Sink or swim?

News that Maserati is in trouble should surprise no one. When its core model is a mid-size SUV that’s a rebadged Alfa Romeo Stelvio, it’s little wonder that Neptune’s trident has lost its sharpness. The Grecale doesn’t look, sound or go like a classic Maserati. More tinsel, a trident badge and nicer trim does not a Maserati make.

It has more in common with a Qashqai than a Quattroporte. A decent enough mid-size SUV, certainly, and in some ways rather an appealing one. But not Maserati special. A badge of convenience, not conviction.

Here is yet another example of a famous brand being stretched, sullied and stained, by an owner (in this case Stellantis) keen to push volumes and, it hopes, boost profits. But it hasn’t worked for Alfa Romeo, it hasn’t worked for Jaguar and it hasn’t worked for (almost dormant) Lancia or for DS. And – now we must change tenses – it didn’t work for Saab, Rover, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Plymouth, Wolseley, Triumph, Maybach, Riley and a host of other famous old premium names buggered up by parent companies that didn’t understand the nameplate and launched cars that betrayed the brand.