ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. -- Maserati ended 2005, its fourth year back in the United States, on track to sell about 2,100 cars in North America, says its new North American president.

James Selwa, 55, who became president of Maserati North America in July, says Maserati has found a niche where few players compete: the $100,000 sedan.

With its $106,850 Quattroporte sedan leading the charge, Maserati sales grew sharply in 2005. In 2004, the Italian maker sold 1,144 cars in North America.

The year-old Quattroporte was expected to account for about 1,500 North America units in 2005 -- about 60 percent of Maserati's anticipated total. The sport sedan debuted in the 2004 Neiman Marcus Christmas online catalog and sold out in 36 seconds.

Maserati also sells the less-expensive Coupe and Spyder models, which were launched in 2002.

Selwa tested his formula when he headed marketing at Land Rover and Rolls-Royce Motors Cars N.A.: increasing marketing, targeting only buyers who can afford the cars and fine-tuning the product to the United States.

This year Maserati will increase the number of variants it sells from four to eight. These include adding two trim levels to the Quattroporte, basing the U.S. Spyder on the upscale Gransport Coupe rather the base Coupe model, and bringing in a stripped Coupe.

Selwa's long-term mission is to relaunch Alfa Romeo with a new vehicle in the United States.



Ferrari lineage

Until last summer, Ferrari owned Maserati and developed the Quattroporte's powertrain. Ownership of Maserati was transferred to Alfa Romeo on June 1. All three brands are owned by the Fiat group.

Ferrari took control of Maserati in 1998. Three cars were developed by the supercar brand. The Quattroporte is the first Maserati styled by Italian design studio Pininfarina in 50 years.

Selwa says when he arrived at Maserati, the Quattroporte's assets weren't being touted. The Quattroporte has a Ferrari-designed 4.2-liter, V-8 engine with 400 hp.

Having Ferrari engineering is a key selling point, Selwa says.

For instance, when Maserati sells against the Jaguar XJ range, Selwa tells salespeople to ask: "'Would you rather have a Ford-developed V-8 or would you rather have a Ferrari-developed V-8?' It is a no-brainer."

The Quattroporte lacks a true automatic transmission, a disadvantage in the United States. It has a Ferrari F1-style, six-speed electrohydraulic transaxle that is basically a manual transmission with no-clutch pedal. Gears can be changed by using paddle shifters on either side of the steering wheel or by selecting automatic mode, which shifts the gears without driver input.



Selling out

Tom Heffernan, president of Ferrari Maserati of Central New Jersey in Edison, N.J., says his dealership has been able to sell every Maserati it has received. The transmission isn't a big drawback, he says.

"However, when they do come out with an automatic, it will definitely enhance the market," Heffernan says. "People coming out of Mercedes-Benz and BMW are used to a pure automatic."

Heffernan says his dealership, which opened a year ago, sold 55 Quattroportes and 90 Maseratis in 2005.

Jean Jennings, editor of Automobile magazine, says the manual transmission "is more automatic than manual." But Jennings questions why a buyer would purchase a Maserati "when there is an Aston V-8 Vantage -- a really spectacular car -- and the Mercedes-Benz CL class?"

"The exterior is somewhat bland for Pininfarina," Jennings says. "Its main attraction is the living room of an interior."

Selwa says Maserati will eventually give the car a true automatic, but won't say when.

Dealers say they've been told the transmission will arrive in 2007.



$150,000 ceiling

Despite its Ferrari powertrain, there's an acute awareness that Maserati can't and won't be a Ferrari. Selwa believes the highest price Maserati can charge is about $150,000.

"Our sweet spot is about $115,000 to $120,000 -- that is where we dominate," he says. We have 40 percent of the share in that category."

Maserati can go down in price. Its cheapest car in 2005 was the Coupe at $87,983, including shipping. Selwa will launch a stripped version of the Coupe for $84,559, including shipping, in 2006.

"We have to get into that market with a six-speed bare-bones car without even a paddle shift," Selwa says. "We'll build 50 of them, build them to our specs and test the market."

For the 2006 model year, Maserati also is adding more variants of each model, including two pricier Quattroporte models with more luxurious interiors. This will position the top-priced car near $120,000.

Despite talk of giving Maserati a wagon based on the 2003 concept car Kubang, Selwa says there are no plans for a fourth vehicle. There is discussion about a cheaper car for Maserati based on the Alfa Romeo Brera Spider.

Selwa says Maserati plans to sell 10,000 cars worldwide by 2010, with half of those sales in the United States. He says the target can be reached by adding models and renewing the present product range.

Getting to 6,000 annual sales will increase return on investment, he says.

"When you see an organization like us and say we're going to turn the corner at 5,000 cars, when you sell 6,000 cars (worldwide) it makes a hell of a difference. There is just more revenue on all the same space. It starts to get just a little more magical when you get the volume up to 6,000 cars."