2010 Nissan Cube Base Wagon 4-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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Strains between France and Italy risk Renault-FCA merger

PARIS/ROME — Fiat Chrysler's proposed $35 billion merger with Renault has cheered investors, won conditional support from Paris and Rome and even earned cautious backing from trade unions. Beneath this veneer, however, the bold attempt to create the world's third-largest carmaker risks becoming rapidly embroiled in the fraught relationship between France's europhile President Emmanuel Macron and Italy's euroskeptic leaders. For while Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini hailed the proposal as a "brilliant operation," Italy's creaking, state-subsidized Fiat factories are likely to bear the brunt of any production-related cost savings. FCA and Renault said this week that more than 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) of annual savings would come mainly from combining platforms, consolidating powertrain and electrification investments and the benefits of increased scale. Salvini and France's Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who called the deal a "good opportunity" to build a European industrial champion able to compete with China and the United States, have both said they want guarantees on local jobs. "It's not every day that I agree with Salvini," said Le Maire, whose government appears to hold the trump cards. When it comes to where any job cuts fall, France will be helped by its existing 15 percent holding in Renault, whose superior efficiency at its five French plants makes it better placed to handle a supply glut, the demise of the petrol engine and the investments needed for electric and autonomous vehicles. "It will take many, many years to find real savings, and ugly political and operational realities can often swamp the potential of such new entities," Bernstein analyst Max Warburton said of the FCA-Renault plan to rival Japan's Toyota and Germany's Volkswagen. Advantage France? As well as Italy's government having to cope with the aftermath of European elections, which coincided with news of the FCA-Renault plans, political leaders in Rome were only informed shortly before the deal was made public, an FCA source said. This contrasted with the way the French government was treated, with Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann, a fluent French speaker, letting it know of his merger proposal to Renault weeks ago, a French government official said.

Nissan to bring Friend-Me concept to Shanghai

Nissan's got a big ol' show planned for its immersive space at the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show where visitors will see, touch, hear and smell the Nissan world. Sitting among 20 offerings that include the GT-R, Quest, Murano and Teana will be the Friend-Me concept (click image above to enlarge), the first show car created with "key input" by Chinese designers at Nissan Design China in Beijing. Its USP is "Four seats, one mind connectivity" that promotes information sharing among all the occupants.
The Friend-Me has the "vibrant, young" Chinese demographic in mind, our guess being Nissan thinks there's no reason to stop the digital sharing just because you're sitting in a car. We'll find out on April 20 exactly what's being exchanged in the Friend-Me. Until then, there's a press release below with a little more info.

Automakers can, and do, use your private information however they want

The first paragraph of Mozilla’s *Privacy Not Included" buyerÂ’s guide about car privacy issues is worth repeating here: “Ah, the wind in your hair, the open road ahead, and not a care in the world Â… except all the trackers, cameras, microphones, and sensors capturing your every move. Ugh. Modern cars are a privacy nightmare.” “Ugh” may be an understatement. The crux of the matter is control: The nonprofit Mozilla Foundation has found that vehicle manufacturers have collected tons of “private” data from vehicle operators, thanks to the proliferation of sensors and cameras and smartphones connected in and to cars. In its report, Mozilla found that 25 car brands all failed the consumer privacy tests it carried out. Its research found that 84 percent of car companies review, share or sell data collected from car owners, and that the information was used for reasons unrelated to the operation of a vehicle or to a car brandÂ’s relationship with its owners. And beyond that, the report says that many companies — more than half — “say they can share your information with the government or law enforcement in response to a 'request.' Not a high bar court order, but something as easy as an 'informal request.'” Some other points made by the foundation: — Six car companies can collect intimate information, including a driverÂ’s medical information and genetic information. Plus info about how fast a person drives and the songs he listens to in the car. — Nissan earned its second-to-last spot (Tesla, not surprisingly, was worst) “for collecting some of the creepiest categories of data we have ever seen": In an apparent attack of full disclosure, Nissan said that it can share “inferences” drawn from the data to create profiles “reflecting the consumerÂ’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.” It also collects information about “sexual activity.” It's not clear how they can do that, but in their privacy notice they say they could. Not to be outdone, the report says, “Kia also mentions they can collect information about your 'sex life' in their privacy policy.” — Only two of the 25 brands reviewed, Renault and Dacia, stated that drivers had the right to delete their personal data. The brands are headquartered in Europe, where consumers are protected by General Data Protection Regulation privacy laws.