Smart is an automotive branch of Daimler AG. Smart is a German manufacturer of microcars produced in Hambach, France, and Böblingen, Germany. It is marketed as the "smart" in all lower-case, with the Smart brand logo, as of 2010, denoting a letter "c" for "compact" and an arrow for "forward thinking".

In the late 1980s, SMH (makers of the Swatch brand of watches) CEO Nicolas Hayek began developing an idea for a new car using the same type of manufacturing strategies and personalization features used to popularize Swatch watches. He believed that the automotive industry had ignored a sector of potential customers who wanted a small and stylish city car. This idea soon became known as the "Swatchmobile". Hayek's private company Hayek Engineering AG began designing the new car for SMH, with seating for two and a hybrid drivetrain.

While design of the car was proceeding, Hayek feared existing manufacturers would feel threatened by the Swatchmobile. Thus, rather than directly competing, he preferred to cooperate with another company in the automotive industry. This would also relieve SMH of the cost burden in setting up a distribution network. Hayek approached several automotive manufacturers and on July 3, 1991 he reached an agreement with Volkswagen to share development of the new project.

By 1993 Ferdinand Piëch had become CEO of Volkswagen and he immediately sought to terminate the project with SMH. Volkswagen had already been working on their own "three-litre car": a car which would consume three litres of fuel per 100 km of driving (the eventual Volkswagen Lupo 3L). Volkswagen's own concept was believed to be a better business proposition, featuring four seats and more cargo room.

Hayek had suspected that Piëch would seek to end the agreement with SMH upon his ascendancy to the CEO position; therefore, he discreetly began approaching other car companies with the Swatchmobile project. Rebuffed by BMW, Fiat, General Motors and Renault, he finally reached an informal agreement with Daimler-Benz AG, maker of Mercedes-Benz cars.

A deal was announced on March 4, 1994, at a press conference at Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Stuttgart that the companies would join forces in founding Micro Compact Car AG (MCC). 49% of the initial capital of 50 million Swiss francs were provided by SMH and the remaining 51% by Daimler-Benz. The company consisted of two subsidiaries: MCC GmbH based in Renningen (a suburb of Stuttgart) which would design the car, and the then-unnamed manufacturing plant. SMH Auto SA, owned by Hayek, would design a hybrid electric drive system for the car, while Hayek Engineering would audit the design and manufacturing.

The press conference also featured the debut of two concept cars: the eco-sprinter and eco-speedster, styled by Mercedes-Benz's design studio in California. The cars were reminiscent of the eventual Smart City-Coupé. No mention was made of the fact that SMH had no input in the design of these concepts, and they were badged as Mercedes-Benzes.

By the end of April 1994 MCC had set up a head office in Biel, Switzerland.

Three co-directors were immediately named to head the new company: designer and engineer Johann Tomforde and financial administrator Christoph Baubin from Daimler-Benz, and marketing manager Hans Jürg Schär, who spearheaded the original Swatch marketing campaigns in the mid-1980s. Tomforde had been working on the Mercedes City Car (coincidentally abbreviated MCC) project at Daimler-Benz since 1990, which produced the aforementioned eco-sprinter and eco-speedster concepts as well as the Vision-A concept, which eventually became the Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

One of the first controversies at MCC was the name of the car itself. Nicolas Hayek insisted it retain 'Swatch' in some way: "Swatchmobile", or "Swatch Car". Daimler-Benz refused, and pushed for a neutral name. The final name settled upon was Smart, an acronym that had been previously used internally by MCC for Swatch Mercedes Art.

By May 1994 the co-directors had identified 74 potential sites for the assembly plant. The final site was announced on December 20, 1994: Hambach, France. The purpose-built factory quickly gained the nickname "Smartville".

Tomforde devised a modular system of assembly for the car, insisting suppliers design and assemble, and even install their own modules onto the final car, at the new plant using their own employees thus reducing the cost overhead for the parent companies and divesting MCC of the financial and legal liabilities for those parts. It also provided a fiscal framework whereby MCC could share the development costs with the suppliers, rather than having to fund the entire project themselves. MCC secured contracts with suppliers to design and supply almost all parts of the car: seats by Faurecia, interiors by VDO, chassis and door modules by Magna, door panels by Dynamit Nobel, and suspension by Krupp.

Despite offloading a substantial amount of the development on the suppliers MCC required more capital. Recapitalization by Daimler-Benz increased their share of ownership in the company to 81%, leaving SMH with only the remaining 19%.

The assembly plant opened October 27, 1997, with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting by then-French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Introduction of the new Smart city-Coupé was planned for March, 1998, however dynamic instability of the prototypes prompted Daimler-Benz to announce postponing the launch until October, 1998. Johann Tomforde was replaced as chief engineer by Gerhard Fritz. Fritz lowered the centre of gravity, widened the track, stiffened the suspension, changed the steering, and added ballast weight to the front of the car in order to increase its stability in emergency avoidance manoeuvres (notably the Swedish "moose test").

The car launched successfully in nine European countries in October 1998, however the final design did not fulfill Hayek's expectations. Hayek pushed for a hybrid drivetrain but the final product used a relatively conventional gasoline engine. Shortly afterward Daimler-Benz bought out SMH's remaining stake in the company. MCC was now a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler-Benz (which soon merged with Chrysler Corporation to become DaimlerChrysler). The office in Biel was shut down and operations were consolidated at the MCC GmbH design centre in Germany. On January 1, 1999 MCC GmbH changed its name to MCC smart GmbH, and by 2000 it dropped the last vestiges of the association with SMH, becoming smart GmbH.

The model line was eventually expanded to include the Roadster and a rear-engine, rear-drive, four-door, four-seat supermini aptly named Forfour (the original City-Coupé was rechristened Fortwo to fit the new naming scheme).

The ambitious expansion did not increase profits at the company: indeed, smart GmbH lost nearly 4 billion euros from 2003 to 2006. Plans were enacted to increase the company's profitability and integrate its operations with DaimlerChrysler.

In 2005 DaimlerChrysler decided against purchasing a 50% share in the Dutch NedCar plant used to manufacture the ForFour, ending its production. A planned SUV called Formore was terminated as the assembly plant in Brazil was being fitted with machines, and production of the Roadster was discontinued. In 2006, after dwindling sales and heavy financial losses, Smart GmbH was liquidated and its operations were absorbed by DaimlerChrysler directly.

Smart now operates under the Mercedes-Benz Cars division of Daimler AG, offering the Fortwo as its only product.

Apart from the original short Smart Fortwo, a sporty Smart Roadster, a limited production of 2000 concept Smart Crosstown and a supermini Smart Forfour were also offered. These have now been discontinued. There were also plans to introduce the French made cross-over based on the body of the ForFour and the AWD hardware of the Mercedes C-class with the name of Formore but industrialization of this was cancelled at the 11th hour (even as tooling was being installed in the assembly plant) due to unfavourable exchange rate swings and spending cutbacks driven by losses elsewhere within Smart.

An electric, rechargeable version is being released in the UK as a lease vehicle on a limited basis. At the Smart Car Brooklands event in July 2008, a Smart EV was on display within "MercedesWorldPoopies" and a representative stated that the car would be for sale in the UK in 2010. Daimler will start the production of the electric Smart equipped with lithium-ion batteries in 2009 and production will ramp up to mass production by 2012. A Smart Forfour has been converted into a plug-in hybrid by Lithium Technology Corporation and Zytek Systems. The lithium-ion battery can propel the vehicle up to 84 miles per hour (135 km/h) and last on its own for up to 20 miles (32 km). The engine is a combination of a 68-horsepower (51 kW), 1.5-liter (92 cu in), 3-cylinder turbo charged diesel engine and two high-efficiency permanent-magnet electric motors. It was awarded by the Energy Saving Trust for the “Ultra Low Carbon Car Challenge” project.

Daimler AG and RWE AG have launched the world's largest joint project for environmentally friendly electric cars. Daimler will provide more than 100 electric cars from Mercedes-Benz and Smart as well as the vehicle service.The new generation of Smart ED (electric drive) and electric-battery driven vehicles from Mercedes-Benz will come in use within the "e-mobility Berlin" project. RWE is handling the development, installation and operation of the charging infrastructure". The new project is also benefiting from the experience gained by Daimler during the current pilot project involving electro-mobility in London. Since last year, there has been a test fleet of first-generation Smart Fortwo ed cars . The start of serial production of battery-powered vehicles by Mercedes-Benz and Smart is in 2010.

Smart vehicles use a very small front crumple zone. The new Smart Fortwo has been awarded 4 out of 5 stars in the Euro NCAP Adult Occupant Protection, 2 out of 4 stars in the Pedestrian protection test but it was not tested for Child Occupant Protection as it has no rear seats. The original Smart was awarded 3 out of 5 stars for Adult Occupant Protection. In American tests using a five star rating, Smart cars received a four star safety rating for the driver from a front impact, and a five star safety rating for the driver for a side impact. It also received "Good" ratings (top rating) for front and side crash protection in Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tests. However, in an April 2009 40 mph frontal offset crash test between a Fortwo and a Mercedes C class, in which "the Smart went air- borne and turned around 450 degrees" causing "extensive intrusion into the space around the dummy from head to feet". The IIHS rated the Smart Fortwo "Poor," noting that "Multiple injuries, including to the head, would be likely for a real-world driver of a Smart in a similar collision."

Smart cars have been modified by Brabus of Germany, resulting in Brabus production models. Other companies modify the Smart to use motorcycle engines, such as the Suzuki Hayabusa 1340 cc inline four-cylinder. These cars are known as Smartuki. The most powerful models can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in less than 3.5 seconds. The original car was fitted with a mildly tuned engine and ran 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds, 1/4 mile standing start in 12.4 seconds and a top speed of 132 mph (212 km/h). It is possible to push the GSXR engine further; nitrous Oxide will add another 50 bhp (37 kW; 51 PS) - 80 bhp (60 kW; 81 PS) and there is a turbocharged option.

Some companies and individuals upgrade the original engine to Brabus spec, but these have been taken even further by some with many aftermarket upgrade options available.

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Suzuki Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Hamamatsu, Japan that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles and 4x4 vehicles, a full range of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines. Suzuki is Japan's 4th largest automobile manufacturer after Toyota, Honda, Nissan and the 9th largest automobile manufacturer in the world by production volume, employs over 45,000 people, has 35 main production facilities in 23 countries and 133 distributors in 192 countries. According to statistics from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), Suzuki is Japan's second-largest manufacturer of small cars and trucks.

In 1909, Michio Suzuki (1887–1982) founded the Suzuki Loom Works in the small seacoast village of Hamamatsu, Japan. Business boomed as Suzuki built weaving looms for Japan's giant silk industry. In 1929, Michio Suzuki invented a new type of weaving machine, which was exported overseas. Suzuki filed as many as 120 patents and utility model rights. The company's first 30 years focused on the development and production of these exceptionally complex machines.

Despite the success of his looms, Suzuki realized his company had to diversify and he began to look at other products. Based on consumer demand, he decided that building a small car would be the most practical new venture. The project began in 1937, and within two years Suzuki had completed several compact prototype cars. These first Suzuki motor vehicles were powered by a then-innovative, liquid-cooled, four-stroke, four-cylinder engine. It featured a cast aluminum crankcase and gearbox and generated 13 horsepower (9.7 kW) from a displacement of less than 800cc.

With the onset of World War II, production plans for Suzuki's new vehicles were halted when the government declared civilian passenger cars a "non-essential commodity." At the conclusion of the war, Suzuki went back to producing looms. Loom production was given a boost when the U.S. government approved the shipping of cotton to Japan. Suzuki's fortunes brightened as orders began to increase from domestic textile manufacturers. But the joy was short-lived as the cotton market collapsed in 1951.

Faced with this colossal challenge, Suzuki's thoughts went back to motor vehicles. After the war, the Japanese had a great need for affordable, reliable personal transportation. A number of firms began offering "clip-on" gas-powered engines that could be attached to the typical bicycle. Suzuki's first two-wheel ingenuity came in the form of a motorized bicycle called, the "Power Free." Designed to be inexpensive and simple to build and maintain, the 1952 Power Free featured a 36 cc, one horsepower, two-stroke engine. An unprecedented feature was the double-sprocket gear system, enabling the rider to either pedal with the engine assisting, pedal without engine assist, or simply disconnect the pedals and run on engine power alone. The system was so ingenious that the patent office of the new democratic government granted Suzuki a financial subsidy to continue research in motorcycle engineering, and so was born Suzuki Motor Corporation.

In 1953, Suzuki scored the first of many racing victories when the tiny 60 cc "Diamond Free" won its class in the Mount Fuji Hill Climb.

By 1954, Suzuki was producing 6,000 motorcycles per month and had officially changed its name to Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. Following the success of its first motorcycles, Suzuki created an even more successful automobile: the 1955 Suzuki Suzulight. Suzuki showcased its penchant for innovation from the beginning. The Suzulight included front-wheel drive, four-wheel independent suspension and rack-and-pinion steering—features common on cars half a century later.

Based in Gurgaon, India, Maruti Suzuki India Limited is Suzuki's largest and most valuable subsidiary with an annual production of 1,018,365 units in the fiscal 2009-2010. Suzuki has a 54.2% stake in the Indian auto giant and the rest is owned by the various Indian public and financial institutions. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India. In 2005-2006, the company had a 54% market share of the passenger car market in India. Nearly 75,000 people are employed directly by Maruti and its partners.

Maruti Suzuki was born as a Government of India company, with Suzuki as a minor partner, to make a lower priced car for middle class India. Over the years, the product range has widened, ownership has changed hands and the customer has evolved.

Maruti Suzuki offers 14 models, ranging from India's one-time best selling car, Maruti 800, for less than INR 200,000 (US$ 5000) to the premium sedan Maruti Suzuki Kizashi and luxury SUV, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara. Maruti 800 was the first model launched by the company in 1983 followed by mini-van Maruti Omni in 1984. Both models were huge success in their respective categories because of the use of high-end technology and good fuel efficiency. Maruti Gypsy, launched in 1985, came into widespread use with the Indian Army and Indian Police Service becoming its primary customers. The short-lived Maruti 1000 too achieved moderate success until it was replaced by Maruti Esteem in 1994, to counter increasing competition in the medium-sedan category.

Maruti Zen, launched in 1993, was the company's second compact car model and also became extremely popular in India because of its high performance. The company went on to launch another compact car Maruti Wagon-R followed by Maruti Baleno in 1999. However, with increasing competition from Tata, Hyundai, Honda and Daewoo Motors, Maruti was not able to achieve the same success with Baleno as it had with its earlier models. So it replaced Maruti Suzuki Baleno with the Suzuki SX4. Currently Suzuki SX4 is facing stiff competition from the Honda City.

In 2000, Maruti Alto was launched. The launch of Tata Indica and Hyundai Santro had affected Maruti's sales but Alto helped secure the company's position as the auto leader in India. It is currently the largest selling car in India. The Maruti models include Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, launched in 2003, Maruti Versa, launched in 2004, Maruti Suzuki Swift, launched in 2005, Maruti Zen Estilo and Maruti Suzuki SX4, launched in 2007. The Alto, Swift and SX4 are leaders in their respective segments in the Indian Market.

On 14 February, Maruti Suzuki India, a Suzuki subsidiary in India, announced that it achieved one million total accumulated production volume of the Alto. The Alto has reached the million units mark in just seven years and five months since its launch on September 2000. The last half of the million has come in a record 25 months. The Alto has been India's largest volume-selling car, every month, for the past 37 consecutive months. Its popularity has continued to grow since its launch, with customers attracted to its low price with fuel efficiency. With this the Alto became the third car in the Maruti Suzuki stable to cross the million units mark. Previously, the Maruti 800 and the Omni had exceeded the million units mark. Besides its success in India, over 152,000 Altos made at Maruti Suzuki were delivered internationally, enjoying good outcomes in Algeria and Chile.

Maruti Exports Limited is the subsidiary of Maruti Udyog Limited with its major focus on exports and it does not operate in the domestic Indian market. The first commercial consignment of 480 cars were sent to Hungary. By sending a consignment of 571 cars to the same country, Maruti crossed the benchmark of 3,000,000 cars. Since its inception export was one of the aspects the government has been keen to encourage. Every political party expected Maruti to earn foreign exchange. But compared to Hyundai Maruti Suzuki is poor on export front.

Other subsidiary companies of the Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan in India are:

• SUZUKI POWERTRAIN INDIA LIMITED: Manufacturers engines for cars
• SUZUKI MOTORCYCLE INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED: Manufactures two wheelers under brand name 'Suzuki'. Its two wheeler models launched in India are 'GS 150R, Intruder, Hayabusa 1300 cc, 125 cc Access, 125 cc Motorcycle Zeus.

General Motors

• Chevrolet Sprint – United States/Canada (Suzuki Cultus)
• Pontiac Firefly – Canada (Suzuki Cultus)
• Geo Metro – United States (Suzuki Cultus)
• Holden Barina – Australia & New Zealand (Suzuki Cultus)
• Chevrolet Swift – South America (Suzuki Cultus)
• Chevrolet Cruze – Japan (Suzuki Ignis)
• Holden Cruze – Australia (Suzuki Ignis)
• Chevrolet MW – Japan (Suzuki Wagon R)
• Bedford Rascal – Europe (Suzuki Carry)
• Bedford Rascal – United Kingdom (Suzuki Carry)
• Holden Scurry – Australia (Suzuki Carry)
• Chevrolet Supercarry – South America (Suzuki Carry)
• Geo Tracker – United States (Sidekick/Vitara)
• Chevrolet Tracker – United States/Canada (Sidekick/Vitara)
• GMC Tracker – Canada (Sidekick/Vitara)
• Asüna Sunrunner – Canada (Sidekick/Vitara)
• Pontiac Sunrunner – Canada (Sidekick/Vitara)
• Chevrolet Vitara – South America (Sidekick/Vitara)
• Chevrolet Grand Nomad – South America (Suzuki XL7)
• Holden Drover – Australia & New Zealand (Suzuki Sierra/Jimny)
• Opel Agila – Europe (Suzuki Wagon R and Suzuki Splash)
• Chevrolet MW – Japan (Suzuki Wagon R)
• Vauxhall Agila – United Kingdom (Suzuki Wagon R and Suzuki Splash)

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Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993. Inside the Fiat Group, Maserati was initially associated with Ferrari S.p.A., but more recently it has become part of the sports car group including Alfa Romeo.

The Maserati brothers, Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto were all involved with automobiles from the beginning of the 20th century. Alfieri, Bindo and Ernesto built 2-litre Grand Prix cars for Diatto. In 1926, Diatto suspended the production of race cars, leading to the creation of the first Maserati and the founding of the Maserati marque. One of the first Maseratis, driven by Alfieri, won the 1926 Targa Florio. Maserati began making race cars with 4, 6, 8 and 16 cylinders (two straight-eights mounted parallel to one another). Another Maserati brother, Mario, an artist, is believed to have devised the company's trident emblem, based on one the Fontana del Nettuno, Bologna. Alfieri Maserati died in 1932, but three other brothers, Bindo, Ernesto and Ettore, kept the firm going, building cars that won races.

In 1937, the remaining Maserati brothers sold their shares in the company to the Adolfo Orsi family, who in 1940 relocated the company headquarters to their hometown of Modena, where it remains to this day. The brothers continued in engineering roles with the company. Racing successes continued, even against the giants of German racing, Auto Union and Mercedes. In back-to-back wins in 1939 and 1940, a Maserati 8CTF won the Indianapolis 500, the only Italian manufacturer ever to do so.

The war then intervened, Maserati abandoning cars to produce components for the Italian war effort. During this time, Maserati worked in fierce competition to construct a V16 towncar for Benito Mussolini before Ferry Porsche of Volkswagen built one for Adolf Hitler. This failed, and the plans were scrapped. Once peace was restored, Maserati returned to making cars; the Maserati A6 series did well in the post-war racing scene.

Key people joined the Maserati team. Alberto Massimino, an old Fiat engineer, with both Alfa Romeo and Ferrari experiences oversaw the design of all racing models for the next ten years. With him joined engineers Giulio Alfieri, Vittorio Bellentani, and Gioacchino Colombo. The focus was on the best engines and chassis to succeed in car racing. These new projects saw the last contributions of the Maserati brothers, who after their 10-year contract with Orsi expired went on to form O.S.C.A.. This new team at Maserati worked on several projects: the 4CLT, the A6 series, the 8CLT, and, pivotally for the future success of the company, the A6GCM.

The famous Argentinian driver Juan-Manuel Fangio raced for Maserati for a number of years in the 1950s, producing a number of stunning victories including winning the world championship in 1957 in the Maserati 250F alongside Toulo de Graffenried, Louis Chiron, Prince Bira, Enrico Platé, and a few others. Other racing projects in the 1950s were the 200S, 300S (with several famous pilots, among them Benoit Musy), 350S, and 450S, followed in 1961 by the famous Tipo 61.

Maserati had retired from factory racing participation because of the Guidizzolo tragedy during the 1957 Mille Miglia, though they continued to build cars for privateers. After 1957, Maserati became more and more focused on road cars, and chief engineer Giulio Alfieri built the 6-cylinder 3500 2+2 coupé, which featured an aluminum body over Carrozzeria Touring's superleggera structure, a design also used for the small-volume V8-powered 5000. Next came the Vignale-bodied Sebring, launched in 1962, the Mistral Coupé in 1963 and Spider in 1964, both designed by Pietro Frua, and also in 1963, the company's first four-door, the Quattroporte, designed by Frua as well. The two-seat Ghibli coupé was launched in 1967, followed by a convertible in 1969.

In 1968, Maserati was taken over by the French car manufacturer, Citroën. Adolfo Orsi remained the nominal president, but Maserati changed a great deal. New models were launched, and built in much greater numbers than before. Citroën borrowed Maserati expertise and engines for the Citroën SM and other vehicles, and Maseratis also incorporated Citroën technology, particularly in hydraulics.

New models included the Maserati Bora, the first mass-produced mid-engined Maserati, in 1971, and the Maserati Merak and Maserati Khamsin soon afterwards; the Maserati Quattroporte II, which shared some parts with Citroën SM, never came into production, although seven were made to special order. The 1973 oil crisis, however, put the brakes on this ambitious expansion when the demand for fuel-hungry sports cars shrank. Citroën went bankrupt in 1974 and on 23 May 1975, the new controlling group PSA Peugeot Citroën declared that Maserati was also in administration. Propped up by Italian government funds (GEPI, Societa di Gestioni e Partecipazioni Industriali dello Stato Italiano), the company was kept in business.

The Maserati engine and its associated gearbox have been used in other vehicles such as Special Rally prepared Citroën DS, as used by Bob Neyret in Bandama Rally or in the Ligier JS 2.

In 1975 the company was taken over by Alessandro de Tomaso, an Argentinian former racing driver, who became managing director. De Tomaso, with aid from GEPI, had arranged for the Benelli motorcycle company, which he controlled, to buy Maserati from Citroën and install him as its head. Beginning in 1976 new models were introduced, including the Maserati Kyalami and later the Maserati Quattroporte III in 1979.

The 1980s saw the company largely abandoning the mid-engined sports car in favour of squarely styled, front-engined, rear-drive coupes, cheaper than before but with aggressive performance, like the Maserati Biturbo.The Maserati Biturbo engine was fitted in a large number of models, all sharing key components. These included a short two door coupe, the Maserati Karif, and a cabriolet, the Spyder, designed by Zagato. The last version of the Maserati Biturbo was called Maserati Racing. It has been a transitional model in which several features to be found on the Ghibli II and the Shamal were tested. Two new coupes, the Maserati Shamal and Maserati Ghibli II, were released in 1990 and 1992, respectively.

The company also worked loosely with Chrysler, now headed by de Tomaso's friend Lee Iacocca. Chrysler purchased part of Maserati and the two jointly produced a car, the Chrysler TC by Maserati.

There were also two further projects:

• the Chubasco a canceled V8 mid-engine sports car.
• the Maserati Barchetta a small open top mid engine sports car, designed by Synthesis design (Carlo Gaino); 17 examples were produced.

1993 saw the company acquired by Fiat. Substantial investments were made in Maserati, and it has since undergone something of a renaissance.

In 1998, a new chapter began in Maserati's history when the company launched the 3200 GT. This two-door coupé is powered by a 3.2 L twin-turbocharged V8 which produces 370 hp (276 kW); the car does 0–60 mph in 5.5 seconds. Its top speed is 285 km/h (177 mph). It was replaced by the Maserati Spyder and Coupé in the 2002 model year, which in turn were replaced by the GranTurismo and GranCabrio.

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Lincoln is an American luxury brand of the Ford Motor Company.

The company was founded in August 1915 by Henry M. Leland, one of the founders of Cadillac (originally the Henry Ford Company). During World War I, he left Cadillac which was sold to General Motors. He formed the Lincoln Motor Company named after Abraham Lincoln his longtime hero, to build Liberty aircraft engines with his son Wilfred using cylinders supplied by Ford Motor Company. After the war, the company's factories were retooled to manufacture luxury automobiles. The Lincoln Motor Company was active until April 30 1940, the following day it became Lincoln Division of Ford Motor Company.

The company encountered severe financial troubles during the transition, coupled with body styling that wasn't comparable to other luxury makers, and after having produced only 150 Lincoln L-series cars in 1922, was forced into bankruptcy and sold for US$8,000,000 to the Ford Motor Company on February 4, 1922, which went to pay off some of the creditors.

The purchase of Lincoln was a personal triumph for Henry Ford, who had been forced out of his second (after Detroit Automobile Company) company by a group of investors led by Leland. Ford's company, renamed Cadillac in 1902 and purchased by rival General Motors in 1909, was Lincoln's chief competitor. Henry had previously produced luxury vehicles under the Ford name, called the Ford Model B in 1904, the Ford Model F in 1905, and the Ford Model K in 1906 but they weren't accepted by the automotive buying market. When Henry acquired Lincoln, it quickly became one of America's top selling luxury brands alongside Cadillac, Pierce-Arrow, Marmon, Peerless, Duesenberg, and Packard. Ford made no immediate change, either in the chassis or the V8 L-head engine which was rated 36.4 SAE and produced 90 bhp (67 kW; 91 PS) at 2,800 rpm. An unusual feature of this power unit was the 60 degree separation of the cylinder blocks that helped to cut down on synchronous vibration found with similar engines with 90 degree separation produced at the time. After the Ford takeover, bodywork changes and reduced prices increased sales to 5,512 vehicles from March to December 1922.

At the direction of Henry's son Edsel, in 1923 several body styles were introduced, that included two- and three-window, four door sedans and a phaeton that accommodated four passengers. They also offered a two passenger roadster and a seven passenger touring sedan and limousine, which was sold for $5,200. A sedan, limo, cabriolet and town car were also offered by coachbuilders Fleetwood, Derham and Dietrich, and a second cabriolet was offered by coachbuilder Brunn. Lincoln contracted with dozens of coachbuilders during the 1920s and early 30s to create multiple custom built vehicles, to include American, Anderson, Babcock, Holbrook, Judkins, Lang, LeBaron, Locke, Murray, Towson, and Willoughby in the 1920s. Murphy, Rollston, and Waterhouse were added in the 1930s.

Prices for the vehicles built by these coachbuilders went for as much as $7,200, and despite the limited market appeal, Lincoln sales rose about 45 percent to produce 7,875 cars and the company was operating at a profit by the end of 1923.

In 1924 large touring sedans began to be used by police departments around the country. They were known as Police Flyers, which were equipped with four wheel brakes, two years before they were introduced on private sale vehicles. These specially equipped vehicles, with bulletproof windshields measuring 7/8 of an inch thick and spot lights mounted on the ends of the windshield, also came with an automatic windshield wiper for the driver and a hand operated wiper for the front passenger. Police whistles were coupled to the exhaust system and gun racks were also fitted to these vehicles.

Optional equipment was not necessarily an issue with Lincolns sold during the 1920s, however, customers who wanted special items were accommodated. A nickel plated radiator shell could be installed for $25, varnished natural wood wheels were $15, or Rudge-Whitworth center-lock wire wheels for another $100. Disteel steel disc wheels were also available for $60. Lincoln chose not to make yearly model changes, used as a marketing tool of the time, designed to lure new customers. Lincoln customers of the time were known to purchase more than one Lincoln with different bodywork, so changing the vehicle yearly was not done to accommodate their customer base. In 1927, Lincoln attached a greyhound as the hood ornament, then in the 1930s used a coat of arms with a red cross in the center and a knights helmet at the top as the official emblem. The coat of arms appeared on varius Lincoln models until the mid 1950s where the coat of arms evolved into the framed four pointed star that is currently in use.

In 1932, Lincoln introduced the V12-powered KB platform along side the V8 powered KA platform with an all new streamlined appearance. In 1933, Eugene T. "Bob" Gregorie, at the styling studio created by Edsel Ford, began designing the smaller Lincoln-Zephyr, which led to the first Continental, a bespoke one-off specially created for Edsel Ford, Henry's son.

The smaller Lincoln-Zephyr was introduced for the 1936 model year as a marque of its own, it featured a 267 cu in (4.4 L) V12, it was very successful, its first year increased Lincoln sales almost ninefold. It remained a separate marque until the end of 1940 modelyear and then became a model under Lincoln when the large Lincoln Twelve was discontinued, from 1941 model year all Lincolns were based on Zephyr chassis and when production started after the War the Zephyr name was not continued.

It started as a one-off project car for Edsel Ford, who wanted a European-style car unlike the boxier designs his father's company produced, to drive around on vacations in Florida. Gregorie sectioned a 1939 Lincoln-Zephyr V-12 Convertible Coupe 4 inches (102 mm), this custom built personal car was given the styling features known from later Continental Marks including the vertically mounted spare tire. The car was put in production for the 1940 modelyear as a model under Lincoln-Zephyr, in June 1940 the Club Coupe was added and from 1941-48 it was a model under Lincoln marque. When production ceased in 1948 a total of 5322 had been built. The Continental's spare tire mount was very distinctive, those who work on custom cars still call adding a similar mount a "Continental kit".

The Continental Mark II revived the concept. It was now a separate marque developed by the Continental Division, production ran between June 1955 and May 1957. The Mark II had a basic list price of $10,000, the same as a Rolls-Royce that year. The Continental Division was formed on October 16 1954 and overseen by Lincoln Division on July 18 1956, they continued producing cars under the Continental marque for 1957-59 and again from 1969-85.

During 1968 and 1980 (the 1969 Continental Mark III was introduced in April 1968) Lincoln-Mercury Division produced its Lincoln Continental alongside with the Continental Mark models, this has caused a lot of confusion concerning the two marques, but Continental was a separate marque as well as a modelname for Lincoln during these years.

Lincoln was one of the Premier Automotive Group brands from 1998 to 2002, but was pulled out due to Ford's new marketing strategy of separating its import brands from its domestic marques. In recent years the company had fallen behind Japanese, European, and American competitors for a lack of new models. The company has reacted to remedy this, however, by sharing parts and platforms with other Ford divisions worldwide in an attempt to bring more new models to market faster. The result is the introduction of several new models, starting with the 2006 Mark LT pickup (later replaced by the Platinum trim version of the Ford F-150), Zephyr (upgraded and renamed Lincoln MKZ for the 2007 model year) and the MKX Crossover SUV. Subsequent model launches were the MKS sedan in 2009 and the MKT "Touring" crossover for the 2010 model year.

Lincoln vehicles are currently officially available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, South Korea, and the Middle East. Lincoln competes with other luxury brands, mainly Cadillac of Ford's American arch rival General Motors, but also to a lesser extent with brands such as Lexus of Toyota, Infiniti of Nissan, Acura of Honda, and Audi of Volkswagen.

Lincoln has a long history of providing official state limousines for the U.S. President. The first car specially built for Presidential use was the 1939 Lincoln V12 convertible called the "Sunshine Special" used by Franklin D. Roosevelt. It remained in use until 1948.

A 1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitan called the "Bubble Top" was used by Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and once by Johnson. It was retired in 1965.

The Lincoln limousine made famous in Dallas was a 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible, custom built by Hess and Eisenhart of Cincinnati, and known as the SS-100-X. The Secret Service had the car fitted with a 1962 grill for aesthetic reasons. It was in use from 1961 to 1977, having undergone extensive alterations which made it an armor-plated sedan after Kennedy's assassination. A 1969 Lincoln was used by Nixon and a 1972 Lincoln used by Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush. A 1989 Lincoln was the last Presidential Lincoln as of 2004. Cadillac supplied Presidential limousines in 1983, 1993, 2001, and 2004.

The John F. Kennedy limousine also included a "Plexiglas" bubble top to be used in the event of inclement weather. The 1961 vehicle was notorious for its inadequate cooling of the rear of the passenger cabin while the bubble top was in place, particularly in sunshine. In order to prevent excessive heat and discomfort to the passengers, the top was often removed prior to parades, as was the case in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

Though it was always assumed that President Lyndon Baines Johnson had the car destroyed after the assassination of President Kennedy, the 100-X was turned over to the Secret Service, Army Materials Research Center, Hess & Eisenhart, Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, and Ford Motor Company for retrofitting of armor plating, permanent sedan roof, new interior, improved air-conditioning system, electronic communications equipment, bulletproof glass, a new paint treatment, as well as cosmetic alterations to remove damage incurred during the assassination, among other changes. The car is also on display at the Henry Ford Museum.

The Johnson Administration also used three 1965 Lincoln Continental Executive Limousines. Two limousines for the President and one for Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, as well as a 1968 "stretch" Lincoln to be used in Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas. This vehicle is on display at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.

The 100-X was modified again in 1967. Later, under President Richard Nixon, the large one-piece glass roof was replaced with a smaller glass area and a hinged roof panel. It remained in service until 1977 and resides in its final configuration at the Henry Ford Museum.

President Nixon ordered a 1969 model limousine, through Lehman-Peterson of Chicago. This vehicle also had an added sunroof so that Nixon could stand upright when appearing before parade-goers if desired. This vehicle was equipped with several features, such as retractable hand grips and running boards, options later copied by Hess and Eisenhart. This car is now located at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California.

In 1974, Ford supplied a 1972 Continental model which was stretched to 22 feet (7 m), outfitted with armor plating, bullet resistant glass and powered by a 460 cu in (7.5 L) V8 engine. This limousine was used by Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, and is on display at the Henry Ford Museum. This model was also altered a number of times during its history, including a full body redesign in 1979. This was the limousine that Reagan was about to enter during his assassination attempt in 1981.

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Freightliner Trucks is an American manufacturer of heavy duty trucks, chassis and semi-trailer trucks in the United States. The company was founded as Freightliner Inc in 1942 and is now a division of Daimler Trucks North America, a subsidiary of the German Daimler AG. The company is known mainly for the heavy duty class 8 diesel trucks that it produces, as well as class 5-7 trucks.

As of 2005 Freightliner is the largest manufacturer of heavy duty trucks in North America with annual earnings of over $32 billion (2006 est.) and over 22,000 employees (including Detroit Diesel). Because Freightliner LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler, a non American corporation, it is not included in Fortune 500 rankings. It is comparable to the 125th largest company in those rankings based on the criteria used.

In the 1930s, Consolidated Freightways decided to produce their own truck line out of reconstructed Fageols, after finding that most heavy trucks had insufficient power to climb the steep grades in the mountain regions of the western United States. The trucks were branded "Freightliners", with the first units produced in Consolidated Freightways' maintenance facility in Salt Lake City ca. 1942. After production was interrupted during WWII, manufacturing began again, in CF's home of Portland, OR. In 1949,the first truck sold outside of Consolidated Freightways went to fork lift manufacturer Hyster, also based in Portland. Today, that truck is in the Smithsonian collection in Washington, D.C.

Lacking distribution capability, and seeking higher volume to reduce production costs, In 1951,CF entered into an agreement to sell their trucks through the White Motor Company, of Cleveland, OH, and their dealer network in the US and Canada. This relationship endured for the next quarter century, and the co-branded "White Freightliner" cab-over-engine models became a familiar sight on the highways across the continent.

Manufacturing began in Burnaby, B.C., in 1961, to reduce the duty penalty on the complete vehicles sold in Canada. Assembly plants in Indianapolis and Chino California complemented the main plant on Swan Island in Portland, serving the U.S. market. In 1969, a new assembly plant was opened on North Basin St., which was then converted to parts production.

White Motor Company became troubled in the 1970s. Expansion into white goods and agricultural equipment consumed capital without producing a return, and the relationship with Consolidated Freightways became frayed. In 1974, the distribution agreement was terminated, and Freightliner Corp. began life as a freestanding manufacturer and distributor. Many of the first dealers were from the White Motor Co. network, but some entrepreneurs also signed up to represent the trucks without the White Motor Co. franchise as a complement.

At the same time, the company introduced its first conventional model, an adaptation of the high cab-over-engine mainstay product. HCOE's accounted for well over 50% of the U.S. market in those days, owing to overall length regulations that limited the bumper-to-taillight dimension of a semi-trailer unit to 55' on interstate highways. Conventionals were popular on western roads due to more convenient ingress/egress, better ride, and easier access to the engine for servicing.

In 1979, a new plant was constructed in Mount Holly, North Carolina, and a parts manufacturing plant in Gastonia, North Carolina, both in the Charlotte metropolitan area. Volumes continued to increase.

1979 marked a consequential event in the evolution of Freightliner, and of the whole trucking and truck manufacturing industries. President Carter signed into law bills deregulating transport both on the ground and in the skies, altering the "rules of the game" for both. The echoes are still being felt today, with the financial crises being endured by the mainstream airlines. Deregulation changed the economics of trucking, and removed the protective shield of regulated carriage that protected carriers from competition and allowed the Teamsters Union to develop a stranglehold on the nation's economy by virtue of the Master Agreement with all significant freight transport companies.

Three years later, the Surface Highway Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 relaxed weight and length standards and imposed a new excise tax on heavy trucks and the tires that they use. No longer was the overall length of semi-trailer combinations restricted; rather, only the trailer was specified, to be not greater than 53' in length. Individual states retained more restrictive overall length laws, but fundamentally, the rules had changed forever.

Consolidated Freightways, a traditional, unionized carrier that flourished in the pre-deregulated era, realized it was in a fight for its life. In May 1981, Consolidated Freightways sold its truck manufacturing business and the Freightliner brand to Daimler-Benz, allowing it to concentrate its management attention and financial resources on its traditional trucking business. Around this time, the Chino and Indianapolis plants were closed permanently. Consolidated Freightways continued carrier business until 2002, when it ceased operation on Labor Day weekend.

In 1989, Freightliner acquired a standing plant in Cleveland, North Carolina, near Statesville, that had been producing transit buses for German manufacturer MAN.

In 1991, the company displaced a poor-selling line of Mercedes-Benz medium duty vehicles with an all-new, range of medium duty trucks designed for North America that the company called the Business Class. Sharing some cab components with the Mercedes-Benz LKN mid-range European cabover, the truck was a conventional design which was the first all-new entry in the medium-duty market in over a decade. It proved quite successful.

Another pronounced downturn in the industry's fortunes necessitated drastic measures to restore the company to financial health, and Dr Dieter Zetsche, now the Chairman of Daimler's Board Of Management, was dispatched to lead the project as CEO. The Burnaby assembly plant was closed, a new facility in St. Thomas, Ontario, replaced it, and cost reduction programs across the company restored profitability when the market rebounded.

Significantly, production of Freightliners also commenced in Santiago Tianguistenco, Mexico, about 30 miles (48 km) outside Mexico City, in a plant owned by Daimler-Benz and also producing at that time buses, Brazilian-sourced medium-duty trucks, and compact Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.

The 90s were a go-go era for truck manufacturers in general, and for Freightliner in particular, under the leadership of flamboyant James L. Hebe, a former Kenworth sales executive who joined the company in 1989. Freightliner made numerous acquisitions:

1995 - Oshkosh Custom Chassis in Gaffney, South Carolina becomes Freightliner Custom Chassis, producing the underpinnings for walk-in vans used by companies like UPS to deliver parcels and Cintas for uniform laundry services; diesel recreational vehicles; conventional school buses; and shuttle buses. The Oshkosh and Freightliner partnership has dissolved, and Oshkosh is not affiliated with Freightliner any longer. 1996 - American LaFrance, a 130 year-old manufacturer of fire apparatus that was Mr. Hebe's first employer. LaFrance had fallen on hard times and was moribund at the time of the acquisition.

1997 - The heavy duty truck ("AeroMax") products of the Ford Motor Co. were acquired, and renamed Sterling (from an early White Motors brand). Ford dedicated its Louisville, KY, facility to more profitable light truck production

1998 - Thomas Built Buses, of High Point, NC, producer of all classes of school bus bodies, and forward control chassis.

2000 - Western Star Trucks, Inc., the successor to the White Motor Co. of Canada, and its assembly plants in Kelowna, BC, and Ladson, SC.

2000 - Detroit Diesel Corp., Redford, MI, the former General Motors subsidiary had been revived by Roger Penske and was attractive to DaimlerChrysler as a point of entry into the North American heavy duty diesel industry. This company was actually acquired by another unit of DaimlerChrysler, but operations were gradually integrated into Freightliner.

Throughout this era a number of small fire and rescue apparatus manufacturers were acquired and rolled into the American LaFrance entity.

By 2001, the company was awash in used trucks it couldn't sell, and saddled with a number of non-performing operations at a time when the core business, still the Freightliner over-the-road truck offerings, was in recession. Former Freightliner CFO Rainer Schmueckle was dispatched by DaimlerChrysler to once again turn the company around. The Kelowna Western Star plant was closed, as was a Thomasbuilt facility in Woodstock, Ontario and parts manufacturing at the old Portland plant was discontinued. American LaFrance production was consolidated in the former Western Star plant in Ladson, SC, but the attempt to integrate specialized emergency vehicles into a company noted for high volume production capabilities proved unworkable, and American LaFrance was sold in 2005 to a private equity fund.

After DaimlerChrysler sold the Chrysler division and changed their name to Daimler AG in 2007, it was announced Freightliner LLC will become the new Daimler Trucks North America,LLC on January 7, 2008.

In 2007, Freightliner laid off 800 US workers from their Portland, Oregon plant, relocating manufacturing work to their new multimillion-dollar plant in Mexico. However, plans to close the plant completely were dropped in September 2009, and it remained open to produce military vehicles.

Today, Freightliner remains active in heavy-duty trucks, and in commercial vehicles in classes 5 through 8 in North America. It leads the school bus, diesel Class A recreational vehicle chassis, and walk-in van markets. Its Detroit Diesel and Mercedes-Benz engine offerings are also industry leaders. The Freightliner badge also adorns the Sprinter, a Class 2 van produced by Mercedes-Benz in Europe and marketed through Freightliner dealers, as well as through Chrysler dealers as a Dodge-branded offering.

Tesla Motors is supplying battery packs for Freightliner's Custom Chassis Electric Van.

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The Maserati Quattroporte is a luxury four-door saloon made by Maserati in Italy. The name translated from Italian literally means "four doors". There have been five generations of the car, each separated by a period of roughly five years.

In the early 1960s, Maserati's reputation was at a high. With growing sales, Prince Karim Aga Khan ordered a special Maserati 5000 WP, chassis no. 103,060, designed by Pietro Frua. The following year, Maserati showed the first-generation Quattroporte of 1963, which bore a striking resemblance to the earlier drawing. While the design was by Frua, construction was carried out by Vignale.

This, the 1963 'Tipo 107' Quattroporte, joined two other notable grand tourers, the Facel Vega and the Lagonda Rapide, which could comfortably do 200 km/h (124 mph) on the new motorways of Europe. However, the Quattroporte could be said to have been the first car specifically designed for this purpose.

It was equipped with a 4.1 L (4,136 cc/252 cuin) V8 engine, producing 256 hp (SAE) (191 kW) at 5,600 rpm, and either a five-speed ZF manual transmission or a three-speed automatic. Maserati claimed a top speed of 230 km/h (143 mph).

Between 1963 and 1966, 230 examples were made.

In 1966, Maserati revised the Tipo 107, adding twin headlights (already on the US model) and, from 1968, a 4.7 L, 295 hp (SAE) (220 kW) engine. Top speed increased to a claimed 255 km/h (160 mph). Around 500 of the second series were made, for a total of 776 Tipo 107 Quattroportes. Production stopped in 1969.

In 1971, Karim Aga Khan ordered another special on the Maserati Indy platform. Rory Brown was the chief engineer. It received the well known 4.9 litre V8 engine (Tipo 107/49), producing 300 PS (221 kW). Carrozzeria Frua clothed the car, the prototype of which was displayed in Paris 1971 and Geneva 1972. The car was production ready, even receiving its own chassis code (AM 121), but Citroën used their influence to have Maserati to develop the SM-based Quattroporte II instead. In the end only two were finished, chassis #004 was sold by Maserati to the Aga Khan in 1974 and the prototype #002 went to the King of Spain, who bought his directly from Frua.

In 1974, at the Turin Show, Maserati presented its Quattroporte II (AM 123) on an extended Citroën SM chassis, available since Citroën had purchased the Italian company. It had sparse and slick Bertone bodywork, penned by Marcello Gandini and fashionable at the time, and was the only Maserati Quattroporte to feature hydropneumatic suspension and front wheel drive. It also had the swivelling directional headlights à la SM/DS. However, the 1973 oil crisis intervened. This, combined with the collapse of the Citroën/Maserati relationship, made Maserati unable to gain EEC approval for the car. Most of the cars built were thus sold in the Middle East and in Spain, where such type approval wasn't necessary.

Furthermore, the front-wheel drive layout and the modest V6 3.0L powerplant based on the Citroën SM engine didn't attract many customers. Its 210 PS (154 kW) at 5,500 rpm was barely enough to propel the 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) car to 200 km/h (124 mph). Maserati's traditional customers simply wouldn't consider the car a true Maserati. Maserati made 13 Quattroporte IIs. While the prototype was built in 1974, the succeeding twelve cars were built to order between 1976 and 1978. The nearly stillborn Quattroporte II project was very costly for the small company, which found itself in debt to the tune of four billion lire by the end of 1978.

Considered a "business man's Maserati," the Quattroporte III was presented by newly empowered Maserati chief Alejandro de Tomaso and his design staff in 1977. This was a rear wheel drive car, powered by a large V8 engine. It was important to de Tomaso that there be an Italian vehicle to compete with the recently launched Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9. The Quattroporte III marked the last of the hand-built Italian cars. All exterior joints and seams were filled to give a seamless appearance.

In 1976, Giorgetto Giugiaro presented two ItalDesign show cars on Maserati platforms, called the Medici I and Medici II. The latter in particular featured hallmarks which would make it into the production of the third-generation Quattroporte. At the 1977 Turin Motor Show, Maserati announced the Quattroporte III (Tipo AM 330), which took much from the Medici show cars, based on Maserati's Kyalami coupé, which in turn was based on the De Tomaso Longchamp. Special styling emphasis was placed on linearity, which was also useful to reduce tooling cost.

The Quattroporte III went into production in 1979, equipped with a 4,136 cc V8 engine (confusingly referred to as "4200" by Maserati) producing 255 hp (188 kW), later 238 hp (SAE) (177 kW). Also available was a 4.9 litre V8 (280 hp @ 5800 rpm). One distinguishing characteristic of the vehicle was its particularly lavish interior. The automatics initially used a three-speed Borg–Warner automatic transmission, soon replaced by a Chrysler Torqueflite gearbox. Manual gearboxes were ZF-built 5-speeds. The smaller engine was phased out in 1985.

In 1986, the Maserati Royale, a handbuilt to order ultra-luxury version of the Quattroporte III, appeared. The engine was upgraded to 295 hp (SAE) (220 kW).

In all, 2,155 Quattroporte IIIs were produced, one of them for Italian presidential use. Production ceased in 1990. Turinese coachbuilder Salvatore Diomante also offered a 65 cm longer limousine version, fully equipped with white leather, "abundant burr walnut", mini-bar, video recorder and many other necessities. The price of the Diomante limousine at introduction (1986) was a rather steep 210 million lire.

The production figures for the Quattroporte are as follows:

1. There were 1876 Quattroporte III's produced between 1979 and 1988.
2. There were 1821 standard 4portes manufactured between 1979 and 1984.
3. The remaining 55 or 53 cars were Royales, manufactured between late 1986 and 1990. These were US$80,000 cars that were built to order only.

At the height of Fiat's styling prowess, Maserati was confident to be more adventurous with Quattroporte IV from 1994. It was designed by Marcello Gandini, also known for penning the Lamborghini Countach, Urraco, Espada, Miura, Lancia Stratos, and Bugatti EB110. The new car was smaller, very aerodynamic (0.31 cd), and featured Gandini's trademark angular rear wheel arch.

A 2.8 L twin turbo V6 was installed, producing 284 PS (209 kW), reaching a top speed of 255 km/h (158 mph) while the Italians even had a "tax special" 2 litre version producing 287 PS (211 kW) on their price list. Both engines came from the familiar Maserati Biturbo engine catalog. The 2.8 was not even offered in the home market until a year after its introduction. A V8 3.2 L Biturbo was announced in 1995, coming from the Maserati Shamal, developing 335 PS (246 kW) and reaching an approximate 270 km/h (168 mph).

After Ferrari took over Maserati in July 1997, it introduced a Quattroporte Evoluzione for 1998. It featured 400 new or improved parts out of a total 800, and also benefitted from improvements to Maserati's manufacturing methods. The Evoluzione saw the famous oval Maserati clock disappear from the interior. Production ended in May of 2001.

In 2004, Maserati started production of the Pininfarina-designed Quattroporte, with the same dry sump 4.2 L engine as the Coupé, Spyder and the new GranTurismo but improved to 400 PS (294 kW). Due to its greater weight than the Coupé and Spyder, the 0-62 mph (0–100 km/h) time for the Quattroporte is 5.6 seconds and the top speed is 167 mph (269 km/h). The Quattroporte was unveiled to the world at the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 9, 2003 and made its US première at the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Élégance. It is a continuation of the long tradition of Quattroporte luxury saloons in the Maserati line-up.

The 47% front / 53% rear weight distribution (with the DuoSelect transmission) allows the large saloon to have very nimble handling. This weight distribution is achieved by setting the engine further back in the chassis behind the front axle to shift the load back towards the cabin, and the adoption of the transaxle layout which sees the gearbox rear-mounted in unit with the differential. The Quattroporte's weight distribution maximizes traction and thrust during acceleration so that the car remains exceptionally stable and well balanced at all times. With the newer automatic transmission, the transmission is adjacent to the engine and weight distribution changes to 49% front / 51% rear.

The Sport GT S version of the Quattroporte was introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2007. It features a revised suspension, 20 inch wheels, and larger rear tires for improved handling. The brakes received iron/aluminum rotors for greater fade resistance. Various interior upgrades include alcantara and carbon fiber accents. The 4.7 litre V8 in the Quattroporte Sport GT S has 439 PS (323 kW; 433 hp).

Because of reliability problems and rough shifting with the Ferrari based semi-automatic transmission, a full automatic transmission with 6 speeds (by ZF) was presented at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2007 with the first cars delivered right after the launch, marketed as the Maserati Quattroporte Automatica. The Automatica was made available with paddle-shifters on the Sport GT model as standard, but on the base model and the Executive trim levels paddles became an optional extra. With the Automatica, Maserati completely redesigned the under pinning of the car to fit the new conventional automatic transmission and torque converter right behind the engine. They also converted to a wet sump oiling system for cost saving purpose.

Images of the 2009 facelifted Quattroporte appeared on the Internet on the 30th of January 2008. The car made its official début at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. Also making the debut was the Quattroporte S, featuring the same 4.7L V8 as the Maserati GranTurismo S. Its maximum power is 430 PS (316 kW; 424 hp) and maximum torque is 490 N·m (361 lb·ft). It went on sale at the end of 2008 and is currently available. The Quattroporte Sport GT S is also still available, with 440 PS (324 kW; 434 hp) of power.

In 2010, a Quattroporte hearse served to carry the ashes of Polish President Lech Kaczyński in his funeral procession.

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A bucket seat is a seat contoured to hold one person, distinct from bench seats which are flat platforms designed to seat multiple people. Bucket seats are standard in fast cars to keep riders in place when making sharp or quick turns. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the name derives from the seat "partly resembling a bucket in shape". Bucket seat with Schroth six-point harness in a 2010 Porsche 997 GT3 RS 3.8 Bucket seats in a 1968 Saab Sonett mk2 V4.

Racing vehicles usually have only one bucket seat. Vehicles sold to the general public often have two bucket seats in the front compartment, and may contain more in a rear compartment. Commercial aircraft now have bucket seats for all passengers.

Automobile bucket seats first came into use after World War II on European small cars, due to:

1. their relatively small size compared to a bench seat; and
2. lack of seating room for a middle passenger, due to the presence of a floor-mounted shifter and parking brake lever.

The first motor sports and fast road bucket seats in Europe were manufactured by Colin Folwell, who subsequently founded Corbeau Seats in the UK in 1963

The bucket seat trend was especially apparent in sporty cars, particularly two-seater sports cars, most of which were manufactured in European nations.

In the mid-1950s, Greg Schifano of Trimline Products Corp. got together with Dan Bradford of Pacific Latex Corp. and came up with a product they called multi-density foam, which eliminated the need for complex springing in auto bucket seats. Soft in the middle and firm edges held the driver in place, and pioneered what we know as the auto "Bucket Seat" of today.

For decades, American cars were typically equipped with bench seats, which permitted three-passenger seating. The advent of compact cars and specialty vehicles such as the Ford Thunderbird in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and sporty versions of both standard-sized and compact cars, accelerated the bucket-seat trend in domestic cars around 1960.

By 1962, more than 1 million U.S. built cars were factory equipped with bucket seats; often, these were fitted with a center console containing a gear shifter and possibly other features between the seats. The popularity of the bucket seat grew with the advent of sporty compact cars (or "pony cars") such as the Ford Mustang. With the introduction of subcompact-sized automobiles such as the Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto, bucket seats were used due to the lack of seating room and the use of floor-mounted levers for the gear shifter and parking brake.

While bucket seats continued to gain popularity among compact and sports cars, the traditional bench seat, which could seat up to three people abreast, continued to be the preferred front seating arrangement in larger cars and trucks until the late 1990s. By the 1990s, a few mid- and full-sized domestic cars, as well as trucks, offered bucket seat-console front seating options, for customers who wanted a sports-car image or personalized feel to their car.

Recently, as U.S. cars were designed smaller in order to meet increasingly stringent fuel economy standards as well as intense competition from imported cars (particularly Japanese models), bucket seats became the de facto front configuration among domestic cars. As of 2010, only full-sized sedans and pickup trucks retain the front bench seat.

Although rear seating in automobiles largely uses bench seats, some 2+2 cars have bucket seats in the rear. Long-wheelbase variants of full-size luxury cars, such as the Lexus LS 460L have an "executive seating package" option that reduces the rear to two passengers but provides them with more amenities. The Porsche Panamera, despite its large size, only offers bucket seats as the rear configuration.

The concept of bucket seats is also used in passenger vans and minivans, although they are not generally referred to as such; for instance Ford refers to these types of seats as "Captains Chairs." Unlike cars, bucket seats in vans can be configurated in different ways or even removed for more cargo storage. In the typical minivan configuration, the front and middle row passengers have two bucket seats each, while the rear has a three-person bench, for a total of 7 passengers. The 2005-2010 Honda Odyssey (except for the base trim) adds a stowable "PlusOneSeat" between the middle row bucket seats.

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Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more luxurious alternative to the models in the Fiat range upon which they are based. One of the firm's trademarks is the use of letters of the Greek alphabet as the names of its models. The Lancia CEO is Olivier François.

Lancia was founded on 29 November 1906 in Turin by Vincenzo Lancia and his friend Claudio Fogolin, both being Fiat racing drivers, as Lancia & C. The first Lancia automobile the "tipo 51" or 12 HP (later called Alfa) was made in 1907 and produced from 1908. This car had a small four cylinder engine with a power of 58 bhp. In 1937 Vincenzo died of a heart attack, and his wife Adele Miglietti Lancia and his son Gianni Lancia took over the firm. They persuaded Vittorio Jano to join Lancia as an engineer. Jano had already made a name for himself by constructing the Alfa Romeo 1750 Sport Alfa Romeo 6C, 2300, 2900, P2 Alfa Romeo P2 and P3 Alfa Romeo P3, some of the most successful racers of its time.

Lancia is famous for many automotive innovations. These include the 1913 Theta, which was the first production car in Europe to feature a complete electrical system as standard equipment. The first car with a monocoque-type body – the Lambda, produced from 1922 to 1931 also featured 'Sliding Pillar' independent front suspension that incorporated the spring and hydraulic damper into a single unit (and featured on most production Lancias until the Appia was replaced in 1963). 1948 saw the first 5 speed gearbox to be fitted to a production car (Series 3 Ardea). Lancia premiered the first full-production V6 engine, in the 1950 Aurelia, after earlier industry-leading experiments with V8 and V12 engine configurations. It was also the first company to produce a V4 engine. Also, Lancia pioneered the use of independent suspension in production cars, in an era where live axles were common practice for both the front and rear axles of a car. They also developed rear transaxles which were fitted to the Aurelia and Flaminia ranges. The innovativeness, constant quest for excellence, the fixation of quality, the complication of the construction processes and the antiqued machinery meant that all cars essentially had to be hand-made. With little commonality between the various models, the cost of production continued to increase extensively, while demand did not.

Lancia was not closely associated with any other manufacturer until the late 1960s. By this time, the company's expensive, high standards of production had become unsustainable. In aiming to produce a product of the highest quality, company bosses had sacrificed cost-effectiveness and when Fiat launched a take-over bid in 1969, they accepted. This was not the end of the distinctive Lancia brand, and new models in the 1970s such as the Stratos, Gamma and Beta served to prove that Fiat wished to preserve the image of the brand it had acquired.

During the 1980s, the company cooperated with Saab Automobile, with the Lancia Delta being sold as the Saab 600 in Sweden. The 1985 Lancia Thema also shared a platform with the Saab 9000, Fiat Croma and the Alfa Romeo 164.

After Vincenzo Lancia's son Gianni became director of the firm, it started to take part more frequently in motorsport, eventually deciding to build a Grand Prix car. Vittorio Jano was the new designer for Lancia and his Lancia D50 was entered into the 1954 Spanish Grand Prix, where Alberto Ascari took the pole position and drove the fastest lap. In the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix Ascari crashed into the harbour after missing a chicane. One week later Ascari was killed in an accident driving a Ferrari sports car at Monza. With Ascari's death and Lancia's financial problems the company withdrew from Grand Prix racing. Altogether Lancia took two victories and ten podiums in Formula One.

Remnants of the Lancia team were transferred to Scuderia Ferrari, where Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1956 championship with a Lancia-Ferrari car.

Lancia has been very successful in motorsport over the years, and mostly in the arena of rallying. Prior to the forming of the World Rally Championship, Lancia took the final International Championship for Manufacturers title with the Fulvia in 1972. In the WRC, they remain the most statistically successful marque (despite having withdrawn at the end of the 1993 season), winning constructors' titles with the Stratos (1974, 1975 and 1976), the 037 (1983) and the Delta (six consecutive wins from 1987 to 1992). The Delta is also the most successful individual model designation ever to compete in rallying. All this gave Lancia a total of 10 Championships over the years.

Juha Kankkunen and Miki Biasion both won two drivers' titles with the Delta. Among other drivers to take several World Rally Championship wins with Lancia were Markku Alén, Didier Auriol, Sandro Munari, Bernard Darniche, Walter Röhrl, Björn Waldegård and Henri Toivonen. The history of the brand in rallying is also tainted with tragedy, with deaths of Italian driver Attilio Bettega at the 1985 Tour de Corse in a Lancia 037 and then Finnish championship favourite Toivonen in a Lancia Delta S4 at the same rally exactly a year later. These deaths would eventually lead to the end of Group B rallying.

During Lancia's dominance of rallying, company also expanded into sports cars in the late 1970s until the mid-1980s. Originally running the Stratos HF in Group 4, as well as a brief interlude with a rare Group 5 version, the car was replaced with the Monte Carlo Turbo. In 1982 the team moved up to Group 6 with the LC1 Spyder, followed by the Group C LC2 coupé which featured a Ferrari powerplant in 1983. The LC2 was a match for the standard-setting Porsche 956 in terms of raw speed, securing 13 pole positions over its lifetime, however its results were hampered by poor reliability and fuel economy and it only managed to win three European and World Endurance Championship races. The team's inability to compete against the dominant Porsche 956 and 962 sports cars led it to drop out of sportscar racing at the end of 1986 in order to concentrate on rallying, although private teams continued to enter LC2s with declining results until the early 1990s.

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Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars. The company was owned by Italian state holding company Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale between 1932 and 1986, when it became a part of the Fiat Group, and since February 2007 a part of Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A.

The company that became Alfa Romeo was founded as Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID) in 1906 by the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq, with some Italian investors. Late 1909, the Italian Darracq cars were selling slowly and a new company was founded named A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili English: Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company), initially still in partnership with Darracq. The first non-Darracq car produced by the company was the 1910 24 HP, designed by Giuseppe Merosi. A.L.F.A. ventured into motor racing, with drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911 Targa Florio with two 24 HP models. In August 1915 the company came under the direction of Neapolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo, who converted the factory to produce military hardware for the Italian and Allied war efforts. In 1920, the name of the company was changed to Alfa Romeo with the Torpedo 20-30 HP becoming the first car to be badged as such.

In 1928 Nicola Romeo left, with Alfa going broke after defence contracts ended, and at the end of 1932 Alfa Romeo was rescued by Benito Mussolini's government, which then had effective control. The Alfa factory struggled to return to profitability after the Second World War, and turned to mass-producing small vehicles rather than hand-building luxury models. The company, in 1954, developed the classic Alfa Romeo Twin Cam engine, which would remain in production until 1995. During the 1960s and 1970s Alfa Romeo produced a number of sporty cars, though the Italian government parent company, Finmeccanica, struggled to make a profit so sold the marque to the Fiat Group in 1986.

Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in many different categories of motorsport, including Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing and rallies. They have competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries (usually under the name Alfa Corse or Autodelta) and private entries. The first racing car was made in 1913, three years after the foundation of the company, and Alfa Romeo won the inaugural world championship for Grand Prix cars in 1925. The company gained a good name in motorsport, which gave a sporty image to the whole marque. Enzo Ferrari founded the Scuderia Ferrari racing team in 1929 as an Alfa Romeo racing team, before becoming independent in 1939.

The company that became Alfa Romeo was founded as Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID) in 1906 by the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq, with some Italian investors. One of them, Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan, became chairman of the SAID in 1909. The firm's initial location was in Naples, but even before the construction of the planned factory had started, Darracq decided late in 1906 that Milan would be a more suitable location and accordingly a tract of land was acquired in the Milan suburb of Portello, where a new factory of 6,700 square metres (8,000 sq yd) was erected. Late 1909, the Italian Darracq cars were selling slowly and Stella, with the other Italian co-investors, founded a new company named A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili), initially still in partnership with Darracq. The first non-Darracq car produced by the company was the 1910 24 HP, designed by Giuseppe Merosi, hired in 1909 for designing new cars more suitable to the Italian market. Merosi would go on to design a series of new A.L.F.A. cars, with more powerful engines (40-60 HP). A.L.F.A. ventured into motor racing, with drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911 Targa Florio with two 24 HP models. In 1914, an advanced Grand Prix car was designed and built, the GP1914 which featured a four cylinder, double overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and twin ignition. However, the onset of the First World War halted automobile production at A.L.F.A. for three years.

In August 1915 the company came under the direction of Neapolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo, who converted the factory to produce military hardware for the Italian and Allied war efforts. Munitions, aircraft engines and other components, compressors and generators based on the company's existing car engines were produced in a vastly enlarged factory during the war. When the war was over, Romeo invested his war profits in acquiring locomotive and railways carriage plants in Saronno (Costruzioni Meccaniche di Saronno), Rome (Officine Meccaniche di Roma) and Naples (Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali), which were added to his A.L.F.A. ownership.

Once motorsports resumed after the Second World War, Alfa Romeo proved to be the car to beat in Grand Prix events. The introduction of the new formula (Formula One) for single-seat racing cars provided an ideal setting for Alfa Romeo's tipo 158 Alfetta, adapted from a pre-war voiturette, and Giuseppe Farina won the first Formula One World Championship in 1950 in the 158. Juan Manuel Fangio secured Alfa's second consecutive championship in 1951.

In 1952, Alfa-Romeo had experimented with its first front-wheel drive compact car named "Project 13-61". It had the same transverse-mounted, forward-motor layout as the modern front-wheel drive automobiles. Alfa-Romeo made a second attempt toward the late 1950s based on Project 13-61. It was to be called Tipo 103. It even resembled the smaller version of its popular Alfa-Romeo Giulia. However, due to the financial difficulties in post-war Italy, the Tipo 103 never saw the production. Had Alfa-Romeo succeed in producing Tipo 103, it would precede the Mini as the first "modern" front-wheel drive compact car.

During the 1960s, Alfa concentrated on competition using production-based cars, including the GTA (standing for Gran Turismo Allegerita), an aluminium-bodied version of the Bertone-designed coupe with a powerful twin-plug engine. Among other victories, the GTA won the inaugural Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am championship in 1966. In the 1970s, Alfa concentrated on prototype sports car racing with the Tipo 33, with early victories in 1971. Eventually the Tipo 33TT12 gained the World Championship for Makes for Alfa Romeo in 1975 and the Tipo 33SC12 won the World Championship for Sports Cars in 1977.

By the 1970s Alfa was again in financial trouble. The Italian government company Finmeccanica bowed out in 1986 as Fiat Group bought in, creating a new group, Alfa Lancia Industriale S.p.A., to manufacture Alfas and Lancias. Models produced subsequent to the 1990s combined Alfa's traditional virtues of avant-garde styling and sporting panache with the economic benefits of product rationalisation, and include a "GTA" version of the 147 hatchback, the Giugiaro-designed Brera, and a high-performance exotic called the 8C Competizione (named after one of Alfa's most successful prewar sports and racing cars, the 8C of the 1930s).

In the 1960s Alfa Romeo became famous for its small cars and models specifically designed for the Italian police — "Panthers" and Carabinieri; among them the glorious "Giulia Super" or the 2600 Sprint GT, which acquired the expressive nickname of "Inseguimento" dir. trl. "to chase or predate" (this car is wrongly supposed to be the one that the famous Roman police marshal and unrivalled driver Armandino Spadafora brought down on the Spanish Steps in 1960 while following some robbers — it was actually a black Ferrari 250 GT/E — this picture of Giulia, one of the dozens about this legend, is taken from a film and not at the Spanish Steps). The colours of the Alfa Romeos used by the Polizia were grey/blue with white stripes and writing, known as "Pantera" (Panther), enhancing the aggressive look of the Alfa (particularly the Giulia series), while the Carabinieri Alfas were dark blue with white roofs and red stripes, known as the "Gazzella" (Antelope) denoting the speed and agility of these "Pattuglie" (armed response patrol units). However, the term "Pantera" became used interchangeably and the image helped create a no-nonsense, determined and respected perception by the general public of the men that drove these cars, true to their history.

Alfa Romeo has introduced some technological innovations over the years, the company has also been often among first users of new technologies. Alfa Romeo's trademark double overhead cam engine was used in the first time in 1914 Grand Prix car, the first road car with such engine the 6C 1500 Sport appeared in the 1928.

Alfa Romeo tested one of the very first electric injection systems (Caproni-Fuscaldo) in Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 with "Ala spessa" body in 1940 Mille Miglia. The engine had six electrically operated injectors and were fed by a semi-high pressure circulating fuel pump system.

Mechanical Variable Valve Timing was introduced in Alfa Romeo Spider sold in U.S. markets in 1980. Electronic Variable Valve Timing was introduced in (Alfetta).

The 105 series Giulia was a quite advanced car using such technologies as: All-wheel disc brakes, plastic radiator header tank it had also the lowest Drag Coefficient (Cd) in class The same trend continued with Alfetta 2000 and GTV, those had such things as 50:50 weight distribution, standard fit alloy wheels and transaxle.

Newer innovations includes complete CAD design process used in Alfa Romeo 164 design process, robotised/paddle control transmission Selespeed used in 156, the 156 was also world's first passenger car to use Common rail diesel engine. The Multiair -an electro-hydraulic variable valve actuation technology used in MiTo was introduced in 2009.

Alfa's badge incorporates emblems from fifth century Italy. It was designed in 1910 by an Italian draughtsman Romano Cattaneo who used two heraldic devices traditionally associated with Milan: on the right is the Biscione, the emblem of the House of Visconti, rulers of Milan in the 14th century; on the left is a red cross on a white field, the emblem of Milan, which Cattaneo had seen on the door of the Castello Sforzesco. In 1918, after the company was purchased by Nicola Romeo, the badge was redesigned with the help of Giuseppe Merosi. A dark blue metallic ring was added, containing the inscription "ALFA — ROMEO" and "MILANO" separated by two Savoy dynasty knots to honour the Kingdom of Italy. After the victory of the P2 in the inaugural Automobile World Championship in 1925, Alfa added a laurel wreath around the badge. In 1946, after the abolition of the monarchy, the Savoy knots were replaced with two curvy lines. The name "MILANO", the hyphen, and the lines were eliminated when Alfa Romeo opened its factory at Pomigliano d'Arco, Naples in the early 1970s.

Construction techniques used by Alfa Romeo have become imitated by other car makers, and in this way Alfa Romeo body design has often been very influential. The following is a list of innovations, and where appropriate, examples of imitation by other car manufacturers:

1. 1950s : Monocoque body design in the Giulia : While not an imitation per se, this construction technique became extremely widespread, and remains so to the present day.
2. 1960s : Aerodynamics : The 116-series Giulia boasted a very low Cd. Toyota in particular sought to produce a similarly shaped series of vehicles at this time.
3. 1970s : Fairing of bumpers : In order to meet American crash standards, Alfa formulated design styling techniques to incorporate bumpers into the overall bodywork design of vehicles so as to not ruin their lines. The culmination of this design technique was 1980s Alfa Romeo 75. The process was widely copied, particularly in Germany and Japan.
4. 1980s : The Alfa 164 : The design process and influence of this car is almost completely out of all proportion to previous Alfas. The 164 introduced complete CAD/CAM in the manufacturing cycle, with very little directly made by hand in the vehicle. In addition, the 164's styling influence continues into the present day line of modern Alfa's. Most manufacturers incorporated design ideas first expressed in the 164 into their own designs, including greater reliance on on-board computers.
5. 1990s : The pseudo-coupé : The Alfa 156 and 147, while four door vehicles, represented themselves as two-doors with prominent front door handles, and less visible rear door-handle flaps. Honda has used this design style in the latest Civic hatchback, and a somewhat similar idea is also seen in the most recent Mazda RX-8 four-seat coupé.
6. 2000s : The Brera and 159 : These vehicles design, by Giorgetto Guigaro, have proven influential as regards sedan and coupé styling, demonstrating that concept vehicles are often immediately translatable into road car form, providing that initial design takes place using CAD systems.

Alfa Romeo has been involved with motor racing since 1911, when they entered two 24 HP models on Targa Florio competition. In the 1920s and 30s Alfa Romeo scored wins at many of the most famous and prestigious races and motoring events such as Targa Florio, Mille Miglia and Le Mans. Great success continued with Formula One, Prototypes, Touring and Fast Touring. Private drivers also entered some rally competitions, with fine results. Alfa Romeo has competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries Alfa Corse, Autodelta and private entries. Alfa Romeo's factory racing team was outsourced to Enzo Ferrari's Scuderia Ferrari between 1933-1938. The most legendary Alfa Romeo driver is Tazio Nuvolari, who took of the most legendary victories of all time by winning the 1935 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.

According to the current Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne in order to reap economies of scale, all new Alfa Romeo models will be made from the same basic platform (i.e., frame). Even Maserati will share components with some Alfas.

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