Maserati Keeps the Silent Trust
Dave Schwartz and his Quattroporte S

Dave Schwartz is unashamedly a car nut. Since he retired as the COO of a major shoe company, Dave has had the time to indulge his passion, so he often buys three or four cars each year. And as a car nut with an appreciation for fine motoring, it will come as no surprise that he’s recently bought his fifth Maserati, a grand sedan powered by the new 4.7-liter V8 engine.

“I’ve just taken delivery of the Quattroporte S; prior to that, I had a GranTurismo,” Dave told us. “That followed on from a Quattroporte Sport GT, and my first two Maseratis were both Spyders, a 2003 and then a 2004. I knew Tom Schultz, one of the sales consultants at Maserati of St. Louis, so I came along on his first day; I saw this beautiful green 2003 Spyder, which I took out for a test drive, and told Tom I wanted to buy it. They had to do some work to make that happen, because they weren’t officially open, but it all worked out.”

Dave was smitten with Maserati from his first encounter. What made the Italian marque so appealing? “From the first time you see one, it’s obvious that the exterior aesthetics are truly special – the cars have the cachet and panache associated with a limited production car,” he explained. “And then you drive them; I think the Quattroporte Sport GT was the truest, finest sport GT of any sedan I’ve ever driven – and if you name it, I’ve driven it. On top of that you have the exclusivity; you don’t buy cars in this price range for basic transportation, there is some ego involved, and anyone who tries to claim otherwise is talking baloney. But if it’s well balanced with an appreciation for the design of the car, the mechanical underpinnings, then it’s a healthy situation.”

“Quite simply, I don’t want to see myself coming and going,” he continued. “I simply cannot figure out why anyone would pay $150,000 for an AMG Mercedes when virtually no one can tell it’s not one that cost $80,000. Whether that’s 10% or 50% of why you buy a car, you simply don’t get credit. From that point of view I think the Quattroporte is a heck of a value in terms of aesthetics, drivability, performance and exclusivity; in fact, I think it’s priced where it is just because it’s the next step on from the S-class.”

The exclusivity of Maserati, and the prestige associated with the Trident, was regularly mentioned in our discussions – even when we asked him how the cars make him feel. “Two things come to mind: first, they are fun to drive – the way they handle, the acceleration, they’re fun,” he told us. “And second, I feel good driving the car because I feel good being seen in the car. I think the cars are appreciated by the people who see them. So that’s a good feeling, as well as literally looking forward to driving them. It’s not unusual to take it down to the store, just to get some groceries, and getting thumbs up from people in the parking lot. In both the Quattroporte and GranTurismo, it’s not unusual to get the thumbs up from people as they drive by; and with the GranTurismo, I’ve had people hanging out the window taking pictures with camera phones. I’ve never had a negative reaction.”

Because of his background with a branded shoe company, Dave had a lot of interesting things to say about the intricacies and psychology involved in branding and product design. “There was a documentary on the History Channel, which is repeated now and again, about the psychology of auto design; it is truly fascinating, and it is psychological – look at your target consumer, who you are trying to appeal to,” he explained. “I’ll put it this way: if I could, I’d pull my Maserati into my living room and hang it on the wall. Functional art, that’s the way I feel about it. So many companies don’t stay faithful to their brand. They fall victim to sales – it tends to happen more to public companies. There is a choice; you can stay with your brand philosophy, and if you’re really good you will maintain or even increase your sales. But too many companies fall victim to the pressure of the bottom line. They will cheapen the product so they can lower the price, either because of  price pressures or to sell more units. I think that if you really believe in branding, then the brand comes first and sales come second. If you are not willing to do that, then you’re not really interested in branding.”

“And you have to be careful when you license your brand, so someone is allowed to use your brand on their products,” he continued. “Because you need to be sure that the products that have your brand on them are at the kind of quality level you want associated with your brand. Now, consider Maserati; the brand stands for certain things, in the mind of the consumer. That’s what I call a ‘silent trust’ between the brand and the consumer – the consumer associates certain qualities with the brand, and expects to find those qualities in anything with that brand on it. With Maserati it’s qualities like styling and quality. The subsequent peripheral products which are licensed need to have those same qualities. For me, Maserati has the best aesthetics – the best lines of any car on the road. As a consequence the pens, t-shirts, luggage, whatever it is needs to maintain those qualities, because if you break that ‘silent trust’ with the consumer, that will impact negatively on the core brand, the consumer will start to question whether the company really does have those qualities at its heart.”

“Brands always evolve - the US is different, and some modifications are required,” Dave said.” We saw that with footwear that we imported, and also with footwear that we exported. But I’ve been extremely happy with the changes Maserati has made over the past two years. I love the brand; and the ZF 6-speed transmission has taken it to the next level. With the Spyders, the transmission wasn’t perfect, but it was all down to the software programming; the DuoSelect was much better, and now there’s the ZF automatic transmission.”

“I’m a connoisseur collector of things like watches and art - but automobiles are my passion. I have always been into cars, I think it was part of the culture, the time and place that I was born. I’ve always been fascinated by cars – not so much mechanically, but by the psychology that goes into the actual exterior design of cars. And I like to drive them – although it wasn’t always like that. I used to treat the cars like my other prize possessions, like watches – I would baby them. But one of the co-owners of the dealership, Graham Hill, persuaded me otherwise. He told me: Dave, that’s not what they’re for; drive them every day and enjoy what the cars represent. So that’s what I do, and when I have a Maserati it’s usually my daily driver. I went out to Phoenix five or six years ago, and attended one of those courses where they teach you how to really drive the cars. Some people have a fascination with horses, or with motor boats – mine has always been cars.”

Our conversation with Dave was great fun; he is that rare find, someone with lots of opinions but without being opinionated. And while our chat naturally majored on cars, he has a wide range of interests, including theater – he and his wife are keen supporters of live theater in both St Louis and their winter home town of Naples, Florida.

Favorite drink, wine or spirit: Single malt scotch and Bordeaux wines
Favorite TV show of all time: House
Favorite book: Good to Great, by Jim Collins
Favorite artist: Anthony Hopkins
Favorite genre of music: Classical
Favorite hobby: Driving cars, and golf
Favorite vacation spot: Capri
Favorite man-made wonder: Stonehenge
Favorite natural wonder: Grand Canyon
What do you still intend to accomplish: Spend more time with my wife, children and grandchildren. Half of my career was spent travelling outside the US – so I should make up for lost time.