Maserati Ghibli Photo Shoot

I finally got around to taking more photos of our newest car.  I was waiting for spring when landscapes are green again. 

So at sunrise in the crisp morning air,  I drove around a bit and took photos.

This is our 2019 Maserati Ghibli S GranLusso.

Exterior Color:  Tri-Coat Blu Nobile

Interior Color: Cuoio

The 'S' denotes the larger of the two engines.  It is a twin-turbo V6 built in the Ferrari factory and shipped over to Maserati's Ghibli production line in the Giovanni Agnelli Plant in Grugliasco near Turin, Italy.  It puts out 424 horsepower.

The "GranLusso" denotes a luxury package.  On the exterior,  this package includes adaptive LED headlights, chrome trim just below the headlights, the "GranLusso" badge just behind the front wheels, body-color side skirts, and a body-colored panel between the tailpipes.

On the inside, the GranLusso package includes a steering wheel with a wood insert. Highway Assist, Traffic Sign Recognition, Harmon Kardon Sound System, full natural drilled leather, and 19-inch Poseidon wheels.  Note that the 19-inch wheels are not on this car - it includes an upgrade to the 20-inch silver Teseo wheels.  It also includes an upgrade from the Harmon Kardon to the Bowers & Wilkens Sound System.

This car includes the optional the Driver Assistance Package:  Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Surround View Camera, and Advanced BAS.  Advanced BAS could be talking about Maserati's Brake Assist System (BAS) which recognizes emergency braking and increases boost accordingly,  or it could be a mis-spelling on the window sticker and really should be Advanced DAS (Driver Assist System) which includes features such as pulling the car back into the lane if it detects the car drifting - a feature that can be turned off which is how I have it set as it induces a slight panic in me to feel the car ignore my instruction.

Other options on this car include the Cold Weather Package, Umbrella, Luggage Compartment Mat, Luggage Compartment Net, Sunshade, and License Plate Frame.

When the Ghibli first came out in 2014, we went to the dealer in La Jolla and bought one - you can see it here.  In 2014, we bought the base model with very few options:  only navigation and Urano wheels, as I recall.  As we purchased other vehicles with more options, we began missing those options in the 2014.   Since we were driving it much anyway, we sold in after 4 years.  Big mistake!  We really missed the car.

So we began researching what options we would want on a new Ghibli.  My wife told me to just order one from the factory so we would get what we wanted. While circling in on a decision I visited the local Maserati dealer to see the options and colors in person.  This was sitting on the showroom floor with everything we were considering and more.  At an astounding price.  It was such a good deal we decided to end our research and buy it.

We're very happy we did as it is everything we want.  We're hoping this is a forever car for us.

This car hits the sweet spot I love:  performance, luxury, beautiful styling, and a practical size (not too big, not too small).

This photo shows the Cuoio drilled leather seats, the heated black leather and wood steering wheel,  the Open Pore Radica wood, and the Bowers & Wilkens speakers.

The back seat is comfortable for most people, but those over 6 foot 2 will probably need to ride up front.

Adequate leg room.

The 8.4 inch MTC+ - Maserati Touch Control Plus.

LED taillights.

Beautiful hips.

Very elegant yet sporty.

In sunlight, the blue paint really sparkles.  It is hard to capture in photos, but this shows a bit of that coming out.  At mid-day, it is really really full of sparkle!

In any case, we hope you enjoyed the tour of our Ghibli.   
 

Bought A New Maserati Ghibli

 We watched Maserati as it went through the design and initial production of the new-for-2014 Ghibli.   This car seemed to be exactly what I was looking for in terms of style, performance, luxury, and uniqueness.  So just a few months after they arrived in San Diego, we went to the La Jolla dealer and bought a Grigio Maratea-colored 2014 base Ghibli.  It had few options (paddle shifters, nav, and Urano wheels) but we loved it.

About the same time, there were major electronic feature being added to cars and my wife's next few cars had them - such as parking sensors and blind spot detection.  Slowly we started missing those in our 2014 Ghibli and, on top of that, we found it didn't have memory seats.  It had the buttons, but since we bought the base model they were not functional.  This is an issue when there are 10 inches in height difference between husband and wife.

In 2018 there were several situations which were likely to need an enormous amount of cash on the horizon, so we sold the Ghibli with the thought that, if things turned out right, we'd buy a newer one with more options down the road.

Well, we are down the road now.  I stopped in recently to see the latest upgrades and colors, and found out they had a few leftover 2019s at tremendous discounts.  This lit a fire under me and we began serious consideration of another purchase.  We narrowed it down to three:  a Grigio Maratea SQ4 GranLusso at an LA dealership,  a Blu Nobile S GranLusso at the San Diego dealer, and a Rosso Magma S GranSport at the San Diego dealer.   The last two were on the showroom floor, and we went back and forth quite a bit before deciding the Blue Nobile was better for us between the San Diego cars.  Then it was down to the Grigio Maratea and the Blu Nobile.   In the end, we got a better deal on the Blu Nobile and purchased it.  This first picture is as the car sat on the showroom floor, before purchase.

 While still on the showroom floor, here is a photo of the interior.  The photo doesn't do justice to the seats - they are a deeper richer brown in person.

 When the dealer pulled it outside, the richness of the Blu Nobile paint became apparent.  It is a truly spectacular color.

 The GranLusso comes with the full LED headlights which look just awesome.   An array of sensors cover the front of the car - even the Maserati symbol is a sensor.

 While these Tesoro wheels weren't my first choice (I still wanted the Uranos),  I have come to the conclusion that they really are better wheels!  I do have a fear that the 10 spoke on 10 spoke design will be hard to clean, but the light grey color will also hide brake dust better.  I think they look fabulous with the paint color!

 We pulled it up in our driveway.  The Blu Nobile color and Cuoio seats are a very elegant, rich combination.   It makes just the statement I want to make...the red with black interior GranSport was too racy and may have attracted the wrong attention.  I don't think combination will.

 Here is our grandson Troy getting his first look at the new car.

 Followed shortly thereafter by his brother Mateo.

While our base Ghibli had a 345 HP V6,  the S series (like this one) come with a 424 HP V6.  Both engines are built at the Ferrari factory.

And since we plan on keeping this one a long, long time, we prepaid for 4 years maintenance and a 10-year mechanical and electrical warranty.  That should allow us to sleep easy for a long time to come.

Welcome to the family, Ghibli the second!

Our Maserati Ghibli at 1 Year Old

 Our Ghibli turned one year old in March, so I took it in for its one year service.  When they gave it back to me, it absolutely sparkled so I decided to take it out the next morning for a photo shoot.  Here it is very early in the day near our house.

 We still love the Grigio Maratea color and Cuoio interior - it was the right choice for us.  When we tell people we bought a Maserati,  their first reaction is that it will be tempermental as that is the reputation Italians cars have.  That was true it decades past (think Fiat),  but as with all car manufacturers, Maserati has come a long way.  In the 5000 miles we've driven, we haven't had any mechanical issues at all.  The stereo amp did go out during the year, but it was replaced under warranty.

 The car is an absolute joy to drive.  It is by far the smoothest car I've ever owned, so much so it begs to be driven fast.  It is not hard to look down and be going 20 MPH faster than I thought.  And the sound!  Oh the exhaust note is glorious.

 Would I make changes to the car?  Absolutely, no car is perfect.  For one thing, it is harder to shift into the correct gear than it should be.  Finding park, reverse, and drive should take no thought at all, but it does.  It has twin turbos, so there is a tad bit of turbo lag too, something I'm not used to coming from non-turbo V8s.  But other than that, I'm happy with it the way it is.

 Ferrari owns something like 90% of Maserati, and they are both owned by Fiat - not exactly sure how that family tree works but they are making fine products.  Fiat also owns Chrysler, which is important when you consider the engine.  The V6 block is from Chrysler, with the heads and upper end designed by Ferrari and Maserati engineers.  The motor is actually built in the Ferrari factory and shipped over to the Maserati factory for installation in the Ghibli.  Now that's making the best of all available resources - very smart!

 Maintenance is going to be expensive.  The first oil change was $250.  And we hear the tires and brakes will need replacement between 10K and 15K.  But we knew all that going in.  There are some things worth the cost.

 No, that is not our license plate number - I doctored it before posting to the internet.

All in all, we are extremely pleased with our purchase and hope to own this beauty forever.  If she gets tempermental later in life we may change that viewpoint, but if the coming years are like this past year, she's ours forever.

Maserati 100: Cento Anni di Maserati at Santa Monica Pier

 Maserati kindly treated Maserati owners to a day in the LA area to celebrate their 100th anniversary.  They started the day at the Santa Monica Pier.  We had never been there before.

 It is a nice enough place.  Not worth a trip by itself, but if you're in the area be sure to stop by.

 Looking towards the east.

 Though it was a warm sunny Saturday, the beach was almost entirely empty.  There are still good days to visit Southern California beaches without the crowds.  Looking south.

 Looking north.

 What's this?  There appears to be an auto show going on in the parking lot!

 There is!

 A Maserati show.  OK, our car is in the crowd too.

 White is usually not our color, but with the red interior and calipers this Granturismo would be something I'd own.

 I loved this view of various Maserati models, before most of the crowd arrived.

 Here they are labeled for reference.

 A late 1960 something Maserati Ghibli I.  It was gorgeous!

 An early 1970 something Maserati Ghibli I.  Even more gorgeous in blue!!!

 A late 1950s/early 1960s Maserati 3500 GT.

 They were shooting for 100 cars, but it appears only 91 showed up (judging by the sequential numbers they assigned us).  91% is a pretty darn good turnout, based on events we've hosted.

 Our favorite color combination.  It is the combo we bought.  But there is one difference with this car from ours.  Can you spot it?

 (red calipers)

 We fell in love with this combo on this Saturday.  I like it every bit as good as ours.  Metallic black with red interior and calipers.  Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!

 I'd still buy ours though because black is hard to maintain and even harder to photograph.

 Another 2014 Maserati Ghibli in that color combination.

 A close up of the 2014 Maserati Ghibli in Nero Ribelle.

 A 2014 Maserati Ghibli in Grigio Metallo.   Very nice with those wheels!

 This is the first time we'd seen a 2014 Maserati Ghibli in Rosso Energia.   The camera came pretty close to capturing the red correctly, but not exactly.

 Very nice color.

 My wife in the reception tent.  They had coffee, tea, and croissants.

 This is where they handed out the gift bags.

 It was a beautiful day and cars were still arriving!

 The first time we'd seen a 2014 Maserati Ghibli in Rosso Folgore.

 A very executive looking Quattroporte.

 The prior generation Maserati Quattroporte

 Another one.  Looks like it has spacers on the wheels.

 The current generation Quattroporte.  A very nice design.

 Granturismo.

 A beautiful blue 3200 GT

 Okay, a few photos of our car.  Can you spot it?

 Here it is!

 My gorgeous spouse.

The mad dash to the restaurant...