Curbside Classic Outtake: Reliabity Is Always Relative

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

We can get ourselves in a tizzy about the defects and quality issues in new cars, but it’s sometimes good to have a little perspective. How would like to try to keep this Maserati Quattroporte stretch limo running? No e-pedals on this baby, but look at that bank of Webers to keep tuned and synchronized.

The big Maserati four-cam V8 had its origins in racing cars, like this 450S that Carrol Shelby once raced. I doubt its designers expected it to end up in a limo, and in Eugene, at that. It’s a small world after all.

The big (non-stretched) Maserati sedan was quite a piece of work in its day. Designed by Maestro Giorgetto Giugiario, it graced us with its handsome angularity from 1976 through 1990. These were quite common in LA back in the day, a more exclusive alternative to the big Mercedes sedans. The interiors were a true delight. Smog controls made life hard for the 4.2 and the later 4.9 liter V8, but it gave a passing account of itself. This one looks like it might be out of commission for a while.

Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

More by Paul Niedermeyer

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 15 comments
  • TR4 TR4 on Feb 05, 2010

    Why the perceived difficulty of synchronizing carburetors? Any halfway competent mechanic can do it with the aid of an air flow meter (like the Uni-Syn) and if you really know what you're doing a length of hose (to listen to the air flow) will suffice.

  • Accs Accs on Feb 08, 2010

    WOW.. Seeing a Maser Limo..in pics must be nice.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
Next