Only in Leno's Garage would you see an Atom parked across from a Miura... And a countach... and another Miura....

Fun to drive? Were ALWAYS in the shop.

Plus, they don't drive much better than the Chrysler.

Friend of my Uncle's bought one, it depreciated faster than the mechanic's bills came in (guess that's moot, now).

that is good to know about it driving like a Chrysler, always assumed the constant repair was worth it.

Chrysler's a bit harsh. More GT than an 911 for sure.
Here's mine for sale: Maserati Biturbo 1985

Shaun, if you're in NY (and the roads aren't salted) you're welcome to a test drive for s***s and giggles.

Hey Adriano, thanks, I may take you up on that, but looks like we'll have salt for some time. What a great winter for kids. Cars, not so much.

How do you like it compared to your Alfa?

Your car looks extremely well maintained, it's beautiful! What tends to break and how often?

Actually roads are pretty clear now. We had a good rain last weekend, hasn't snowed since. Good eye! Alfa is a more modern car - power steering for one. They're nice, solid cars and extremely reliable by Italian standards :) Pretty sure they shared the Saab 9000 platform so if you've driven one of those you have an idea. There's a 164S in the garage... much sportier than the standard model and beautiful engine sound.

As for reliability, just my personal experience but in the last 4 years as a weekend driver it hasn't let me down once. Total parts/repair cost since I've owned it (maybe 6 years) has been under 2K, bunch of deferred maintenance. Here's a pic of the car in the city I took last weekend while my 911 is sitting in the garage waiting on an engine rebuild. That's minimum 3K in 9 months ownership... :eek:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1263963049.jpg

To be fair the 911 has 100K. Not sure anyone's taken a Maserati that far (rust likely being the limiting factor.) The engines are pretty indestructible though. It's hard to say what tends to fail since probably 90% of the issues are due to lack of maintenance and kludge fixes, owners who get in cheap and stay cheap. Interior vinyl deteriorates, turbos go, rust is a biggie. Even mine as a few small spots but I'm pretty strict about keeping it dry so no progression.

EDIT: I decided to leave the Maserati for the 911 because the more I worked on the thing myself the more I disliked it. Italian engineering, lots of "80% there is good enough" I remember changing out the clutch master cylinder -- disconnecting the thing took 10 minutes, routing it through the maze of hard brake lines in the engine bay (and the new one back in) took an hour -- way to think that one through guys! A more experienced DIY-er might be less frustrated but being I'm new to this and there's no Bentley or Pelican it wasn't always pleasant.

No FHE like Adriano, but I once heard someone (Leno?) joke that a mid-80s Maserati is the ideal car to give up in a divorce.

I had to look up FHE. I got this :confused:
"Family home evening is a special time set aside each week that brings family members together and strengthens their love for each other, helps them draw closer to Heavenly Father, and encourages them to live righteously. "

I really think the bad reputation had less to do with the car and more to do with the initial price. If you bought a 308 you took it to an experienced Ferrari guy, followed the maintenance religiously, etc. These cars were priced only slightly above a 3 series so owners thought they could maintain them like a 3 series. No.

Sorry for the hijack notfarnow. To inject some Espada content, I rode in one once years ago. Lots of interesting little details everywhere, definitely a one-of-a-kind type of car. I'd caution you against driving any old italian car in the rain however.

First Hand Experience

Ha! Makes sense.

Sorry for the generalization, was talking about THIS Chrysler, which was a lot more reliable:

Chrysler TC by Maserati - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alright, now you're angering me :) And just when I was drawing closer to Heavenly Father.

Nice write-up and pic Adriano, thanks. Like I said, to me, the car has great presence. It's a someday car for me. Up here roads are bad, slush storm yesterday. Was hoping to get the 911 out after such a nice day on Saturday, but weather is not cooperating.

I was looking for 164s a while ago, seemed like a nice modern "practical" counterpart to the T. Difficult to find a nice S. I loved my 92 9000T. What a great, fast hauler that thing was. Will let you know next time I am down in the City, I am often there.