Englewood Cliffs, N.J. and Racine, Wis.— Maserati Financial Services (MFS), the new captive finance unit recently launched by Maserati North America Inc. and CNH Capital America LLC, celebrated the first deal booked by a Maserati dealer through MFS at Lake Forest Sportcars on Feb. 16.

MFS was announced as the new captive finance company for Maserati dealers throughout the U.S. at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Through MFS, dealers can now offer innovative lease and finance solutions designed exclusively for Maserati customers.

"We're thrilled to honor the first transaction through MFS. Our goal is to provide Maserati dealers with the best possible financing solutions," said Steve Bierman, President, Maserati Financial Services. "This includes more flexibility and the ability for Maserati customers to choose a plan that best fits their needs. Maserati serves an important segment of the auto market for our parent company, Fiat SpA (FIA.MI; NYSE: FIA), and we are uniquely positioned to help them as their line of luxury vehicles grows in sales."

Rick Mancuso, proprietor of Lake Forest Sportcars, a Midwest dealer for the Fiat family of brands, believes having an in house captive finance unit will help streamline sales processes and make the customers' experience commensurate with the Maserati brand.

"With MFS and the new Maserati product range, we now have the strong financial partner and the right product to help us get an edge on our competition and capture the sales increase we've been looking for," Mancuso said. "MFS will help us close more deals because of the convenience and ease of access to state of the art financing solutions."

MFS allows dealers nationwide to run a one-stop-shop for customers. "Before MFS, if customers were interested in financing, we'd have to stop the deal and ask our customers to wait until after we contact the banks," Mancuso said.

"That's not what the Maserati experience is about. We have a lust factor for our cars. Maserati serves an important segment of the auto market and its customers deserve a buying experience designed exclusively around their needs. MFS is enhancing the customer experience and in turn will help us sell more cars."

MFS was made available to Maserati dealers nationwide in November 2006 and today has 100 percent dealer participation. MFS currently offers retail financing for up to 84 months on new Maseratis and up to 72 months on pre-owned Maseratis. Additionally, MFS will offer flexible lease terms of up to 60 months for all new Maseratis.