2004 Maserati Coupe Cambiocorsa Rosso Mondiale W/beige Leather, New Clutch on 2040-cars

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Ram/Jeep Ecodiesel engine has Maserati roots

The 3.0L turbodiesel V6 in the 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel earned a slot on Ward's Automotive 2014 10 Best Engines for its power, fuel economy and refinement. In a piece looking at how Fiat subsidiary VM Motor developed the engine, Ward's also makes note of the fact that the same lump goes in diesel versions of the Maserati Quattroporte and Ghibli. They're tuned a bit differently, naturally, with the QP putting out 275 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, the smaller, lighter Ghibli making do with the same number of horses but a lower torque output of 420 lb-ft.
The 240 horsepower and 420 pound-feet put out by the oil-burning six-cylinder in the Ram was tamed with a host of advances, but it appears that Ram hasn't tamed demand: the initial allocation of 8,000 engines was spoken for within three days of the truck going on sale. Head over to Ward's to read the story of how Ram worked out the equation light-duty-pickup + diesel = success.

Car cocktails and Risky Business Porsches with Brett Berk | Autoblog Podcast #502

On this week's podcast, Mike Austin and David Gluckman are joined by a special guest, Autoblog contributor Brett Berk. The three discuss cars in film and TV as well as Brett's series on car-themed cocktails. There is of course a recap of what they've all been driving lately, and the episode wraps up with Spend My Money buying advice to help you, our dear listeners. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #502 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics and stories we mention 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV - Autoblog's 2017 Technology of the Year Car award winner 2017 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R 2016 Kia Soul EV 2017 Audi A4 sedan The story of the Risky Business Porsche 928 The Taxi Cocktail took us for a ride The myth and mystery of The Bentley Cocktail Used cars! Rundown Intro - 00:00 What we're driving - 01:50 Brett Berk interview - 21:12 Spend My Money - 39:44 Total Duration: 54:02 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Audi Bentley BMW Chevrolet Maserati Mercedes-Benz Porsche kia soul ev Chevrolet Bolt porsche 928 ford shelby mustang gt350r cocktails

Maserati ditches hydraulic steering to add semi-autonomous driver aids

Related: We obsessively covered the Frankfurt Motor Show — here's our complete coverage FRANKFURT, Germany — One of the distinctive aspects of modern Maseratis has been the continued use of hydraulic-assisted power steering. The company used it on the entire lineup from the Ghibli sedan to the GranTurismo sports coupe, touting in press releases that in comparison to now-common electric power steering, it "prevents unpleasantly artificial assistance when the driver turns the wheel quickly." Priorities appear to have changed, though, as the 2018 Ghibli, Quattroporte and Levante are all going with electric steering. Those priorities would be adding a gaggle of semi-autonomous driving assists, which as Maserati CEO Reid Bigland confirmed, require electric power steering to fully implement. Specifically, the highway lane-centering, lane-keeping assist and blind-spot assist functions that can steer for you if necessary. Other new semi-autonomous functions include sign recognition, automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. This may come as a disappointment to die-hard Maserati fans, but at the very least, the GranTurismo and GranCabrio sports cars still retain the classic hydraulic steering system. They also don't get the semi-autonomous features, but let's face it, those cars are ones you want to always be driving. As for the rest of the lineup, Bigland insisted the steering is still good. Of course you wouldn't expect anything less from the company's CEO. We'll reserve judgement until driving a 2018 Maserati ( that isn't a GranTurismo) to see if the new steering avoids being "unpleasantly artificial." Related Video: