Why you shouldn't buy this car: What the hell does a corporate lion like you need with a car that has to be driven? Mercedes-Benz's new 7G-TRONIC promises to shift circles around the Quattroporte's DuoSelect robotic manual — making the new S-Class much more palatable for sitting in Los Angeles traffic and yelling, "Make it happen, or I'll carve your ass into sashimi," into a cellphone headset. Plus, for the average CEO, the Quattroporte is far, far too stylish — just imagine him arriving at the club with a silk Gucci scarf tucked into his Bill Blass Premium golf shirt. And, dare we say it, the new Maseratis' reliability is still unproven.

Why you should buy this car: You don't need to work (anymore), your wife looks like Benedetta Massola, you hate golf, you'd have no problem ordering Campari at a South Texas roadhouse, you love to drive, and you hear the music of the spheres in the roar of a high-compression V8.

Suitability Parameters:
Speed Merchants: Yes
Fashion Victims: Yes
Treehuggers: No
Mack Daddies: Yes
Tuner Crowd: No
Hairdressers: No
Penny Pinchers: No
Euro Snobs: Yes
Working Stiffs: No
Technogeeks: No
Poseurs: No
Soccer Moms: No
Nascar Dads: No
Golfing Grandparents: No

Vitals:
Manufacturer: Maserati
Model tested: Maserati Quattroporte
Model year: 2005
Base price: $95,500
Engine type: 4.3-liter V8, aluminum block/heads, 16-valves
Horsepower (Sae Net): 395 hp @ 7000 rpm
Torque (Sae Net): 333 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm
Redline: 7500 rpm
Wheels: f: 19 x 8.5, r: 19 x 10.5 cast alum
Tires: f: 245/40ZR19 98Y, r: 285/35ZR19 99Y Pirelli P Zero Rosso
Drive type: RWD
0 - 60: 5.1 secs.
Top speed: 165 mph
Fuel economy city/highway: 12 / 15 mpg
NHTSA crash test rating front/side/rollover: na

Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: 2005 Maserati Quattroporte, Part 1, Part 2 [internal]