Carlos Tavares has been appointed Renault’s new Chief Operating Officer. As of July 1, Tavares will oversee Renault’s growth strategy focused on developing electric vehicles and new markets. He has replaced Patrick Pelata, who resigned in April following a case of alleged industrial espionage which turned into a fraud investigation. Carlos Tavares, 53, a Portugues…
Infiniti might not have their own F1 team, but that little detail isn’t stopping them from helping the Red Bull team with an energy-recovery system for their F1 team. Consider it Infiniti’s foot in the grand prix door. Infiniti’s and Nissan’s electric car expertise are what drew Red Bull to them in the first place,…
Nissan is looking to strengthen some key plants in an effort to minimize damage from future earthquakes starting with the heavily damaged Iwaki engine plant in the Fukushima prefecture. The Iwaki plant is being repaired ahead of schedule, receiving a reinforced foundation costing $37 million USD. Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault and Nissan, stated that the…
The Dacia Logan, intended to be sold in world markets as basic transportation, was never supposed to come to America, but somehow, 41 Dacia Logan station wagons found their way to Iowa, sans drivetrain. The fleet of Romanian-built compacts, engineered in collaboration with Renault, came without VINs as well, since the cars were intended to…
Wireless-induction charging of vehicles and plug-in hybrids is likely to become common within the automotive industry say EV experts. “We believe it’s not a matter of if but when wireless charging will be in all (electric) vehicles,” Laura Marino of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory stated during a recent Automotive Power Electronics conference. Inductive charging…
Renault’s Vitaly Petrov recently made history by becoming the first Russian driver to clinch a Formula One podium finish. Now he’s making history through the Internet with this awesome footage of him catching air at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Going slightly wide on turn 7 of the course, Petrov launched his Renault race car while…
Nissan and Renault are planning to officially combine into one automaker, solidifying a partnership between the Japanese and French companies that has existed since 1999. Or at least, they were planning to do so according to a report by Japan’s Nikkei, that quoted company CEO Carlos Ghosn. Today, however, both automakers are refuting that claim….
Everything that is old is new again. That is the mantra of pretty much every single major car company. Volkswagen has the Beetle (a newer version of which will be launched later this year), Mini has had the reborn Cooper for awhile now, and Fiat recently introduced the new 500 in the North American market….
It has been a long time since Renaultsport had a car entirely of its own creation. The last one, as some might remember, was the mid-engined roadster called the Spider (see picture). Now it seems that Renault wants to create Renaultsport into its own brand and are looking to once again produce a roadster, and…
Renault is admitting that is wrongfully dismissed three executives accused of corporate espionage, saying it has found no evidence to support the allegations made. Carlos Ghosn, Renault’s CEO, met with the three and promised compensation for their erroneous termination. Renault had accused the executives of holding illicit bank accounts in Switzerland and Lichtenstein, but their…
When several Renault execs were accused of selling the French automaker’s electric car secrets to the Chinese, it made headlines around the world. Last week came reports that the story might have been a hoax – and that now appears to be the case with a Renault security agent having been arrested. The individual, who’s…
Days after Renault fired three men and pressed criminal charges on them for allegedly attempting to sell electric car secrets overseas, CEO Carlos Ghosn is facing a disturbing lack of evidence, embarrassing Renault into reconsidering its accusations. The entire dramatic episode is becoming a farce—like BP during the Gulf oil spill, Renault may be faced…
Whether you love or hate the way the Nissan Juke looks, it’s hard to argue that it’s anything but a blast to drive. Renault seems to be taking a few things from corporate partner Nissan, and emulating the Juke with their Captur, a concept that debuted at the Geneva Auto Show. Powered by a 158-hp…
The future of the RedBull Formula 1 team is looking brighter than ever. Not only did they win the F1 constructors championship in 2010, their young-gun Sebastian Vettel also took the driver’s championship. And this just in… RedBull will be getting their engines for free in 2011. It’s part of a new deal by the…
Previewing a possible sister-car to the Nissan Juke, Renault has announced the new Captur Concept ahead of its official debut at the Geneva Auto Show. The two seater is a look at fun crossover mobility and is the second of six concepts that will set the tone for the French automaker’s future design language. Powered…
Without a compact luxury car, Infiniti will have a hard time competing in their new European stomping grounds, and let’s face it, a rebadged Nissan Versa ain’t exactly up to the task. What Infiniti does have is a new alliance with Daimler through parent company Renault-Nissan. Infiniti is about to leverage this relationship big-time with their new…
Robert Kubica, one of Formula-One’s finest drivers, suffered a terrible crash over the weekend, when his Skoda Fabia rally-car slid off the road and hit a church wall. The crash took place just 4-miles from the start of the Ronde di Andora rally in Italy. The 26 year-old Polish star has suffered massive injury to…
The Pikes Peak Hill Climb event attracts racers and car manufacturers from around the world. In the last quarter-century, the Germans, the Japanese and more recently the South Koreans have had a go in conquering this mountain, and now it looks like its Romania’s turn. Yea, Romania. Dacia might not be well know in America,…
Nissan has traditionally played second fiddle to Honda in terms of sales figures, but the company’s strong numbers in China, combined with Honda’s declining fortunes have helped Nissan surpass Honda. Nissan moved 4.08 million units in 2010, with Honda only pushing 3.56 million. Although Honda’s sales were up by 5 percent, it did little to…
Hyundai was able to achieve a 45 percent market share in South Korea in 2010, falling well below its target of 52 percent. Luckily, the failure to meet the target thanks to phenomenal growth from the Kia brand, owned by Hyundai and Kia’s new Optima and Sportage. For 2011, Hyundai is targeting a more modest…
However the official line from Renault, is that the three employees accused of leaking the information, are still regarded only as suspects, with no formal charges yet announced against them.
With their supply of Renault engines set to dry up after 2011, and new engine regulations coming into place in 2013, current champions Red Bull are said to be looking at producing their own engines, with one rumored partner said to be Volkswagen. “We are on standby for an interesting partnership, and even the idea…
Lotus made a less than successful return to F1 in 2010, after being out of the sport since 1994. However, it seems there will be lots of Lotus F1 cars on the grid for the 2011 season. So apart from Team Lotus (formerly known as Lotus F1) which is a privately owned team, Group Lotus…
The black and gold Lotus paint scheme may be Formula 1′s most iconic livery, more dear to the hearts of fans than even the red Marlboro design used on McLaren and Ferrari cars. While the colors originally came from the John Player Special cigarette design, they’ve managed to burn themselves into the hearts and minds…
