Lunch at Maserati of Silicon Valley

Maserati tends to be thought of as a performance car company that eschews the nebulous concept of "lifestyle." It is true that Maserati is a manufacturer of very high performance cars focused more on the driver and occupants than on the neighbors and gawkers, a traditional firm which strives to reconcile the discerning driver's need for exhilaration, dynamic excellence and everyday usability. Maserati is successful in part because it is a company with a deep passion for cars, and in which there lies the kernel of "lifestyle". At some Maserati dealerships the passion blooms into something broad and special, something that extends beyond the purity and enjoyment of Trident cars. Maserati of Silicon Valley is a primary exponent of this dealership style.

Nestled in the heart of technology's global central point, California's Silicon Valley, is a Maserati store that thrives on emotion and indulgence, and goes a step further into epicure. Dealer-Partner Arthur Zafiropoulo, along with Dealer Principal Giacomo Mattioli of Maserati of Beverly Hills and Silicon Valley, envisioned a relaxed meeting place for those who love Maserati, Ferrari and fine Italian food. This is a friendly service company which happens to sell Maseratis and has an enormous and immaculate automotive service facility in the back. There is even a party room for owners.

The F1 Bistro, situated at the showroom's entrance, sets the tone. It is here, by the big screen TV showing great moments in racing, that we met with Zafiropoulo, his charming General Manager Daniele Fancello, and a couple of happy Maserati owners. Karin Friederichs, who owns Maserati 90th Anniversary Spyder #001, and Ron Jankov, a Ferrari owner with a 2005 Quattroporte he calls his favorite. Zafiropoulo, whose easy manner and ready smile are reinforced by the fact that he asks everyone to call him Art, is also a Maserati owner. Art, as well as being Chairman and CEO of semi-conductor equipment company Ultratech, collects sports cars and it is his profound love of automobiles that led him to set up a Maserati dealership. So we have three bona fide car enthusiasts meeting at this unique dealership for lunch: this is a community.

Karin Friederichs is a former competitor on the professional tennis circuit and a former software company business development executive. She and her husband, who is Director of Emerging Technologies at Symantec, sought a replacement for their convertible BMW although they ultimately kept that car and added the silver 90th Anniversary Spyder to a collection which now numbers six automobiles. The one of a kind Maserati is their favorite car: "I was going to replace my BMW, and I always get a convertible. So I looked at a 3-Series and then a 6-series and then a Mercedes SL and then we looked at the Maserati for fun. There was just no comparison. I never had this fascination with Italian sports cars, but I went out for a short test drive and came back and said "I'm done." There's a difference in the way it moves." Now the BMW is what Karin drives to haul things.

Ron Jankov is President and CEO of NetLogic Microsystems, a semiconductor company that recently went public. In 2005 NetLogic was the number one major company stock in terms of market appreciation in the Bay Area and among semiconductor companies worldwide. Ron was replacing a 1997 BMW 740i, when he chose his black on black Quattroporte with the sport package. Ron also has a 1998 Ferrari 355GTS which "still runs great - a perfect car, like it was brand new, better than when it was brand new, more broken in, but my favorite is the Quattroporte."

Both Ron and Karin are real car enthusiasts. Karin's father owned a car dealership, at which she worked, and she grew up in the business. Ron simply loves performance cars, even having equipped his Quattroporte with a Tubi exhaust for what he described as an even meaner sound. Over a delicious Caprese salad appetizer - vine ripened yellow tomatoes, regular tomatoes, toybox cherry tomatoes and fresh buffalo mozzarella from Campagna, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany and an sweet Balsamic vinegar- they discussed what drew them to their respective Maseratis.

In Karin's case it was the brand's quality and reputation: "I had a bad car accident when I was young, so weight, security and quality are the first things I look for; quality and a convertible. When I took the Spyder out for a test drive I actually got pulled over and I still would have been happy to buy a regular Spyder on the spot! But Maserati of Silicon Valley was able to get us the Anniversary Spyder, number one of ninety. I like the vintage package, I liked the sound of the sport setting and I wanted those things once I got familiar with everything Maserati offered."

Ron chose practicality, style and performance as equivalent reasons for his choice: "I have a lot of customers from overseas, particularly from China and Japan. They visit suppliers and I really needed a 4-door car but really, I don't like driving sedans. I'd been looking for five years - literally - for a car that was fun to drive, that had four doors, and finally, when I test-drove a Quattroporte, I made the decision instantly that this was the one. It has a sporty feel like a Ferrari, it's just like a sports car, except it has 4 doors. It's also got that kind of like aggressive look to it, like a shark at the front, and that's unique. My girlfriend certainly had an influence on my choice, she thinks it has a great back end." Ron's girlfriend also enjoys driving his Quattroporte: "She drives it close to the redline, typically, even more than I do. She's fine with the paddles [DuoSelect] and drives it in manual mode. We like to drive it hard, and I've put about 13,000 miles on it in just under a year."

Karin ranks the Cambiocorsa in her 90th Anniversary Spyder as her favorite feature: "I wanted the Cambiocorsa, the race shifting, because I can really control how I drive it. I found it very intuitive. I came down and talked to the Service Department a lot about whether I was driving it the right way because I wanted to make sure exactly how the car should be driven. The service guys here were incredible in taking the time to talk to me and show me because I really wanted to do it right. So that's also a favorite part of the car � the Service Department at Maserati of Silicon Valley. It was important that the dealership service was close by, and it is. I grew up in the car business, so I know there's nothing more important than good service."

As the superb seared rare ahi tuna, served with an olive, anchovy, caper and tomato puttanesca sauce over pappardelle pasta arrived, Art asked whether the Bistro was also an important part of the dealership service experience, and everyone agreed that it was. Karin explained that the Maserati of Silicon Valley atmosphere was an important element in the purchase. "My husband every day after work, would apparently come here and sit in it, and no one ever told me! I was wondering, he's working really late, you know, what the heck? I guess Oliver would come here and say 'don't tell Karin I'm here.' But you know, he was obviously really interested in the car and really comfortable with the people."

Before buying their cars, Ron and Karin had similar impressions of Maserati. Karin knew the name, but nothing about the company. To her Maserati meant: "Quality, like fine things, and that's important. It's the way I was raised. My dad always said to me 'it's more about quality than quantity'". To Ron Maserati meant: "Italian engineering. A little bit truer engine sound, a little bit tighter transmission, tighter steering - more of a driving machine as opposed to a cruising machine - and that's what I like about it. I considered the [Ferrari] 612 but it's a little bit too much for taking customers out. The Quattroporte was perfect. People know Ferraris are expensive, especially the 612. So if a client gets in the car, and they know it's a $300,000 car, they're going to say, 'the price he's charging is too high'. They're going to start negotiating, but with a Quattroporte you still have the Italian flavor, at $120,000. They can respect you for that."

Ron had carefully tested a variety of cars before choosing his Quattroporte. "I looked seriously at the 600 S from Mercedes, at the 750 BMW, the 645 BMW and at the Jaguar XJR. None of them offered the Italian experience. Also, they were more typical cars. You know the nice thing about the Quattroporte is, despite Maserati's recent success, it's still an unusual car. You see so many of those S-Class's around. Putting all those things together, I just felt made the Quattroporte a much more fun car."

Has Ron's perception of Maserati changed since he bought the Quattroporte? "No, I would say it's reinforced my perception of Maserati." Karin, however, said her perception had changed since getting the Spyder: "It's changed for the better. I always had a fear that when you get onto more high end cars, that they would break more, and my Maserati hasn't. Mine is wonderful. It's been an incredible experience. I don't know how I could go back to something else. Once you have a Maserati, with the service, with the people, how do you go back? It's not like going into a normal car dealership and buying a car. It's a different world that I didn't know anything about."

Chef David Peatrowsky stepped from his open-plan kitchen to join the discussion over some of the well-chosen local wine. A car enthusiast as well as a gourmet chef, he knows many of the customers and plans to begin informal Italian cooking classes for those who are interested - a complete Maserati experience. "It's part of being in a community, to interact and improve things. That's a key part of running a good restaurant, and from what I've seen it's part of how Danielle manages the dealership as well." Maserati of Silicon Valley indeed emulates other companies for which the region is famous as an active supporter of local charities, having recently donated a GranSport to Ronald McDonald House and otherwise contributing to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and to the Davis Phinney Foundation. Art notes that community involvement and social responsibility are ingrained in the Silicon Valley outlook.

Dessert was a scrumptious affogado, a chocolate gelato with espresso dribbled over it, and sealed in chocolate. This seemed a good time to hear about the fun of having a Maserati in the southern Bay area. Karin lives in Woodside, a beautiful community which provides good roads and scenery. For fun she and her husband "go somewhere like Portola Valley, just to take it on a little ride. We love to drive up on Highway 84. It's stunningly beautiful, going over the hills up to the coast, by redwood groves. We took delivery of the car the night after we got back from Europe - Parris, the service Manager, kept the dealership open for us. The next morning we woke up first thing and made that drive. It brings you back to the olden days, when you see these movies of a couple going off in their little sports car, with scarves around their necks and a picnic basket in the back. It sounds corny, but it really is like that with the Spyder and we were so anxious to go that I was outside the restaurant on the coast before it suddenly occurred to me to call and check we had insured the car! Luckily we had. That's the fun of the Maserati. It's like those guys riding Harley's and waving to each other on the road, enjoying freedom and some special feeling. That's what having a Maserati is like."

For Ron the enjoyment is renewed daily: "It's fun to have the sports car driving experience and still have four doors. I know I've said that a about five different ways. I have a pretty significant commute - it's 56 miles round-trip every day - and I used to hate it, but now I love it. That's a big change! My best experience with the car was the day I got it. My girlfriend's nephews and nieces happened to be in town and they're all real car nuts. They just thought it was the coolest thing. They're from Costa Rica, so they don't have many Ferrari and Maserati dealerships down there. Just to be at the dealership, eating at the bistro, it was just a great, great June afternoon. For them it was like being at Disneyland."

Arthur Zafiropoulo beams at this last comment. He and Daniele Fancello have realized Art's vision for Maserati of Silicon Valley - a comfortable community for car enthusiasts. They offer exemplary service, an incredible atmosphere, and the world's finest automobiles. You can stop by any time for a chat, a bite at the Bistro, and a Maserati test drive. If you get the chance, be sure to meet Art; he or Danielle will be happy to introduce you to the multi-faceted world of Maserati.