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Maserati recalls 28k sedans for unintended acceleration

The Basics: Maserati is recalling 28,235 examples of the 2014-2016 Quattroporte and Ghibli sedans built between February 1, 2013, and November 30, 2015. The Problem: The anchor securing the driver's side floor mat could come loose, allowing the mat to get jammed underneath the accelerator. Injuries/Deaths: The investigation stemmed from four reported incidents of the accelerator getting stuck, but no accidents or injuries were reported to have resulted. The fix: Maserati dealers will replace the floor mat and possibly the accelerator pedal cover as well, starting at the end of April 2016. If you own one: Expect to hear from the manufacturer to arrange an appointment with your local dealer. In the meantime, watch out that the floor mat doesn't get stuck under the pedals. Related Video: RECALL Subject : Floor Mat Interference with Accelerator Pedal Report Receipt Date: MAR 01, 2016 NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V122000 Component(s): VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL Potential Number of Units Affected: 28,235 Manufacturer: Maserati North America, Inc. SUMMARY: Maserati North America, Inc. (Maserati) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Quattroporte and Ghibli vehicles manufactured February 1, 2013, to November 30, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the driver-side floor mat anchor may break allowing the floor mat to move and get trapped between the accelerator pedal and the vehicle carpet. CONSEQUENCE: If the floor mat moves and becomes trapped between the accelerator and the vehicle carpet, it may result in very high vehicle speeds, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death. REMEDY: Maserati will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver-side floor mat and possibly the accelerator pedal cover, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin April 29, 2016. Owners may contact Maserati customer service at 1-201-816-2600. Maserati's number for this recall is 301. Note: These vehicles are equipped with a brake override system. In the event a pedal is trapped, pushing on the brake pedal will brake the vehicle and enable the driver to slow and stop and turn off the vehicle. NOTES: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

2017 Maserati Levante First Drive

You can argue all you want about whether or not certain companies should build crossovers. That's what the comments section is for. We'd argue that Maserati should have done it a long time ago, having shown its first crossover concept back in 2011 and only delivering on it now. Porsche blazed that trail with the Cayenne and others have followed suit since, racking up big sales. It's a little odd, then, that after waiting so long to get in the game, the Levante came together in just 22 months. Blame nationalism. The original plan was for the Levante to be based on and built in Detroit alongside the Jeep Grand Cherokee. That changed when Sergio Marchionne decided, in his dictatorial way, that all Maseratis and Alfa Romeos would be designed, engineered, and manufactured in Italy. So the team hit reset, borrowed the Ghibli platform, and went about creating a not-quite-a-crossover, taller-than-a-wagon hatchback with air suspension. Just shy of two years later, we're driving the Levante. In Italy, naturally. The dimensions and stance are what set the Levante apart from the abundance of luxury performance crossovers and emphasize its Italianness. It's longer, wider, and lower than a Porsche Cayenne or the Grand Cherokee it was nearly spawned from. The hood looks impossibly long in person because it is really long. The front end takes inspiration from the Alfieri concept, and there's a refreshing lack of mesh or filler between the grille's thin vertical slats. It can stand to be so open because there is a set of active grille shutters just behind to manage airflow. What would be usable cargo space on a blockier crossover is sacrificed by a rakish hatch, which looks pretty and we're told routes air in a particularly aerodynamic-friendly fashion. Instead of building the boxy version first, Maserati took the gamble and went straight to the fashionable coupe-ish shape. That foresight paid off, as it seems the coupe-like SUV trend is here to stay. For all the scrambling that must have gone on to produce this new model so quickly, it doesn't present like a rush job. Sure, most of the engineering was already done for the Ghibli and Quattroporte, but the Levante actually feels like a more complete effort than those cars. The attention to detail is most felt in the cabin, where the latest corporate infotainment system has been neatly integrated into familiar surroundings.

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.