2014 Maserati Quattroporte S Q4 Sedan on 2040-cars

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A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.

2020 Maserati Ghibli getting a hybrid powertrain, start of brand revamp

Maserati has officially announced its product plans for the next couple of years, and the company is beginning to embrace electrification. It all starts next year with the 2020 Maserati Ghibli, which will receive a hybrid powertrain. Maserati didn't specify whether it would be the only powertrain, but we would expect that it will still offer some fully gas-powered engines such as the 424-horsepower turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 in the current model. In the same year, we'll finally see Maserati's next sports car that the company has confirmed will have electric power. By all accounts, it should be the production version of the Alfieri concept that made its debut five years ago. Maserati also confirmed that the Alfieri will not replace the GranTurismo. Instead, the GranTurismo will be getting a new generation. Reports say the new GranTurismo will arrive in 2021. Maserati will also add another crossover to its lineup. Reports say it will be smaller than the Levante. We should see it sometime in 2020, since early production tests will wrap up late that year and in early 2021. Maserati didn't say specifically if there will be an electrified version, but past reports would suggest at least a hybrid will be available. Finally, Maserati mentioned that Quattroporte, Levante and Ghibli will all continue on with some updates. Expect mild facelifts and powertrain updates to them over the next couple of years, rather than a major redesign. Maserati will also be developing more advanced driver assist systems, including a system similar in scope to Cadillac Super Cruise that will allow hands-free highway driving and lane changes.

Maserati bringing new sports car concept to Geneva?

Maserati is in the midst of a major product overhaul. The Quattroporte was recently redone, the Ghibli is a fresh new model and the Levante crossover is still in the pipeline. But what about its two-door line? Surely Maserati hasn't forgotten about those, right?
Not according to the latest gossip, it hasn't. Word has it that in celebration of its centenary this year, the Trident marque is preparing a new sports car concept to unveil at the Geneva Motor Show. Apparently smaller than the aging GranTurismo, the new concept is said to take aim at the Jaguar F-Type - not to mention the Porsche 911.
According to GTSpirit, the concept could pack the Modenese automaker's new twin-turbo V6 or V8 engines, but no matter how many cylinders, it's understood we're likely looking at a front-engine/rear-drive layout and an automatic transmission.