Renault LeCar, page #22

Auto blog

PSA and Renault both hit by autoworker strikes

Peugeot-Citroën (PSA) and Renault were both the targets of autoworker strikes on Thursday, the result of ongoing tensions between labor and management in the wake of planned facility closings in 2014.
3,000 French jobs stand to be lost in less than two years when the PSA's Aulnay plant executes a planned closure of a production line. The line in question currently builds Citroën's C3 subcompact model.
Negotiations are reportedly still underway, with PSA pledging to offer jobs elsewhere to about half of the Aulnay workers that stand to be laid off.

Infiniti signs four-year deal to become title sponsor of Red Bull Racing

The chief of Infiniti's Formula One motorsport involvement, Andreas Sigl, said just last week that the brand was "going longer and deeper" into its collaboration with Red Bull, and the proof has already come: the Japanese luxury brand has signed a four-year deal to become the title sponsor of Red Bull Racing. From next year the team will be Infiniti Red Bull Racing.
The move cements Infiniti's intention to make the most of the already-ongoing technical collaboration it has had with Red Bull Racing for two years - this year Milton Keynes team has been testing Infiniti's Scratch Heal paint for aero properties and during the young driver test it used KERS batteries that were wholly developed by Infiniti's parent company, Nissan.
Earning a tip of the hat for not giving into cheap-trick branding, the engines will continue to be branded as Renault. Renault/Nissan CEO does not "want any confusion within the Alliance as to who does what."

Renault planning a Tata Nano rival. Again.

Four years ago, Renault confirmed that it would partner with India's Bajaj Auto to develop a rival to the Tata Nano. At the time, as everyone waited for the Tata Nano to arrive, you could have used a Richter scale to measure the tremors the executive suites of any automaker with an interest in the low end of emerging markets. Then the Nano, still the cheapest car in the world, didn't sell so well - at the end of last year its sales were just six percent of its most conservative projections - and everyone seemed content to let Tata spend the money to figure out if there really was a market for the cheapest car in the world.
Renault believes there is, kind of. Automotive News Europe reports that it will partner with Nissan to build two low-priced cars for emerging markets, one for €3,000 ($3,888 U.S.) and another for €5,000 ($6,400 U.S.). The price of the least expensive offering is nearly $1,400 more than a Nano, which costs $2,500, and that can't be considered a small sum in comparison. But one of the hindsight knocks on the Nano has been that even in emerging markets buyers don't want a car whose biggest lure is that it is cheap; they'd rather give their aspirations a bit more of a workout.
Renault's offerings are scheduled to hit the non-Western market in late 2014, which is coincidentally the same year that will see the return of the budget-minded and emerging-market-specific Datsun nameplate. They'll be built in Renault facilities in Chennai, India, with no mention made of Bajaj this time around.

Thought Renault's Twizy couldn't get more French? Here's one covered in macarons

While we were in Las Vegas covering the 2012 SEMA Show, sweeter teeth had converged upon France's capital city for the annual Salon du Chocolat, otherwise known as the Paris Chocolate Show. Renault brought a little automotive flair to the this year's show by teaming with French pastry chef Pierre Hermé to create a Renault Twizy covered with macarons.
In a two-day process, 1,700 of the Oreo-like pastries-weighing around 50 pounds in total-were individually glued onto the high-calorie show car's bodywork and wheel covers.
Scroll down to watch how this tasty Twizy was created.

Renault's Gordini to focus on track-oriented models

Following Renault's tie-up with Caterham to produce Alpine sports cars, Renault's sub-branding bifurcation is taking more sensible shape. When the French brand announced the revival of the Gordini brand in 2010, the plan was that Gordini cars would "slot in above the current Renaultsport offerings." That plan was quickly shot dead, Gordini models starting with a Clio and Twingo that featured extra performance bits, moving onto the base Twingo as a paint-job trim level, then seemingly slapped on any car with blue paint and white stripes like the Clio Renaultsport Gordini 200.
Company CEO Carlos Tavares told Autocar that Gordini is going back to its roots - again, but for real this time. The name will be applied to an "ultimate track-focused car" that is a road-going "derivative of a special track car." It will be above the Renaultsport designation, and now we'll wait to see how it fits in with Renault's Cup cars - whether Gordini will be the hardest version of a fully featured road car, or if it will intrude into Cup territory, those Cup cars sacrificing content like air conditioning and convenience gadgets in order to provide even more performance.

Caterham to expand beyond sports cars; city cars, CUVs possible

Caterham may be looking to expand its product scope beyond its current offerings. After the company announced an alliance with Renault yesterday, Caterham Chairman Tony Fernandes was quoted as saying the partnership is "the start of a line of products from Caterham." Fernandes went on to say the purist sports car manufacturer could move to begin producing crossovers and city cars in the same way that Porsche has evolved its position in the market. Don't start crying at the thought of a five-door Caterham just yet, though. The would-be product explosion may also include the addition of a new supercar.
CEO Graham Macdonald has said he envisions the brand as being capped with a halo project, complete with a carbon fiber chassis and KERS system on board. Of course, none of this translates directly into a new model on the road. As of right now, Renault and Caterham have only agreed to produce one vehicle under their budding partnership.

Renault teams with Caterham to revive historic Alpine brand

Back in May, Renault rolled out the bright blue Alpine A110-50 concept, suggesting an exciting revival for the historic Alpine name. Today, the automaker has announced a partnership with UK-based Caterham to build high-end sports cars at Renault's Alpine plant in Dieppe, Normandy, in France. Caterham will own a 50-percent stake in the partnership to be called the Societe des Automobiles Alpine Caterham (SAAC).
"This innovative partnership with Caterham embodies a longstanding ambition: the creation of a sports car with the Alpine DNA," said Renault Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn in a press release. It carries both opportunities for the Dieppe plant and the development of its historic know-how."

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.

Renault shows DCross Concept in Brazil

The São Paulo Motor Show continues to heat up and bring us interesting new vehicle unveilings. Next year, we may have to tough it out and trek down to Brazil for the 28th edition of the auto show. The most recent development from São Paulo is the Renault DCross concept. In what appears to be a gussied-up Dacia Duster, the DCross gets a bright green and matte black paint scheme, a raised ride height, roof racks and a spare tire atop the concept. If off-roading is your thing, the DCross, at the very least, looks the part.
Little else is given in details other than what we can gather from the photos. The concept, which catches the eye far more in the live shots than in the OEM image, was joined on the Renault stand by the Fluence GT, Clio 2013, and Captur concept.
Will this concept predict the future for a Renault SUV/CUV? We're not sure, but its bullish looks seem ready for the Dakar Rally. The 2013 edition of Dakar is not until May of 2013, but the DCross already has us thinking of the grueling endurance race, held Peru, Chile and neighboring Argentina. Read up on Renault's debuts from Brazil in the press release below.

Europe's legendary Renault Clio Williams poised for 2014 return

As soon as the Williams Formula 1 team inked an engine supply deal with Renault in 2011, auto journos salivated at the thought of a new Renault Clio Williams. (This was after the return of Gordini, during the rumors of the return of Alpine, before the rumors of the Initiale brand, and long before the new Clio was introduced.) The original Clio Williams arrived in 1993 to celebrate Nigel Mansell's 1992 F1 World Championship in his Williams-Renault. In fact, Williams had nothing to do with the hatchback other than donating its name, but the public couldn't get enough of its performance. There were only supposed to be 3,800, but Renault eventually produced 12,100 Clio Williams' in three series.
Renault hasn't publicly said a word about the possibility of a new version of that legendary hot hatch, but Autocar says "well placed sources" have assured it that a new Clio Williams is on the way. A raunchier take on the Clio RenaultSport 200, the Williams edition is rumored to get 220 horsepower from its 1.6-liter four-cylinder, a bump of 20 hp over the RS 200.
Autocar goes on to say that the Clio Williams is around 18 months away, slated to arrive after the RS 200 completes its run. It's unclear whether Williams will assist with its development - the RenaultSport division created the original on its own - but Autocar suggests that Williams' forays into customer-car applications might give it a way in. An announcement from Renault could come as early as this year.