History/driving impression originally published in AutoWeek November 12, 1990; republished by the author English is an efficient and purposeful language, but Italian is more exquisite and elegant. Consider the descriptive and direct term “four-door.” Then consider the Italian equipment: “Quattroporte.” Say it Italian-style, pronouncing the final “e” (as a long “a”), and you can barely […]
1949 Maserati A6/1500: Lusty little coupe became Italian firm’s benchmark car
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek January 7, 1991; republished by the author. Two years after the end of World War II, with most of Europe still rubble and craters, young Omer Orsi presented the Maserati A6/1500 at the Geneva Motor Show. The war had certainly reshuffled the cards but not destroyed the deck. There […]
Maserati 3500GTI: Six for the road
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek April 1, 1985 I really had no alternative. The only reasonable thing to do was to down shift to second gear, moving the lever through the notchy pattern that felt like it should be gated but really wasn’t, and hit the buttons to lower both the passenger and driver […]
Maserati Bora: Manly, yes, but she’ll like it, too
History originally published in AutoWeek August 29, 1983 It’s a bullet, big bore and Magnum-packed, a missile, ICBM for the Interstate, pregnant with malice. It has the shape of motorized malevolence and the punch to back it up. The Maserati Bora is surely the most masculine, most testosterone-loaded design ever to come from the pen […]
Driving the new Maserati Biturbo
Originally published in AutoWeek, January 3, 1983 There are two Maserati Biturbos in the country, and AutoWeek has just driven one of them. It was a European production model and the trip was painfully short, but sufficient to prove that all the good things you’ve heard about the new baby Maser are true. First of […]
Maserati Ghibli Spider: Driving under the Influence.
Originally published in AutoWeek October 18, 1982 Maserati Ghibli Spider, photos by John Matras. Summer nights are special magic, a sorcery that suspends time and makes déjà vu the common experience. A web of warmth and darkness and fantasy. The weatherman may say it is warm and humid, but anyone with a soul knows it’s […]
What They’re Saying