2009 Mitsubshi Eclipse Spyder Gs Convertible White Ec 2.4l Clean on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Stellantis ready to kill brands and fix U.S. problems, CEO Tavares says

  MILAN — Stellantis is taking steps to fix weak margins and high inventory at its U.S. operations and will not hesitate to axe underperforming brands in its sprawling portfolio, its chief executive Carlos Tavares said on Thursday. The warning for lossmaking brands is a turnaround for Tavares, who has maintained since Stellantis was created in 2021 from the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA that all of its 14 brands including Maserati, Fiat, Peugeot and Jeep have a future. "If they don't make money, we'll shut them down," Carlos Tavares told reporters after the world's No. 4 automaker delivered worse-than-expected first-half results, sending its shares down as much as 10%. "We cannot afford to have brands that do not make money." The automaker now also considers China's Leapmotor as its 15th brand, after it agreed to a broad cooperation with the group. Stellantis does not release figures for individual brands, except for Maserati which reported an 82 million euro adjusted operating loss in the first half. Some analysts say Maserati could possibly be a target for a sale by Stellantis, while other brands such as Lancia or DS might be at risk of being scrapped given their marginal contribution to the group's overall sales. Stellantis' Milan-listed shares were down as much as 12.5% on Thursday, hitting their lowest since August 2023. That brings the loss for the year so far to 22%, making them the worst performer among the major European automakers. Few automotive brands have been killed off since General Motors ditched the unprofitable Saturn and Pontiac during a U.S. government-led bankruptcy in the global financial crisis in 2008. Tavares is under pressure to revive flagging margins and sales and cut inventory in the United States as Stellantis bets on the launch of 20 new models this year which it hopes will boost profitability. Recent poor results from global carmakers have heightened worries about a weakening outlook for sales across major markets such as the U.S., whilst they also juggle an expensive transition to electric vehicles and growing competition from cheaper Chinese rivals. Japan's Nissan Motor saw first-quarter profit almost completely wiped out on Thursday and slashed its annual outlook, as deep discounting in the United States shredded its margins. Tavares said he would be working through the summer with his U.S. team on how to improve performance and cut inventory.

Leak confirms Maserati product plans, five new models

It isn't a secret that Maserati is planning a product expansion in an attempt sell 50,000 units annually by 2015, but the automaker hasn't officially announced just how it plans to do so. Yes, we've seen (and driven) the 2014 Quattroporte, checked out spy shots for the smaller Ghibli sedan and Maserati even confirmed the Levante name for its SUV, but a leaked document reported by CarScoop could shed some light on how the Italian automaker intends on carrying out its rapid growth.
According to the image, the new Ghibli and Levante models will considerably lower the entry price point for the Maserati brand with the sedan having a price range from around $72,000 up to just over the $100,000 mark, with the SUV starting at close to $80,000 and topping out at almost $200,000. It also looks like the GranTurismo and GranCabrio will be getting redesigned in the near future at which point the new Gran Sport model will be added to the mix - otherwise known as the which often-rumored sports car with which Maserati will do battle with the Porsche 911.

Maserati Boomerang concept could fetch millions at auction

It's not every day that a truly head-turning, show-stopping, one-of-a-kind concept car goes up for auction, but that day is coming soon. Bonhams consigned the one and only Maserati Boomerang concept for its upcoming auction in Chantilly, France. The concept, designed by the inimitable Giorgetto Giugiaro at his Italdesign studio, debuted at the Turin Motor Show in 1971, and resurfaced at the Geneva Motor Show the following year in fully functional form. It was based on the Maserati Bora (by the same designer), packing a V8 engine good for 300 horsepower and 300 kilometers per hour (186 mph). What really set it apart, however, was its dramatic wedge shape that could only have been penned by Giugiaro. Of course it was never put into production, but its design was said to have influenced the original Golf that Giugiaro designed for Volkswagen shortly thereafter – to say nothing of the BMW M1, DeLorean DMC-12, Lotus Esprit, and so many others. In correspondence with Autoblog, Bonhams specialist Philip Kantor quoted its pre-sale estimate range at ˆ3-4 million (about $4 million, give or take half a million, at current exchange rates). That might seem like a big chunk of change, but as Kantor points out, "It's a unique, road registered concept car by the best car designer of the 20th century, so in comparative terms it's very realistic." We'll look forward to seeing bidding reach that range when the gavel drops on Sept. 5. For now, you can check out its sharp lines in the high-resolution image gallery above. THE ONE-OF-A-KIND MASERATI BOOMERANG OFFERED AT BONHAMS 5 Sep 2015, The Chantilly Sale A signature concept car of the 1970s, the Maserati Boomerang was a one-off prototype unlike anything seen before. Using geometric shapes and ruler straight lines, its angular style made a strong statement at the 1971 Turin Motor Show. Now the Boomerang is set to cause a stir once again as a highlight lot of Bonhams 5 September Chantilly Sale. Philip Kantor, Bonhams European Head of Motoring, said: "The Boomerang was the first car of its time to create such a strong, angular style statement. It's considered by many to be one of the most remarkable designs of the 20th century and the 'grandfather' to the Volkswagen Golf Mk 1.