The automotive industry, in response to consumer demand, set a course for engineering vehicles that have autonomous features. Whether it is a Lane Keeping Assist or Adaptive Cruise Control, many of these new technologies seize more control from the driver in the name of safety and comfort. Some luxury brands even have prototypes on the road that are semiautonomous, affording drivers the ability to look away from the road and enjoy other activities – read and Skype or FaceTime with family to name two.
Take control way from the driver? … This is one area of contention for Maserati.
Quattroporte. Ghibli. Gran Turismo.
These models aren’t manufactured to let you recline and finish the latest chapter in a novel. If you want to put on a smoking jacket and enjoy a corncob pipe with some brandy, you have a smorgasbord of German brands that will provide a hushed, hands-off journey to your winter cabin. If, however, you seek the thrill of the powerful exhaust note and performance of more than 400 Italian stallions, Maserati had you in mind a century ago.
Any feature that removes the driver from the road does not align with Maserati’s core principle: driving dynamics. We’ve completed test drives of the Ghibli and Gran Turismo (the Quattroporte blog is on its way) and our team can attest that these are compelling machines, enticing you to round corners a bit tighter and accelerate a bit faster – and it can do it to perfection with immediate responsiveness. That quality is what truly distinguishes this iconic Italian brand from all others.
And the company has no intentions on compromising its beliefs.
Umberto Maria Cini, Maserati’s general manager of general overseas markets, boasts the brand built a reputation for “handling… performances… pleasure to drive.” He went on to explain that company believes “the driver has to be in charge… You have to maintain the pleasure of driving.”
Auto braking, self-steering, lane departure warnings, and even air suspension betray a vision established one hundred years ago.
Though the company refuses to incorporate these attributes, it meets all safety requirements with stability control and airbags; however, it has no intention of creating more intrusive driving aids.
“We don’t have the electronic features as our main priorities,” explained Umberto.
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