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Maserati ramping up production of Ghibli, Quattroporte

While Porsche may be relatively new to the four-door game, Maserati has been building the Quattroporte with few interruptions since 1963. But like its rival from Stuttgart, the Trident marque is rapidly shifting from a sports car company primarily to a manufacturer of high-end family transportation. Not only does it have the new Quattroporte on the market, but now it's got the Ghibli sedan as well and the Levante crossover on its way.
It's a gambit that's reaping huge benefits not only for Maserati itself but also for its newly merged parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which is finding the mass market less lucrative than it once was and is positioning both Maserati and Alfa Romeo against other luxury marques like BMW, Audi and Porsche. As a result, Maserati is considerably expanding its production.
Last month, Maserati sold over 3,000 cars, putting it on track to double its sales from 2013. But it's not about to stop there. With growing demand for its authentically Italian luxury sedans, Maserati is shifting more workers to its assembly plant in the Turinese suburn of Grugliasco (where the QP and Ghibli are made) and shortening vacation time to ramp production up from 750 cars per week to 900.

Little Red Racing Car Kickstarter project a father/son affair [w/video]

Tales of fathers and sons, whether told for adults or for children, never go out of style. It's appropriate then that The Little Red Racing Car, a story about a father and son finding and restoring a 1955 Maserati 300S, is such a stylish piece of work.
Author Dwight Knowlton first started working on The Little Red Racing Car when, after his son was born, he "went looking for the perfect Father/Son/Car book" and couldn't find one. Knowlton's artwork in has been influenced heavily by vintage automotive advertising and Grand Prix posters, and has a very clean, art deco vibe as a result.
Of course, TLRRC is still just a work in progress. Knowlton is hoping the Kickstarter community will help to get the ball rolling, and raise $25,000 to the book printed and distributed. The author even has a stretch goal to have the whole shebang made into and animated film - we love big dreams. Follow on below to hear Knowlton's pitch in his own words, or jump over to his Kickstarter page to look further or buy-in.

2014 Maserati Ghibli snarls in Shanghai

Big things are happening at Maserati, where the automaker is looking to increase its sales to 50,000 units annually. In addition to the revised Quattroporte that we saw at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, Maserati has launched the all-new Ghibli here in Shanghai - a smaller, more driver-focused model that will take on the likes of the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
At launch, the Ghibli will be offered with three six-cylinder engines, two gas and one diesel. The base engine is a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 with 330 horsepower and 368 pound-feet of torque, good for a 0-62 time of 5.6 seconds. The more powerful Ghibli S, however, comes with a twin-turbocharged version of this engine, good for 410 hp and 406 lb-ft, reducing that 0-62 time to just five seconds flat. On the diesel end, the Ghibli will offer a 3.0-liter diesel V6 with 275 hp and 443 lb-ft of twist, able to do that same 62-mile-per-hour run in a still impressive 6.3 seconds. The more powerful Ghibli S will also be available with Maserati's new Q4 all-wheel-drive system, though we're told that this feature cannot be had on right-hand-drive versions.
As for what we can see here in Shanghai, the Ghibli looks pretty darn good, though that front fascia reminds us an awful lot of the BMW 3 Series. (Seriously, just picture the Bimmer with a more gaping grille opening.) Maserati will offer the Ghibli with standard 18-inch wheels, though 19s, 20s, and even 21s will be available as optional extras.