50 08/2019
IT’S A GREAT IRONY THAT
arguably one of Maserti’s strongest
defining elements—the car’s drive—is
something hidden by necessity while
the Italian vehicles rest in a showroom
like the one at PetroVietnam Vietnam.
Welcome to Trident Auto, Saigon’s
Maserati dealership.
Resting at the base of the tower
complex, this glassed-in auto
showroom houses just a handful of
Maserati car models, including the
Quattroporte mid-sized sedan and the
Levante SUV. The car mostly likely to
grab your attention is the gleaming
white Ghibli sportscar sitting next to
the reception desk. The car opens to
all leather: chairs, head liner, armrests,
dash, everything. One trying out the
experience, playing as a prospective
Maserati owner, would naturally sit
in the leather front seat and rest their
hands on the wheel. You’d need a test
drive to get a sense of the longstanding
reverie drivers have for Maseratis. The
Ghibli is described as a car with quick,
taut and responsive handling by auto
enthusiasts.
Language of a promised good
time will have to suffice unless you’reenterprising enough to take the car
from the showroom it rests in, a home
fitting for a legacy Italian car brand. The
showroom contains imported, Italian-
made decor vetted directly by Maserati.
Hand-selected furniture from brands
such as Poltrona Frau grace the floor
like standing guards of the palace. The
showroom is usually quiet, however, and
usually sees clients by appointment only,
a company representative explained.
So, who’s buying Maseratis in
Vietnam? The company representative
explained that the buyers tend to middle-
aged business persons who’ve been
sufficiently successful in their careers to
put a down payment on a luxury Italian
car. A previous generation of successful,
Saigon-residing business persons may
have been more drawn to a Mercedes or
a Lexus. The representative said these
models have seen their star fade with anew generation of buyers with higher
buying power.
The equanimous noun
“businesspersons” is used here
deliberately. Maserati buyers are evenly
distributed between the two genders,
the representative said. There have
been around 100 Maseratis sold from
this showroom. The Ghibli may occupy
the showroom’s forward area and have
the most visibility of the group, but the
spokesperson said Saigonese tend to
prefer the Levante. The SUV makes up
about 80 percent of the vehicles sold
from the showroom. Why? At least one
of those reasons should be obvious: the
country’s precipitous rainy season makesA top choice for luxury
performance connoisseurs with
the desire to travel in style
Text by Jesus Lopez-Gomez
Images by Vy Lam