A car for the senses and a sensation for the driver: New car test: 2012 Maserati GranTurismo MC and Gran Cabrio Sport

“My Maserati does 185 …” and you probably can sing along to the “Life’s Been Good” hit by Joe Walsh. That was from his wild and crazy days when he could afford to lose his license.

And the reworked 2012 Maserati GranTurismo MC is the fastest and most powerful car in the Maserati lineup. With an infusion of performance from the company’s Maserati Corse race division, the coupe will do 187 mph and 0-60 mph in an easy 4.8 seconds – and probably quicker, the company says.

The GranTurismo has an organic strength to its hands-on driving experience. There is richness to the leather and an interior that is largely hand assembled by workers who, seemingly, care about their craft. It is the charge that comes from turning the ignition key and just hearing the launch of the cylinders and then the exhaust as it rolls out in even syncopation in praise of premium fuel.

 

Pricing for the coupe starts at $143,400, including $1,700 gas-guzzler tax and $1,800 freight from Modena. And that’s value packaging, which includes almost $14,000 in accessories, such as a carbon fiber steering wheel and interior trim, MC autoshift transmission, black grille and Alcantara headliner.

Dealers were ordering the standard GT S model with almost $14,000 in options and customers were buying it, Allan said. The well-optioned cars were selling eight days faster than lesser-equipped cars.

Growth year, not boom times
Despite the economy, Maserati had a good 2010, which allowed it to add performance models to its coupe and convertible. The Quattroporte sedan is carryover.

Last year Maserati sold 2,035 cars in the U.S. and 10,000 worldwide, which isn’t such a trifle in this super-luxury segment. With starting prices of $100,000, this market has stayed flat or is down a bit, while the high-luxury segment ($70,000) went up, the company says.

The marque has experienced the best success yet of the four-seat, two-door Grand Turismo and it also was the most profitable year with costs being brought under control. “We’re back and doing quite well,” said Rob Allan, director of product planning for Maserati.

New for 2012, Maserati has stepped up all cars to the 4.7-liter V-8 and has done away with the 4.2-liter. Most customers were buying the 4.7 anyway, Allan said.

Upgrades from the standard model include: reworked aerodynamic package, MC six-speed autoshift transmission, single-rate suspension, the upgraded 444 hp (a 10 hp boost) V-8 engine, sport exhaust and carbon fiber interior trim.

When you hear this car, the sound will become synonymous with a Maserati. At high revs, lighter mufflers with a hinged bypass let out a wail from deep within that reminds of a Formula 1 racer.

Aerodynamic enhancements include a front bumper with integrated chin splitter, side skirts that blend into the front fenders with air intakes at the trailing edge. The rear has a redesigned bumper fascia and sport exhaust repositioned a bit inward that sends a serious message. A lip spoiler on the deck lid is huge in Maserati’s opinion but just a subtle kick-up to everybody else. New, black 20-inch wheels integrate the Maser trident.

All the aero treatments aid down-force and stability at high speeds, Maserati says, but also fuel economy. The wheels and lighter exhaust system saved 10 and 12 pounds each, but the steel-bodied car is heavy at 4,145 pounds.

More power

Even with more power, including 375 foot-pounds of torque, engine refinements have increased fuel economy by 6 percent. Not that a Maser owner is overly concerned about mileage, but the savings converts to $400 less on the gas-guzzler tax, now $1,700. The six-speed transmission seems yester-tech when competitors are going to seven- and eight speeds, but it is the best six-speed by manufacturer ZF, Allan said. Another gear or two would increase highway fuel economy, but the ratios were appropriate for around town and performance driving.

The Maserati Stability Program (MSP) system is always active in the background, but it never got in the way when I was pushing hard up the backside of county Route S22 from Borrego Springs. It was 110 degrees in the desert and I was in second and third gears, lunging from corner to corner, occasionally hitting the rev limiter. While the Maser’s air conditioner was challenged the engine did not overheat and not once did I sense braking or throttle intervention. The car had more to give, but I was at my limit.

Braking force is absolute from 14.96-inch steel-aluminum vented front rotors with six-piston calipers and rear 14.7-inch steel, vented discs with four-piston calipers.

This is not a car that feels as if it just rolled off a robotized assembly line and has been electronically sanitized for mainstream consumption. The GranTurismo MC is a car for the senses and a sensation for the driver.

Alert officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection saved a long-stolen 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo from being shipped from Long Beach to the Netherlands.

The CBP announced Oct. 25 that the Outbound Enforcement Team at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport discovered the car in a container to be exported to the Netherlands.

In a check of the Vehicle Identification Number, it was learned the vehicle was reported stolen Las Vegas in Nov. 1988.

Nevada authorities confirmed the record for the stolen Porsche was still active. The slightly tattered car, stripped of its engine, was seized for return to the insurance company, which owns the title.
The seized vehicle’s manifest was valued at $12,552, but Customs import specialists peg the value – without the engine – at about $27,552.
From October, 2010, to August, 2011, the CBP agents at the Long Beach Seaport seized 51 vehicles and 49 engines heading overseas. Of that total: 24 were stolen, 63 were undeclared, seven were undervalued and six had fraudulent documents. The combined estimated value is $1.8 million.

The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, with a new lithium-ion battery, is now available in two models for ordering in 14 launch states, with deliveries beginning in spring, 2012.

The base model has a starting price of $32,760 and the Prius Plug-in Advanced starts at $40,285, including the $760 freight charge from Japan. Both models are expected to qualify for a federal tax credit of approximately $2,500.

The plug-in model is based on the third-generation Prius Liftback and has extended electric vehicle range. It can be driven on battery power up to 15 miles at a maximum speed of 62 mph. Toyota expects an estimated 87 MPGe – miles per gallon equivalent – and a combined 49 mpg city/highway fuel economy in hybrid mode.

Charging a depleted battery will take 2½ to 3 hours using a standard 120-volt outlet or 1½ hours using 240-volt.

Special design features for the plug-in model include chrome grille and bumper trim, chrome door handles, unique 15-inch alloy wheels, blue-accented headlamps, a distinct tail lamp design and a new Hybrid Synergy Drive Plug-in badge.

Standard equipment includes heated front seats, remote air conditioning system (which can run off the grid while the vehicle is plugged in or off the battery), a charger timer, EV-ECO-Power driving modes, three-door Smart Key, audio display screen with navigation, rearview camera and Entune multimedia system.

The Advanced model adds such extras as HDD Navigation with Entune and JBL GreenEdge amplifier and “acoustic lens” speakers, head-up gauge display, dynamic radar cruise control, pre-collision system, Softer (leatherette-like) upholstery and eight-way power adjustable driver’s seat. There also are smartphone applications for charge management, remote air conditioning activation, charging station map, vehicle finder and Eco dashboard.

Orders can be placed at http://www.toyota.com. The launch states include California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.

A national rollout is planned for 2013.

The redesigned Nissan Versa has many virtues and a couple of vices for the price of a song

BY MARK MAYNARD

The once subcompact Nissan Versa sedan has been re-engineered on a larger platform and restyled with enough interior capacity to push it into the compact class – but with subcompact pricing.

With starting prices ranging from $11,750 to around $18,000, Versa now has more appeal, ranging from misers to young families. It has incredible back seat room and a trunk for elephants.

Versa is still sold in hatchback body style, too, but it is unchanged for 2012.

The sedan has the same width as before but is a half-inch longer and not as tall on the same wheelbase of 102.4 inches. The exterior styling may not be head-turning, but it is much more proportionately sound than the old model.

The interior is neat and tidy with some creative swirls, sweeps and arcs to break up the black plastic.

Versa sedan pricing

Pricing ranges from $11,750 to around $18,000, including the $760 freight charge.

The base model comes with a five-speed manual and air conditioning, a two-speaker audio system, stability and traction controls, and six air bags. For a baseline comparison, the base Honda Civic does not have standard AC or a radio.

The S model can be optioned with a continuously variable automatic transmission, $1,770, and such niceties as cruise control, two rear speakers, a trunk light, and some silver trim accents, which aren’t allowed on the penny-pinching base car.

Moving up to the SV with CVT, $15,320, will add more conveniences, such as cruise control, power windows and locks, remote locking, upgraded seat cloth, some chrome and silver trim accents.

The top-line SL, today’s tester, starts at $16,320 and was $17,190 as tested.

Check current Nissan Versa pricing here.

Versa sedan performance

All models are powered by a 109-hp, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual or second-generation CVT. Nissan says the continuously variable transmission has gearing typical of a seven-speed transmission.

Fuel economy is 27 mpg city, 36 highway on regular unleaded, or 30/38 mpg with the CVT. That compares to the Civic at 28/39 and the Hyundai Accent at 30/40.

Performance is decent but with some engine noise on uphill grades as the transmission adapts to the load. I made a three-hour round-trip run to LAX and could have driven longer. Ride quality is good for this class, but there is some wind push from big trucks on the highway and road noise on concrete surfaces. The high seat point helps visibility and easy entry.

Interior Features

Interior spaciousness is deceiving from the outside. There is front seat room for a 6-foot-5 male with a 6-foot male sitting comfortably in the back seat. There is no rear center headrest, but the SL model does have a split-folding back seat to boost the 14.8-cubic-foot trunk.

One of the Versa virtues of soft armrests is gone (not hard now, but not as cushy as they once were). And for long-distance commuters, an option for a front center armrest/storage box would be welcome (Hyundai does this for Accent). And don’t expect a vanity mirror on the driver’s side, only the passenger side.

There is much attention paid to a 40 mpg highway rating in the latest crop of small cars. But Versa is credible for its 30 mpg city and multi-function capacity.