1981 Citroen 2cv Charleston - (collector Series) on 2040-cars

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Tesla Model 3, Ford In Mexico, French Return | Autoblog Podcast #473

Episode #473 of the Autoblog Podcast is here. This week, Dan Roth, Sebastian Blanco, and Brandon Turkus talk about the Tesla Model 3, Ford's most recent production investment in Mexico, the apparent demise of the Cadillac CT8, and a possible return of French cars to the US market. It all starts with the Autoblog Garage and finishes with some of your questions. Check out the rundown with times for topics, and thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #473 Topics Tesla Model 3 Ford Mexico Investment Cadillac CT8 apparently cancelled French cars coming back? In The Autoblog Garage 2016 Subaru Forester 2016 Mazda 6 GT Hosts: Dan Roth, Brandon Turkus, Sebastian Blanco Rundown Intro & Garage - 00:00 Tesla Model 3 - 18:00 Ford Mexico - 44:49 Cadillac CT8 - 49:43 French Cars - 51:22 Q&A - 56:15 Total Duration: 01:02:04 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes

Scrapyard Gem: 2006 Citroen Xsara Picasso Desire

YORK, England — By the time our current century got started, most American car shoppers had become fully committed to pickups and SUVs as their preferred rides. Cross the Atlantic at that time, however, and you'd find that the compact MPV was one of the most popular choices for Western European drivers seeking plenty of passenger and cargo space in a small package. The Citroen Xsara Picasso was one of the best-selling compact MPVs of its era, and I've found this '06 in a self-service scrapyard (as they call them here) in York, England. It has been 51 years since new Citroens were sold in the United States, and so I've only managed to document a handful of them during my junkyard travels. Citroen began building cars in 1918, merged with Peugeot in 1974 and became part of the mighty Stellantis Empire in 2021. How did it happen that Citroen is allowed to place Pablo Picasso's famous signature on its cars? In 1989, Pablo's son sold the rights to Citroen for $20 million. The brochures for this car bear down very hard on the Pablo Picasso connection. Although the Xsara Picasso never came close to being sold in the United States, here's one in the brochure negotiating the Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange in Los Angeles (where the bus-jump scene in 1994's "Speed" took place). The California high desert in 2006, where cops in 15-year-old box Caprices hide behind Picasso billboards in order to bust speeding Citroens. The U.K.-market 2006 Xsara Picasso was available in Desire, VTX and Exclusive trim levels. This one is the base Desire model. These badges now live on my garage wall. For a car that weighed well under 3,000 pounds, the Xsara Picasso offered an amazing amount of interior space. There's room for five inside, with airliner-style folding tables for the rear-seat passengers; those rear seats are removable to make room for bulky cargo. This type of vehicle never caught on in North America, despite the best efforts of Japanese manufacturers. The Xsara Picasso was succeeded by the C4 Picasso, which has since evolved into the kind of crossover SUV that would look right at home on American roads. It took awhile, but the SUV craze finally has conquered Europe. The Xsara Picasso was one of the first vehicles designed by Donato Coco, who went on to work at Ferrari and Lotus. In addition to his work designing many Citroen models, Coco was behind the styling of the Ferrari 458 Italia.

Stellantis reports $15B profit in first year of merger

FRANKFURT, Germany — Automaker Stellantis said Wednesday that it made 13.4 billion euros ($15.2 billion) in its first year after it was formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group. The earnings nearly tripled profits compared with its pre-merger existence as two separate companies, as the maker of Jeep, Opel and Peugeot vehicles exploited cost efficiencies from combining the businesses. The result compared to a combined 4.79 billion euros for the separate companies in 2020 before the merger, which took effect on Jan. 17, 2021. Revenue for the combined business rose 14%, to 152 billion euros. CEO Carlos Tavares said the results “prove that Stellantis is well positioned to deliver strong performance" and had overcome “intense headwinds” during the year. Automakers have struggled with shortages of key parts such as semiconductor electronic components and rising costs for raw materials as the global rebound from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic brings more demand. The company said the benefits of the merger were worth some 3.2 billion euros during the year. Mergers can lead to streamlined costs as companies combine functions and spread fixed costs over a larger revenue base. The company accelerated its rollout of battery-powered vehicles, with sales of low-emission vehicles reaching 388,000 — an increase of 160%. Stricter environmental regulations in Europe and China are pushing automakers to roll out more electric vehicles with longer range. Stellantis started production of a hydrogen fuel cell commercial van under its Opel brand in December. Stellantis' other brands include Chrysler, Citroen, DS, Fiat, Maserati, Ram and Vauxhall. Related video: Earnings/Financials Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Jeep RAM Citroen Opel Peugeot Vauxhall