving pleasure" we'd generally associate with Maserati. But we digress.
What we have here is Maserati's take on the premium sport utility vehicle, and the Italian automaker promises it heralds the coming of a new product line. Maserati claims that the Kubang's "style, engine, suspensions, brakes, handling and performance will all be 100% Maserati in picture-perfect continuity with the brand's core values of sportiness, style, elegance, luxury, performance and craftsmanship."
We hope all that is true, and at least the powerplants sound enticing. According to the Italian company, a new generation of proprietary engines are being designed in Modena by Paolo Martinelli, who previously spent 30 years at Ferrari and its Scuderia factory racing team, and they'll be built in Maranello by Ferrari. Expect that engine to be mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Keen fans of the brand may remember that this isn't the first Kubang seen from Maserati. Way back in 2003 at the Detroit Auto Show, the Trident brand showed off an SUV in conceptual form that shared the same moniker. We think this one looks a fair bit better, though it's still a somewhat oddly shaped little duckling.
Nothing else is yet known about the Kubang, but we'd expect it to borrow liberally from the Jeep parts bin, and there have been many indications that it will likely even roll down the same assembly line in Detroit as the Grand Cherokee.
Gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/maser...photo-4441046/
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/13/m...rankfurt-2011/
#3
Lexus Champion
Maserati SUV.........made in Detroit. WTF?
As they say, anyone can build a car anywhere..............but if a car is something that should signify passion and tradition, then it has to be from the source.
Hence, why I think that as Maserati that is built alongside most Chrysler garbage (except for the Viper, Grand Cherokee Sport and Town and Country diesel version) and in Detroit will just heavily pollute the brand. This is the dumbing-down of Maserati
As they say, anyone can build a car anywhere..............but if a car is something that should signify passion and tradition, then it has to be from the source.
Hence, why I think that as Maserati that is built alongside most Chrysler garbage (except for the Viper, Grand Cherokee Sport and Town and Country diesel version) and in Detroit will just heavily pollute the brand. This is the dumbing-down of Maserati
#4
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Built on the Jeep Platform, will probably improve Maserati reliability, I still have some friends that work at a BMW, Ferrari and Maserati Dealer, the 2 Italians are anything but reliable, expensive yes, the SUV will most likely bring in new customers not familiar with the brand, probably increase sales.
If Chrysler can build an SRT8 JeepGC, essentially a more expensive Maserati version should not be hard
like the Porsche Cayenne, I see a cheaper version coming
If Chrysler can build an SRT8 JeepGC, essentially a more expensive Maserati version should not be hard
like the Porsche Cayenne, I see a cheaper version coming
#5
Out of Warranty
A high-revving little Swiss watch of a powerplant with lots of horsepower but practically no low-end grunt driving through eight speeds in the paddle-shifted cogbox is going to be seriously humbled if it ever ventures much further offroad than Rodeo Drive or South Beach. The target demographic for this "SUV" probably considers offroad to be anywhere the road isn't swept and scrubbed daily. Wonder how long the Maser motor would survive out in the boonies . . . "Kubang" is the sound it's going to make as it encounters the real world out where the pavement ends.
The Maserati's "style, engine, suspensions, brakes, handling and performance will all be 100% Maserati in picture-perfect continuity with the brand's core values of sportiness, style, elegance, luxury, performance and craftsmanship" translates in my part of the world to "all hat and no cattle".
The Maserati's "style, engine, suspensions, brakes, handling and performance will all be 100% Maserati in picture-perfect continuity with the brand's core values of sportiness, style, elegance, luxury, performance and craftsmanship" translates in my part of the world to "all hat and no cattle".
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#8
Pole Position
Putting it on GC platform is probably the best thing they could have done. Its actually a plus form my point of view. If there was no Jeep within Fiat this thing would not exist or it would have been super crap.
BTW the back is actually pretty reminds me of ZDX.
BTW the back is actually pretty reminds me of ZDX.
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and not to mention the rear seems to take cues from the new cayenne
eitherway, cayenne is the luxury SUV to get these days
with hybrid S and Turbo at decent prices, there is no sense to get anything else other than Range Rover and Cayenne
eitherway, cayenne is the luxury SUV to get these days
with hybrid S and Turbo at decent prices, there is no sense to get anything else other than Range Rover and Cayenne
#12
Lexus Champion
I think the debate is whether or not putting Chrysler garbage bin parts on a premium brand like Maserati will do more harm than good.
So far, I believe that this only pollutes the Maserati brand and image...........though I'd like to be proven wrong on this (especially since the Grand Cherokee SRT seems to be a really solid American SUV).
So far, I believe that this only pollutes the Maserati brand and image...........though I'd like to be proven wrong on this (especially since the Grand Cherokee SRT seems to be a really solid American SUV).
#15
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