Maserati is hoping the Ghibli can broaden its appeal and pull it from the outskirts of the auto market and more into direct competition with the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz. For that, it needs mainstream credibility. The good crash-test scores are a step in that direction.
Maserati requested the crash tests, the IIHS says, and the trade group picked at random from the Italian assembly line.
When an automaker asks for tests, it reimburses IIHS for the costs, including the price of the cars.
The automaker cannot censor the results. IIHS publishes the scores, good or bad. If an automaker makes significant changes, it can request a re-test.
TEST RESULTS: Ghibli gets top 'good' rating on all tests IIHS performed
The Ghibli, which went on sale in the U.S. in September, is a low-price model by Maserati standards, starting at about $66,000 for the rear-drive model with twin-turbocharged V-6 and about $76,000 for the Q4 all-wheel-drive model. Engines are from corporate affiliate Ferrari. Fiat owns Ferrari, Maserati and most of Chrysler Group.
The brand's main U.S. model is the Quattroporte, a four-door sedan that's about $104,000. A sleeker coupe model starts at about $126,000. Ghibli is 11 inches shorter than the Quattroporte flagship, but still is considered a full-size car.
Maserati has priced Ghibli to directly take on BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
Maserati says the Ghibli ushers in "a new era of accessibility for the legendary Italian brand" and the Top Safety Pick rating should help make the Ghibli "a 'top pick' for sport sedan buyers."
But as good a rating as that is, it is a cut below the IIHS top score -- Top Safety Pick +. The "plus" is awarded only to vehicles pass the menu of IIHS crash tests and also perform well in the demanding "small overlap" front crash test.
The car pictured ab! ove went through the "moderate overlap" test, which is somewhat less demanding. Despite the fearsome damage, it would have protected occupants well, and got a top score.
The small overlap test slams 20% of the car's width, on the driver's side, into a barrier to see how much protection the passenger compartment gets when the impact is outside the frame and other impact-absorbing parts of the structure.
The IIHS website shows no results for that test. The results listed by IIHS for all the other test it performed on the Ghibli are "good," which is the best rating possible.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) This isn't just any donation from a big money Wall Street CEO to his alma mater. 
Carlos Osorio/APDodge cars on display at a Chrysler dealership in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. DETROIT -- U.S. car buyers came out of hibernation in April to spend on pickup trucks and SUVs, fueling an auto sales rebound that analysts expect to last the rest of the year. Nissan led the way with an 18.3 percent increase over a year ago, with sales of the redesigned Rogue small SUV up almost 27 percent. Chrysler posted a 14 percent gain, boosted by a big jump in sales of Jeep SUVs. Both companies reported record April sales. Toyota (TM) sales grew by 13 percent, led by a double-digit gain in truck sales. General Motors (GM), which has suffered through bad publicity from a string of embarrassing safety recalls, posted a 7 percent gain, led by the Buick Encore small SUV and the Chevy Silverado pickup truck. And Hyundai sales rose a little more than 4 percent on strong SUV sales. Analysts are expecting an industrywide sales gain of at least 8.5 percent compared with last April. That would mark the best April since 2005. But there were some soft spots. Ford's (F) sales fell 1 percent. Its car sales sputtered, although sales of its F-Series pickup, the best-selling vehicle in the U.S., rose 7.4 percent. Sales at Volkswagen dropped 8.4 percent. U.S. consumers bought 15.6 million new cars and trucks in 2013. The industry entered 2014 with expectations of selling more than 16 million cars for the first time since 2007. But sales dropped 3 percent in January and were flat in February. March started slowly, but finished with a flourish. "Sales momentum from March rolled into April, pushing the industry to its best back-to-back monthly sales pace since fall of 2007," Toyota vice president Bill Fay said in a statement. Analysts expect that April's sales pace was slightly slower than the rate in March, but should still translate into full-year sales of more than 16 million cars and trucks. "It appears we are in a more stable environment, and the sun is shining," said Jesse Toprak, chief analyst for Cars.com. "We are now finally not stuck in first gear anymore." Toprak expects April sales to rise 9 or 10 percent over a year ago and run at an annual rate of 16.2 million. He expects that pace to hold through the rest of the year. U.S. buyers have continued their shift toward small SUVs. At Ford, smaller SUVs accounted for 16 percent of U.S. sales in April, 2 percentage points higher than the same month last year, said Erich Merkle, the company's top sales analyst. Small-car sales fell two percentage points and midsize car sales were flat. "It is our estimation that both the midsize ... and small-car segments are being adversely impacted by continued really strong performance in the small utility category this year," he said. Small SUVs are stealing sales from other parts of the market as well, especially with baby boomers who are downsizing from larger SUVs but like the maneuverability and high seating position of the smaller ones, Toprak said. Ford's sales report was eclipsed by the news that company CEO Alan Mulally will retire July 1. He'll be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Mark Fields.
I like the one where the woman is afraid to try new things because she's had bad experiences before. Her mechanical dog sparks a fire when he drinks water and her trainer hooks her up to electrodes that zap her. I like these commercials; they're funny.