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Renault-Nissan rejig how they manage Daimler partnership, sources say

PARIS — The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is set to scrap a role overseeing ties with Daimler in favor of individual relations with the German group, three sources told Reuters, as they try to better manage a partnership that has not met initial hopes. The shift comes as alliance-level executive Jacques Verdonck, who was in charge of the cooperation with Daimler, retires at the end of the month, the sources familiar with the matter said. France's Renault will instead rely on its head of partnerships, Sandra Gomez, while Nissan will do the same with Catherine Perez. Mitsubishi will also have a person in charge of partnerships, the sources said, adding the bilateral approach was in line with the new "leader-follower" strategy of the alliance. That involves leaning on the strengths of each carmaker in certain areas. Renault and Daimler declined to comment, while Nissan could not immediately be reached for comment. The plan marks another shift following the end of the Carlos Ghosn era at the alliance. The architect of the Franco-Japanese partnership, who also extended the collaboration to Daimler, was arrested on financial misconduct charges in Japan in late 2018, before fleeing to Lebanon in 2019. He denies any wrongdoing. His exit strained already difficult relations between Nissan and Renault, which are now working to get back on track with cost-saving joint production projects among other steps. The partnership with Daimler - which owns high-end brand Mercedes-Benz, contrasting with the more accessible models produced by the others - has also looked in danger of losing steam. Nissan and Renault, both hit by losses, recently sold down their stakes in the German group. Collaborations on Renault's compact Twingo car and Daimler's Smart model are set to end, and some targets for industrial cooperation have been downgraded over the years. But Daimler still has a factory in Mexico with Nissan, and has been exploring the possibility of jointly developing at least one large van model with Renault. An industry shift towards electric vehicles could yet yield other opportunities, one of the sources said. "The collaboration with Daimler is at present made up of Renault-Daimler projects, Nissan-Daimler ones and some between the three," another of the sources said, with yet another saying that the changes reflected a more pragmatic approach.

Weekly Recap: Takeaways from the Frankfurt Motor Show

We obsessively covered the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, and naturally, we selected our favorites from this fall's biggest automotive event. Now that the dust has settled, we're looking ahead to what it all means. Here are three takeaways from the floor in Frankfurt. The Germans are serious about electric vehicles: It's a bit cliche to say BMW, Mercedes, and Audi have downplayed electrics in favor of other technologies, like diesels. For a time that may have been true, but those three companies, along with Porsche and Volkswagen, are emerging as leaders in EV development. That was on display in Frankfurt, when all of them revealed either all-electric or plug-in hybrid models. Gas prices are relatively low in the United States, but clearly the Germans are thinking long-term and globally. Everyone is serious about SUVs: You gotta have one, even if you're Bentley or Jaguar. It's 2015 and it's what consumers want. As Jaguar design director Ian Callum put it, "Not to be in the sector would be a little naive for the sake of purity." It's not just the flashy exotic luxury makers. Nissan showed the Gripz concept, which is rakish, radical, and meant to blend traits of SUVs and sports cars into a vehicle that really crosses over. Look for more, especially in the luxury sector, as Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin ramp up their own SUV efforts. There's no ceiling to the luxury market: Speaking of high-end cars, companies are continuing to invest in extravagant wares beyond just SUVs. Even during the recession, ultra-luxury makers remained relevant, and now they're back at full stride. In Frankfurt, that was illustrated by yet another S-Class model, the cabriolet, which will come in S550 and S63 AMG variants in the United States. Ferrari also showed off the 488 Spider, and Lamborghini opened up the Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder. Meanwhile, Bugatti's Vision Grand Turismo concept reminded enthusiasts that it's plotting life after the Veyron. European auto shows always draw the glitziest reveals from luxury makers, and this year didn't disappoint. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Honda Civic redesigned with snazzier style, turbo power The 10th-generation of the Honda Civic debuted this week at events in Los Angeles and Detroit ahead of its launch in the United States this fall as a 2016 model. Honda fortified the Civic with LED lights, an available turbo engine, and a more tech-laden cabin.

Buy a V8 Mercedes-Maybach, or splurge for a V12? Oh to have such problems

There's a certain air that surrounds the Maybach badge, and it's not just the scent being pumped out by the ionizer in the car's glovebox. It's the cream of the crop when it comes to German luxury. These cars are filled with an acre's worth of wood and a herd's worth of cows, ensuring your fingers rarely touch materials as pedestrian as plastic. It's as quiet, as smooth, and as imposing as you think it would be. Though the latest model from Mercedes-Maybach, the S550, might have swapped in a V8 and all-wheel drive in place of the V12 at the heart of the S600, no other amenities have been lost in translation. The car's size gives it a certain presence. Staring at the profile shows a wheelbase that spans two counties, necessitating a microphone and speaker setup simply so that the driver can converse with the passenger – and a Maybach will almost always have a passenger. No one buys a Maybach to drive. You buy a Maybach to be driven. No means of transport short of business-class airline seating offers this much space. Sit back, recline the seat, roll up the shades and enjoy your $167,125 cocoon. But you know all of that already. What you really want to know is if $25,000 - the V12-powered S600 starts at $192,225 - is worth it to gain an extra four cylinders, 74 horsepower, and 96 lb-ft of torque. On paper, no, it's not. The two cars have identical performance numbers, and the S550 benefits from Mercedes' 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. Even with all-wheel drive, the S550 weighs less than the nose-heavy S600. Fuel economy is, as expected, superior in the S550. It's rated at 16 city, 24 highway and 19 combined as opposed to 13 city, 21 highway, and 16 combined. Visually, the two cars are identical save for a few badges. The V12 badge on the S600 is replaced with a 4Matic badge on the S550, and that's where things start to get murky. When you're spending six figures on a car, decisions become more emotional than practical. $25,000 is a lot of money, but there's a bigger difference between $25,000 and $50,000 than there is between $167,000 and $192,000. As stated, you don't buy these cars to drive. Performance needs to be merely adequate. A smooth, torquey V12 is likely preferable to a hairy-chested V8, refined as it may be. These cars will never touch redline, lest the passengers spill their champagne. Plus, that V12 badge is worth its weight in country club memberships. Driving an S550 is fine until an owner shows up at an event behind an S600.