Recent content by Foncool

` There are pockets of Italian communities across the country, obviously not in the size that exists in the Northeast but they are there. What needs to happen is for Maserati/Alfa to play to their strength of the Italian image and not try to copy the sterile Teutonic image of the German...

The problem is not that there not enough dealers, it’s that there are too many in a given market area. In search of volume Auburn Hills was giving the franchises to any CDJR dealer with a half way decent balance sheet. These dealer only know how to sell on price and destroyed the profitability...

EVs are a product that no one asked for, didn’t want and aren’t buying. The only reason manufacturers put their limited resource funds into them is because of government bureaucrats and fanatical environmentalists zealots.

they need to get both brands (Alfa and Maserati) as far away from anything or anyone related to the CDJR network as possible. They are out of their realm in the upscale market. That’s the reason the brands are is position they are today, Auburn Hills and their dealers treat the brands and it’s...

While your post is a year old, it is indicative of the problem within the brands, it’s not the product it’s the network.

It’s not the product (although the infotainment system in the Stelvio/Giulia is horrible), it’s the Network.

While on the surface this looks bad, and it is. First the MC20 is the only vehicle built at Via Ciro Menotti. The GranTurismo is (was) built in Torino at Miraforio who’s production is being moved to Modena. The Gracale is built in Casino in southern Italy. That being said, Maserati simply built...

How about option #3? Complete separation of the “National” brand grouping network. Let Auburn Hills continue to to run the CDJR network, they’ve done well turning Jeep into a world brand (something that Lido and Daimler failed to do but Marchionne pulled off). They’ve brought Ram up to be a...

It’s always someone else’s fault, it’s Daimler, it’s Cerberus, it’s FIAT, It’s Marchionne, it’s Tavares, it’s the Germans, it’s the Italians, it’s the French that Chrysler is failing. Never mind they’ve gone bankrupt a number of times, that their brands constantly rank at the bottom in terms of...

Wow talk about drinking the Auburn Hills Kool-Aid. Trying to use a Scifi movie as an analogy? FYI Daimler took a 26+ BILLION DOLLAR loss to rid themselves of Chrysler. You really should study your history something that Marchionne didn’t do, separately both Maserati and Alfa entered into...

Maserati was operating at a 13+% margin without an SUV, within 6 months of Marchionne putting Bigland in charge of Maserati their margins dropped to under 3% with an SUV, Kuniskis just exasperated the problem when he replaced Bigland. Neither understood the brand or its customers , appointing...

Good for CDJR, just keep him away from Maserati and Alfa, it’s because of him and Bigland that they’re such bad shape today. They literally destroyed both brands.

The list of why is long and obvious to anyone outside of the Auburn Hills Kool-Aid fountain. Marchionne didn’t study his History. While things may look good on paper, reality is a different matter. Both Maserati and Alfa partnered with Chrysler in the late 80s for both brands to be sold...

Maserati and Alfa need to get as far away from anything and anyone related to Chrysler.

As an FYI, Maserati was operating at a 13+% margin without an SUV, until Marchionne in search more volume facilitated a turnover of operations of Maserati to Auburn Hills (Bigland). Within 6 months Maserati’s operating profit dropped to under 3% with an SUV. Auburn Hills appointed a large number...