1920 Renault Type Eu Coup De Ville on 2040-cars

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Terrifying rally crash is shockingly non-lethal

Going to most races means watching the action from behind a fence or from high up on grandstands, but rallying often gives spectators the chance to get closer to the competition than practically any other forms of motorsport. If people are willing to put themselves in danger, they're able to sit right at a corner exit and watch the cars hurtling toward them. However, the Jolly Rally al Colle San Carlo in Italy got a lot less jolly recently, when an out of control vehicle nearly struck a group of onlookers.
The incident occurred when a racer in a Renault Clio came into a corner too quickly and turned the embankment along the side of the road into a ramp that launched the vehicle into the group. Somehow, these folks got away with incredible luck; according to Euro Sport none of them were seriously harmed in the crash, including the woman sprayed with debris towards the end of the video. The Clio was clearly toast, though, with a wheel missing and the rear hatch caved in.
Check out the video and wonder how any of these spectators made it out alive, let alone unharmed.

Renault Eolab Concept pursues a 1L/100 km future [w/video]

In the contest for ultra-high fuel efficiency, France is coming up with a seriously tough lineup of concepts. Both Peugeot and Citroën have concept cars on display at the 2014 Paris Motor Show that blend aerodynamics, low curb weights and cutting edge powertrain technologies to return 141 miles per gallon on the European cycle. And now Renault has just unveiled its fuel-saver to the world's press, showing off the Eolab, a concept hatch that promises to use only one liter of fuel for every 100 kilometers traveled.
For the math averse, that works out to about 282 miles per gallon, or a lot. Like the PSA concepts, a low curb weight is key to the Eolab's efficiency. With an overall weight at just about 2,100 pounds, the gas-electric hybrid powertrain, which can run up to 37 miles on electric power alone, isn't forced to work too hard.
While PSA based its concepts on actual production models - the Peugeot 208 and Citroën C4 Cactus - the Eolab is more of a pure concept. According to Renault, it employs "100 new, realistic technological developments" that could make their way onto French roads.

Nissan, Renault in talks to merge as one company

Nissan and Renault have been tied together as an alliance for nearly 20 years, but now the Japanese and French automakers are discussing whether to merge. Bloomberg, citing unidentified sources familiar with the confidential talks, reports that the idea is to form a larger, single publicly traded company to better compete against giants like Toyota and Volkswagen. It would also mark the end of the alliance that first began in 1999 and also includes Mitsubishi, in which Nissan acquired a controlling interest in 2016. A full merger would help the companies pool resources to develop electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles and car-sharing services. It would involve Nissan giving Renault shareholders stock in the new company, with Nissan shareholders also gaining shares in the new company, Bloomberg reports. The new company would be run by Carlos Ghosn, the current chairman of both companies. But any such merger, as you might expect, would be complicated, in part by geopolitics. The French government owns a 15-percent stake in Renault, and both the French and Japanese governments might be reluctant to let go of their respective home-grown brands. Currently, Renault owns a 43-percent stake in Nissan, while Nissan owns 15 percent of its French partner. Reuters reported recently that Ghosn proposed buying most of the French government's stake in Renault as part of plans for a closer tie-up. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance already has been working to establish a $200 million mobility tech fund to invest in startups, a reflection of how seismic changes in the auto industry have left many legacy companies scrambling to stay current. Nissan in 2016 paid a reported $2.3 billion to acquire 34 percent of Mitsubishi in order to share platforms, technology, manufacturing and other resources. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg Earnings/Financials Government/Legal Green Mitsubishi Nissan Renault car sharing merger