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Maserati

Maserati was formed by six brothers in 1914 in Bologna, Italy. All of the brothers were avid racing enthusiasts and were also creative with Marion being an artist thus having a lot of creative input into their cars. The emblem was based on a statue of Neptune, a mythical God.

During the 20s and 30s the company enjoyed success on the track and good publicity which came along with it. The company was sold on two years before WW2 in 1937 by the surviving brothers.

Post-war, Maserati continued to rack up impressive racing victories with cars like the famous Tipo 60 and 61 "Birdcage" models. In 1947 they began making road cars like the A6 coupe. Although they were making cars, much of their money was coming from selling products like batteries and spark plugs.

By the 1960s, the automaker had shifted its focus from race cars to road cars. They made models which had good success such as the Sebring. But it wasn't until 1966, with the introduction of the sleek Giugiaro-styled Ghibli, that Maserati fielded a truly powerful (330-horsepower V8) and Italian sports car. In 1968, the marque was purchased by Citroën, a French motor company.

Throughout the 1970s, Maserati made the most of its partnership with Citroën, using some of that company's suspension and steering components in Maserati cars such as the V8 Bora and V6 Merak models. However when the fuel-crisis took its toll on the company the owners acted quickly by introducing a four door sedan, a step away from their super car image.

The 1980s were an especially dark time for Maserati. Its main model for the U.S. market, the Biturbo, was bland and notoriously unreliable. In 1991, the company stopped importing cars into the U.S. completely. Fiat purchased the failing company in 1993 with hopes of a revival.. Under new management, Maserati released new cars with powerful V8 engines, the availability of an F1-style gearbox, styling by Giugiaro and vastly improved build quality, the new Maserati cars were introduced to the U.S. market for 2002 and have restored prestige to this Italian sports car company.

In 2005, Maserati was split from Ferrari but remained within the Fiat fold. That year also saw the reintroduction of the Quattroporte luxury sport sedan, which is now accompanied by the voluptuous GranTurismo coupe. Although Maserati isn’t exactly an Italian super car producer, the company prides itself on offering Italian styling at a good price.