If the report proves true, Tavares would first serve under the leadership of the current first executive of the company, Philippe Varin, then take full control as the latter steps down in 2014.
Bloomberg says the information is almost official, but that it has yet to be confirmed in an official manner.
Tavares will be PSA’s third CEO in seven years, a period when the French automaker’s offerings have not been the most enticing, and even now, aside from the RC-Z and 208 GTi, it’s really hard to want any of their cars as more than adequate transportation…
Even the much talked about all-new 308 is nowhere near as good as it could have been, and it’s as if they are unable to make a well-rounded car that not only looks good or has quirky styling features – their most recent cars have even lost that, yet are not any better at the practical side (or quality for that matter).
Hopefully, this will bring about positive change within PSA, otherwise they are in serious trouble when it comes to short- to mid-term future prospects.
By Andrei Nedelea
The R3T is a successor to the Clio Renaultsport R3 launched in 2006, built to comply with FIA R3 regulations that include cars with performance comparable to Super 1600 cars at half the price. Renault Sport Technologies sold 373 kits of the Clio Renaultsport R3, which was based on the previous Clio generation.
Now with a new Clio model on the street, Renault is developing a new R3 car, which will be called Clio Renaultsport R3T because of the turbo engine. Just like the Clio Cup racer, the Clio R3T is based on the road-going Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo EDC, featuring the 1.6-liter turbocharged unit adapted to racing by Renault Sport’s engineers.
The kit also includes a six-speed sequential gearbox with optional steering-wheel paddle shifts in the asphalt version. The R3T features specialized equipment from suppliers such as Sadev for gearboxes, Sachs for shock absorbers, PFC for brakes and Cosworth for electronics.
“With the Clio Renaultsport R3T, our aim has been to come up with a high-performance, reliable vehicle adaptable to every type of surface, all for an operating cost below that of the product it replaces,” said Renault Sport Technologies Motorsports Director Arnaud Boulanger. He added that initial tests have been promising and the car will now start the development phase.
“Put through its paces by several drivers, the Clio Renaultsport R3T will be tested for more than ten weeks on dirt and tarmac with a view to identifying the best options,” Boulanger said. The car is expected to receive approval in the second half of 2014.
By Dan Mihalascu
German Frank Hachmann met one of those cars at a rally in France when he was a child and remained forever fascinated by the looks and sounds of the car. The mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo captured his imagination so much that when he turned 30, he bought himself a 1984 Renault 5 Turbo 2.
The production version of the rally car featured a 1.4-liter turbocharged engine producing 160 PS (158hp) and 221 Nm (163 lb-ft) of torque in standard form.
Although it was far from the R5 Maxi Turbo competition car’s 350 PS (345hp), the rear-wheel drive production version was capable of sprinting from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.6 seconds and could reach 200 km/h (124 mph). But most of all, the perfect balance of the car made it (and still makes it) a real joy to drive.
Hachmann has owned the car for 20 years now and, understandably, has no intention to ever sell it. Scroll down to watch the video, courtesy of Caroholics, it's in German, but the sights and sounds of the Renault 5 Turbo need no translation.
By Dan Mihalascu
Thanks to Caroholics for the heads up!
Nissan and Mitsubishi’s existing NMKV joint-venture company will be extended to co-develop a new small-segment car including an electric version that can be sold globally. The basis for this new model will be the jointly-developed “Kei car” platform from the Japanese domestic market. The first models based on the platform – the Nissan Dayz and Mitsubishi eK wagon – went on sale in Japan this year.
Renault-Nissan and Mitsubishi will also share “technologies and product assets related to electric vehicles and latest-generation platforms”. The first of these will be two Mitsubishi sedans based on Renault vehicles.
The first sedan will compete in the full-size D-segment markets of the United States and Canada and will be built at the Renault-Samsung plant in Busan, South Korea. No further details were offered about this model, but it’s safe to say it will use a Renault Samsung platform, just like the Renault Latitude and Renault Samsung SM5.
The second sedan model will be a global C-segment car for which the manufacturing location has not been yet decided. We can only speculate that the platform used will be from the Renault Samsung SM3 model, which also underpins the European market Renault Fluence.
“I welcome the direction being taken towards this broader cooperation, creating new opportunities for Renault in addition to further leveraging the productive relationship between Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors,” said president and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Carlos Ghosn.
By Dan Mihalascu
The DeZir project is the first to have been led by Renault's new chief designer Laurens van den Acker who took over from Patrick le Quement in 2009. Before joining Renault, the Dutch designer worked for Mazda where he was responsible for many projects including the Nagara, Ryuga and Hakaze concepts, while he has also spent time at Ford and Audi.
