Is it me or do these reviewers just miss the boat? They compare the Ghibli to the German standards BMW and Mercedes Benz. Ok fine but let me remind the reviewers of something...remember the two recent commercials on TV, the first is the Hagen Daz ice cream where the really hot Italian wife and husband argue until they see the ice cream kiss and make up then start to fight again? Hot, unpredictable Italian lust! And the other commercial for the Fiat Arbath where the nerdy guy is staring at the hot Italian model who teases him and turns out to be the car? It's another Italian attitude thing. Hot, beautiful, anything but boring, temperamental and a challenge to own or control. That is Italian.
But what do you get with a German car? Boring, predictable each model a little more featured and bigger than the next... 3 series, 5 series, 6 series, 7 series.....c Class, e class, s class. It's like Gerta and Greta the East German Olympic swimmers you couldn't tell whether they were men or women. Big, muscular, Boring with no distinct identity...and mass produced in a genetics lab!
I bought the Maserati for three reasons: 1) I love the design. It's unique it doesn't look like a ford fusion, who by the way stole the Astin Martin grill but no one screams about that! 2) I drove it, I am no F1 driver and I couldn't identify a turbo lag from a lag bolt but I do know that when I test drove the Ghibli I was at 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and at 95 mph and it felt like 35 in my wife's sonata and 3) I'll say it again. Everywhere I look is see the BMW logo or the Mercedes star. I DON'T WANT TO LOOK LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!!! The Trident is a badge of exclusivity, of individuality, saying to everyone, I like NOT being a lemming and if I am going to be a lemming, I'll drive into the sea in my own way, not just following the guy in front of me.
Ok so the first year Ghibli isn't perfect, but you tell me what car, any car in this world is perfect. You can't. And just like any movie reviewer auto reviewers are paid to write opinions. Take them or leave them. Remember the critics panned "Casablanca" when it first came out...
Steve