*SOLD Here's Why The Maserati Ghibli Sedan Can Suck It - Review and Test Drive by Bill

*SOLD The Maserati Ghibli is a caricature of itself.

I really don't like this car. Not that it's a bad car, because it really isn't. It's got pep, it seems well engineered mechanically, the seats are pretty comfy, and I'm sure it's far more reliable than Maseratis past.

But it just isn't a Maserati, in the sense that it just isn't special. The things that made Maserati's special in the past are there, but in a deceptive and gratuitous way. The engine sounds in this car are not incidental, they're now considered an important part of the engineering and appeal. The swoopy fenders are not part of a beautiful design, they're simply designed to be swoopy. The engine is cast in Detroit, but "overseen" and assembled by Ferrari. The interior is swathed in leather and wood, and belies the cheap Chrysler switch gear and controls.

I can understand why Fiat-Chrysler wants to capitalize on their investment in the Maserati name, and move it from a company selling just a spattering of cars to something much more prolific. Why not slap a Maserati badge on a SUV and sell them to people wanting to show up in something more scarce and elegant than one of the Teutonic class leaders?

But that doesn't mean I have to like it, and it doesn't mean that I have to pretend this concoction of badge-engineering and off-the-shelf parts is a real Maserati, faithful to the name. This puffer fish of a car is bound to thrill all the wrong people, and for all the wrong reasons.

Thumbs down.