Maserati Monday

Originally I had intended to write a post yesterday titled Sideways Sunday. I would have recounted how binge-watching the show Wings while my wonderful wife was away on a “girls weekend” led me to watch the movie Sideways since Thomas Haden Church was in both productions. I guess that was the reason. I was also going to write that I had forgotten how much I liked the movie.

What I didn’t know is that I would wake up at 1:30 AM Sunday morning with a fever, chills, sweats and muscle aches. I was shivering so violently I’m surprised I didn’t chip a tooth or pull a muscle. I was so cold I could not bring myself to get up to take ibuprofen or to go to the bathroom. After covering myself with another blanket I fell back to sleep and woke up a little later sans fever and with my chills, sweats and muscle aches having subsided substantially.

I don’t think the fever has returned, but I have continued to have the chills intermittently and they just happen in an instant, like the dial going from zero to eight in less than a second. With my history of urosepsis I was quite worried at first, but I don’t have any other symptoms and certainly my fever was not as high as it was during my near-fatal bout in 2004 (when it reached 104°), nor would the fever have just passed without taking an antipyretic.

I guess I just caught some kind of bug. My symptoms do not line up with those from the omicron variant of the damn virus. I hope I recover soon as my wonderful wife and I have a lot planned for the rest of this month.

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This Hagerty article is titled, “Replica car construction can officially commence.” Here is a brief recap from the piece:

 

 

OK, so a bill passed in 2015 is in limbo for more than six years waiting for un-elected bureaucrats to finalize regulations to implement the bill. Do you realize how much our lives are governed by people who were not elected and who are not really accountable?

I wish I could find the post link, but I recently wrote about ex-pats who have moved to Portugal, some of whom because it’s much easier to start a business there than in the US. That fact is inexcusable. We are a nation now governed by an unholy alliance of unaccountable bureaucrats and power-hungry politicians, neither group having any interest in real governance.

Back to the cars…before you think these vehicles can be built without adhering to any modern standards, you would be mistaken. Once more from Hagerty, “Any replicas made and sold must adhere to modern emissions standards, according to NHTSA. Additionally, all low-volume manufacturers must register with NHTSA, EPA, and CARB before selling vehicles. According to SEMA, that process may take several months. Approved manufacturers will be required to submit annual production reports.”

I think that some companies will begin to build these cars, but that most of those efforts will drown in red tape. Yes, it would be nice to buy a car that looks like a 1937 Cord, but how can low-volume manufacturers really build these cars and meet “modern” standards? I suspect these cars will be VERY expensive AND they will not be available for sale in California. As you might surmise, that this law is finally implemented is no great victory, in my opinion.

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On Saturday I visited the Penske “complex” in North Scottsdale/Phoenix. To my surprise, one of these was still on the floor:

 

 

Yes, this is a Maserati MC20. This particular vehicle is also for sale as it is, supposedly, a demonstrator sent to the dealership above and beyond its original allocation of eight vehicles, all of which are sold.

The salesman, LM, was friendly and not pushy. I told him my wonderful wife would not be happy if I purchased a quarter-million dollar car. He said, “I don’t know your wife.” He then mentioned that Maserati would be re-launching the Gran Turismo in addition to combining the Ghibli and Quattroporte into one four-door model. I guess the implication was that I could buy a new Maserati sometime in the not too distant future for less than an MC20. Here are some more Maserati photos:

 

 

Based on spy photos, the new Gran Turismo will not look much different than the version shown above, the one sold from 2007 to 2019. Why mess with a winner, right? The Ferrari V8 engine will go away, though, as the car is almost certainly going to be powered by the same Maserati-developed Nettuno V6 found in the MC20, but maybe with a little less power to fit a smooth driving GT car.

I don’t know how long Maserati will be able to continue with their proposed strategy of building “pure” ICE cars, hybrids and “pure” EVs simultaneously. Of course, I think all manufacturers should do that and give the consumer a choice, but I am not so blind as to think that will happen. I also know that would increase manufacturing costs and complexity. I still think in a capitalist society the consumer should be the primary decision maker, though.

 

#MaseratiMonday

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#somanycarsjustonelife

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