Shrinkage is never a good thing whether from the warehouse, your bank account or from your favorite sweater. It's also true in design as at best a shrunken-down design ends up being cute but rarely fierce or gorgeous. Fortunately there are exceptions as the following recent baby designs prove that a tailored slim fit look can do wonders at times. Not only do all three do an excellent job of adapting the brand design to their smaller proportions but arguably end up with better and fresher designs than their more expensive brandmates.
Maserati Ghibli
The last generation Quattroporte was a brand savior selling at level never before seen for its four door sedan. The Quattroporte stood out among its competition with a unique style even after many years on the market. The Quattroporte however was a tweener, a few inches shorter than the rest of the executive sedan competition. This time around Maserati added nearly ten inches of length but unfortunately also lost a lot of the athletic look of the previous generation. Enter the Ghibli, which takes all the cues of the latest Quattroporte into a compact package slightly shorter than the last giving it very few empty flat surfaces of the larger sedan. The aggressive Maserati sedan is back and early sales indicate a great success.
Is there a problem when a brand's entry level model outshines its more expensive models?
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