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Maserati to show GranCabrio MC in Paris

Maserati sure seems to be milking the GranTurismo franchise for all its worth these days. In addition to plenty of limited editions and sport models for both the coupe and convertible, Maserati recently launched the MC version of the hardtop. Now, ahead of its debut at the Paris Motor Show, the Modenese automaker has dropped details on its latest iteration of the GT platform, the GranCabrio MC.
Visually, the droptop's most noticeable change is its new face, which has been lifted directly off the MC Stradale coupe. This means the car is a full 48 millimeters longer than the standard and Sport versions of the GranCabrio, but we like the decidedly more aggressive look to that big ol' schnoz. The large rear spoiler has also been reworked for the MC, providing even more downforce to keep that large body firmly glued to the road.
Maserati has not released powertrain details, but we assume that the GranCabrio MC uses the same 4.7-liter Ferrari-sourced V8 as the MC coupe, good for 444 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

Maserati and Lamborghini pull out of Iran

Daimler is out, Toyota is out, Porsche is out, Hyundai, PSA Peugeot-Citroën are out and when it comes to selling cars in Iran, now Maserati and Lamborghini are out, too. The definitive pullouts of those last two automakers are said to be reactions to a press conference held by a group called United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). The group highlights businesses that sell in both the US market and Iran, and works to get those businesses to choose one market or the other.
UANI said it had sent letters to Maserati and Lamborghini about their dealings in Iran, but that the letters went unanswered. Mark Wallace, head of UANI and a former US ambassador to the United Nations, held a press conference in October of last year that referenced the two companies. Apparently Lamborghini contacted Wallace just after the press conference and told him "they were out, they weren't doing any business in Iran anymore."
Discussions with Maserati then took place, and the Italian automaker said it had been out of Iran ever since Fiat announced it was leaving the country in May 2011. UANI said Maserati had been in talks with an Iranian distributor, however, and that distributor was continuing to use the Maserati name. The carmaker has since cut all ties with Iranian interests and has prevented its name from being used, adding that its new models will not be able to be sold there because they won't pass regulations the country's regulations.

Share price falls on skepticism of Chrysler-Fiat five-year plan

Following this week's Fiat Chrysler extravaganza, where the Italian-American manufacturer announced its plans for the next five years, the Autoblog staff was cautiously optimistic of the company's future. Investors? Not so much.
Fiat saw its shares tumble 12 percent in Wednesday's trading, falling from 8.67 euros ($12.06 at today's rates) to 7.44 euros ($10.35) as of this writing, with blame partly going to the Italian half of the FCA marriage, which recorded a pretty significant drop in profits during the first quarter of this year.
The plan, which will cost around $77 billion over the next several years, is facing criticism from investors thanks in part to a 1.4-percent drop in Fiat's first-quarter profits, to 622 million euros ($862 million). That figure is also short of Bloomberg analysts' projections, which predicted $1.18 billion in profits before taxes, interest and one-time items.