Maserati may bring the Kubang into production through the use of Audi's manufacturing facilities. However it would not be based on the VW Touareg/Porsche Cayenne platform but rather an SUV-ified version of the Audi A8. It would use Maserati's 4.2-liter V8 and an as yet undisclosed awd system.

Original article: http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content...._code=01820598

I'll scare up some pictures of the concept a bit later, I'm posting from the library between classes right now and don't have a lot of time.

 

for the love of god, when are SUVs going to go out of style! :madfawk:

 

Hey, it could be worse. At least if it gets built it will be based on an all-aluminum sedan with sporting intentions and will have a 390 hp V8. Better than some kind of mammoth like the American companies are spitting out.

Anyway here's some pics.

 

... i don't think europeans have a good grasp of the american SUV market - not that the maserati will or will not be sold in america... all of their SUVs look like raised station wagons (well they are, aren't they?), but american and even japanese SUVs actually look like trucks

 

The whole point of the European brands is to make more car-like SUVs to bring the driving dynamics up to higher standards than offered in the more truckish entries in the segment. They are all aimed specifically at the US market since we are by far the largest consumers of SUVs and their various incarnations. The Japanese are getting in on the segment with the Infiniti FX.

 

that makes sense, but i think the perception that most people have of SUVs are not raised station wagons, they're trucks. don't the japanese (like honda, for example) make SUVs with the driving dynamics of smaller cars, because they are built on their car platforms? but their SUVs still don't look like station wagons

i thought the FX was considered a crossover

 

I dunno I think of them more as "performance utilities" or something but I hate all the jargon so I call em all SUVs. But like, the X5, FX, Cayenne, Touareg, SRX, etc. They're mostly based on performance sedans (except the VW/Porsche twins) and biased towards on-road performance.

Stuff like the Pilot, Highlander, RX300, MDX, Murano, etc is mechanically and dynamically more similar to a minivan.

 

:werd: to Booty

ya i hate to say it, but this is what america wants right now. just look at the FX and whatnot. people dont want trucks. they want the illusion of power, safety, and unstoppability that comes with an SUV, coupled with the civility and sex appeal that comes with a sports car.

what erks me is that theyre taking two opposites and trying to mangle their desireable attributes into one automobile, which brings us to a vehicle that isnt particularly good at anything at all.

 

I wouldn't say that.

For example my mom describes her ideal vehicle as a luxury 5-door hatchback convertible with all wheel drive and a bunch of power. While that's physically impossible to achieve, she's exactly the type of person these crossovers (remember, combination of several market segments) are going after. I'm really trying to get her into an SRX since it's got the cargo capacity to haul around mulch for her gardening, a monstrous sunroof, a ballsy motor with the Northstar, it handles reasonably nicely for a "truck," and has all the requisite luxo baubles. It ain't her hypothetical ultimate car but it's a lot closer than anything else I've seen.

While I probably would never buy any of these "performance utilities" (to use the term coined by Cadillac) they sure are way nicer than the wallowing behemoths that get spat out by the hundreds of thousands by Detroit. I'd much rather have soccer moms running around in FX45s and SRXs instead of QX56s and Escalades.

 

thats an excellent point. the classifications on all these 'utility vehicles' are not exactly clear. so it probably would be better (using common language now) to call the X5, cayenne, tourag, etc, crossovers instead of full-blown SUVs.

so using that sort of hazy classification...

while there'll be a pretty decent market for "the illusion of power, safety, and unstoppability that comes with an SUV, coupled with the civility and sex appeal that comes with a sports car", i still think the american "SUV" market is still a lot better for the truck-type SUVs instead of "crossovers" like those listed above. americans have always loved their trucks and big-ass cars. SUVs like the suburban and explorer fit the bill perfectly. i definately would rather drive a crossover or a pilot before any american SUV, but lets face it; trucks and SUVs in america are still getting bigger, and people are still buying them. it'll be a while before the trend turns completely