Maserati 1970 Indy 4200 - Restored on 2040-cars

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Share price falls on skepticism of Chrysler-Fiat five-year plan

Following this week's Fiat Chrysler extravaganza, where the Italian-American manufacturer announced its plans for the next five years, the Autoblog staff was cautiously optimistic of the company's future. Investors? Not so much.
Fiat saw its shares tumble 12 percent in Wednesday's trading, falling from 8.67 euros ($12.06 at today's rates) to 7.44 euros ($10.35) as of this writing, with blame partly going to the Italian half of the FCA marriage, which recorded a pretty significant drop in profits during the first quarter of this year.
The plan, which will cost around $77 billion over the next several years, is facing criticism from investors thanks in part to a 1.4-percent drop in Fiat's first-quarter profits, to 622 million euros ($862 million). That figure is also short of Bloomberg analysts' projections, which predicted $1.18 billion in profits before taxes, interest and one-time items.

2017 Maserati Levante is somewhere under all that cladding

There's an influx of crossovers coming from high-end European marques in the coming years – and we've already seen most of them in one form or another. One of the few exceptions is the forthcoming Maserati Levante, and if you can believe it, this is the best look we've had at it yet. Like the Bentayga for Bentley, the F-Pace for Jaguar, the DBX for Aston Martin, or the Urus for Lamborghini, the Levante will be Maserati's first crossover. It was previewed by the Kubang concepts of 2003 and 2011, but the closest we've gotten to the finished product so far has been some test mules running under modified Ghibli sedan bodywork and a series of purported patent drawings. Mind you, these spy shots don't show us a whole heck of a lot either, as heavily camouflaged and cladded as this prototype is. But under all that padding is what appears to be the bodywork that we'll be seeing on the production version once it makes its debut sometime next year. Look for the Ghibli's twin-turbo V6 engines to propel Maserati head-first into new territory, and likely pave the way for an Alfa Romeo crossover to follow. All we can see for the time being, really, are the exposed wheels. But if those giant brake discs filling their spokes are anything to go by, the Levante ought to represent the Modenese automaker well in what's becoming an ever-pricier, more performance-focused, and more competitive market segment. Porsche and its trendsetting Cayenne ought to take notice. Related Video:

Camal Studio pays tribute to the Maserati GranTurismo

Although the Maserati GranTurismo may have looked pretty hot when it hit the scene in 2007, eight years on, it's starting to show its age. Maserati is focusing its attention on the new Quattroporte, Ghibli and upcoming Levante utility vehicle, but Camal Studio is evidently keen to pick up what Maserati has let fall by the wayside.
The design house, as you may recall, was founded by former Pininfarina designers - the same firm that penned the GranTurimso (among other Maseratis) in the first place. Camal calls its redesign the Tributo (a name which should require no translation) and it draws its inspiration from Maserati GTs past like the original Ghibli, Bora and Khamsin. The resulting design comes across as clean enough, but to our eyes somewhat unremarkable. And if you're going to go to the trouble of coachbuilding a Maserati, you might as well go for a bit more visual impact. But that's judging solely from the renderings, and that's just our opinion - the financially well-endowed customers Camal is going after may feel otherwise once they see it in the flesh.