1977 Citroen 2cv on 2040-cars

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Ford, Renault, VW shareholder oppose French aid for PSA/Peugeot-Citro"en

Pots and kettles, glass houses and stones - that's a little of what we appear to have going on in the European car market. New reports say that that three European automakers have registered their opposition to a loan deal that PSA/Peugeot-Citroën is working on with the French government. Peugeot's finance arm, Banque PSA Finance, is struggling with its debts and has been downgraded by Moody's to its lowest investment-grade classification, one step above junk. This makes it more expensive for a potential buyer to finance a car through Peugeot. The last thing Peugeot needs is more difficulty selling cars in the tough European market, and the situation will only worsen if the bank's credit worthiness takes another hit.
A deal being worked on would have the French government offer €7 billion ($9B U.S.) in bonds to guarantee the bank's loans, which would give the institution some breathing room to manage its debts and lower its interest rates. Outside of that, a group of banks would provide other, non-guaranteed loans to the bank to further help its position. In exchange for state help, though, the government wants seats on Peugeot's board for worker representatives and a government liaison, along with factory and worker guarantees. The Peugeot family would maintain control of the company.
So what we have is government assistance being provided to a car company's finance arm, akin to the way General Motors' GMAC (now Ally Financial) and Chrysler Financial got help in their time of need. What we also have is Ford and Renault, and Germany's State of Lower Saxony, the second-largest shareholder in Volkswagen, voicing their concern about the proposal, because they say it could create an unfair competitive advantage for Peugeot. Everyone in Europe's down market is fighting for every sale, and if Peugeot gets help to keep its auto loan costs down, it figures to help buyers choose Peugeot or Citroën.

Citro"en DS3 tears the roof off

The Citroën DS3 Cabrio we first saw at the 2012 Paris Motor Show has launched in the UK, putting more Gallic-tinged, canvas-roofed convertible goodness on the automotive menu. Competing directly against cars like the Mini Cooper Convertible and Fiat 500C, Citroën believes it's got a winner because on top of the DS3's already popular chops the Cabrio maintains the five-seater space and the largest cargo area in the segment.
You can open and close the roof at up to 75 miles per hour - the Citroën release doesn't say whether that means all the way or to the intermediate, horizontal position. Buyers get seven exterior colors to select from, a roof in either black, Infinite Blue or Moondust Grey DS Monogramme, six interior decor styles, and nine wheel options.
There are three trims, the DSign with the 82-horsepower VTi engine is the backstop of the line at 15,045 pounds ($23,747 US) on-the-road, the DStyle with the 120-hp VTi for 17,425 pounds ($27,507 US) and the DSport with its 155-hp THP motor for 19,675 pounds ($31,201 US). The press release below will be happy to tell you more.

Kubica crashes out of first full WRC event [w/video]

Robert Kubica seems to have more bad luck than most top-tier race car drivers, but maybe that's because his high-profile crashes since 2011 have garnered more media attention than his achievements. When we left off with him last month, he was within spitting distance of winning WRC2, and he indeed won the championship in late October. Now here's the bad news: he crashed out of his first full WRC event on Friday, ESPN F1 reports. Fortunately, Neither Kubica nor his co-driver were injured.
Kubica recently graduated to WRC with the Abu Dahbi Citroën Total team and was participating in the Wales Rally GB this week. He finished Thursday, the first day of the rally, in seventh place and reportedly was heard saying "I have a lot of things to learn" as he stepped out of the car that night. The next day, on the fourth special stage, he rolled his Citroën off the road into the trees.
The former Formula One driver was involved in a high-speed rally crash in February 2011 and suffered major injuries, including a nearly severed right arm. The damage left Kubica with limited movement in the arm, which many people say could be the nail in the coffin for his return to F1. Fueling that thought, Scuderia Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali recently said in an interview that he doesn't think Kubica would race with Ferrari due to physical problems with his arm.