1988 Citroen 2cv-6 on 2040-cars

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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.

Peugeot maker PSA posts record profits ahead of FCA merger

PARIS — Peugeot maker PSA Group said its profitability reached a record high in 2019 but the French carmaker forecast falling industry sales in Europe this year as it pursues its merger with Fiat Chrysler, which is strong in North America. PSA has trimmed costs in areas such as the procurement of components as it has integrated its acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall, boosting operating margins to 8.5% last year. The group, which also produces cars under the Citroen and DS brands, offset a slump in vehicle sales by selling pricier SUV models, with launches including the Citroen C5 Aircross helping to lift revenues by a higher-than-expected 1% to $81.2 billion (74.7 billion euros). That helped it stand out in a car market where some rivals including France's Renault have struggled with sliding revenues and profits, amid a broader downturn in demand. PSA's group net profit increased 13.2% to a record 3.2 billion euros, and the company increased its dividend against 2019 results to 1.23 euros per share, up 58% from 2018 levels. The carmaker was "once again very solid", analysts at brokerage Oddo-BHF said in a note, adding the results confirmed the company's "best-in-class status." However PSA forecast a 3% contraction in Europe's car market this year, by far its biggest market. The tie-up with Fiat Chrysler will help it gain exposure to that group's strong presence in North America with brands like Jeep. The two companies struck a deal in December to create the world's No.4 carmaker, to better cope with market turmoil and the cost of making less-polluting vehicles. Fiat also posted more upbeat results than most rivals this year. CORONAVIRUS WEIGHS PSA boss Carlos Tavares told a news conference that the two groups were both in good shape and well placed to face market challenges together. He said he did not expect any major regulatory hurdles to the merger, adding it had so far submitted 14 approval requests to competition authorities out of the 24 it needs. There are no immediate plans to change anything in the large portfolio of brands within the combined group, he added. However the companies still face problems this year, including the coronavirus outbreak which has paralyzed production in China and hits carmakers' supply chain. PSA said the coronavirus impact was still difficult to assess. It factories in Wuhan, at the epicenter of the outbreak, are due to reopen in the second week of March.

Stellantis and Toyota expand partnership with large commercial van

Stellantis said on Monday it would expand its partnership with Toyota Motor Europe (TME) with a new large commercial van, including an electric version. Stellantis will supply TME, a unit of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp, with the new vehicle for sale in Europe under the Toyota brand, it said. The van will be produced at Stellantis plants in Gliwice, Poland, and Atessa, Italy. "Planned for mid-2024, the new large-size commercial van marks TME's first entry into the large-size commercial vehicle segment," Stellantis added in a statement. The deal widens the partnership between the two companies and allows a better optimization of Stellantis' Atessa plant, which currently makes large vans sold under the Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat marques. "It represents an important addition and completes our light commercial line-up for Toyota's European customers," Stellantis said. Paris-listed shares in Stellantis were up 1.6% by 0941 GMT. Carmakers have increasingly been agreeing cross-manufacturing deals to reduce costs in vans, which due to a boom in parcel delivery are seeing large demand — and where electric vehicle versions are also seeing rising sales to carry out "last-mile" deliveries in city centers. Green Fiat Toyota Citroen Peugeot Minivan/Van Commercial Vehicles Electric