General Discussions

Re: General Discussions

Reply #2595 – April 14, 2026, 08:09:37 am

Quote from: LP – on April 14, 2026, 08:05:44 am

Quote from: Gointocarlton – on April 14, 2026, 08:02:11 am
I would be gobsmacked if Ferrari copied any American crapheap that ever existed.
Fisker is the coachbuilder / designer involved in multiple classics from BMW, Astin Martin, Tesla, Bentley, Mercedes and Maserati just to name a few. His designs are copied mercilessly, and his efforts to establish his own brand were basically crushed by the world of old money.

Which Maserati were Fisker involved with?

Re: General Discussions

Reply #2596 – Today at 12:44:09 am

Quote from: Gointocarlton – on April 14, 2026, 08:09:37 am

Which Maserati were Fisker involved with?

I can't name specific models, but you see his influence in bodies. It was after he left BMW to join Ford. Ford supported lots of companies through the auto industry crisis in the early 2000s. One of those efforts was the Ford Design Centre headed by Fisker, effectively a gun for hire for anybody up until he launched the Karma prototypes. Fiat(Ferrari and Maserati), Mercedes, Chrysler, Tesla, etc, etc, all took assistance donated and funded by Ford.

Primarily his design influence kicked of with the BMW Z8, which gained so much popularity they could no longer just build them exclusively in the USA with leadtimes exceeding 18 months. So they built a second factory in China, that is when BMW quality started sliding. The US site was a quality and automation benchmark, China a low cost labor high volume knockoff. Now the U.S. factories are closing, and the public happily accepts cheap rubbish in the TEMU version.

There is that specific Fisker front end look you can follow, if there are denials about his involvement and influence that's pride speaking.

It would be truly ironic for Italian built anything to label a U.S. competitors crap trucks, that's the pot calling the kettle. Italy's biggest manufacturing boat anchor is inconsistent quality and finish. It's A-grade for design and innovation, but craphouse at manufacturing, cars would be falling apart as they left the dealership car park. That's part of the romance of Italian marques.

Having said that, if you collect get a Alfa Romeo Gulia Quadrafolio, they will probably be the last and best ICE sedan like sports car ever built in the class. Uses a V6 version of the Ferrari V8, the V6 turned out to be a better engine than it's V8 parent. Only problem for secondhand can be owners tend to be brats who flog the life out of them.