Renault is a French automaker, that is allied with Nissan. Thanks to that alliance, the company is one of the top automakers in the world. Renault has a distinguished Formula One record, and is currently providing engines to several teams.
Four-time Formula 1 champion Alain Prost is officially becoming the brand ambassador for French automaker Renault, the company announced today. “Renault’s history is intimately linked to that of motorsport and I have a deep attachment to the brand, with which I achieved some of the greatest successes in my sporting career,” Alain Prost said. “I accepted this…
Yet as we move forward and automakers seek to maintain economies of scale, the number of vehicle architectures is expected to shrink still further, even as many brands aim to proliferate their model offerings as well as adding localized production.
As with all new products, analysts are quick to analyze its success after its first year of sales. When Nissan reported that its Leaf electric vehicle sales tallied 9,674 units last year, industry analysts claimed that the poor sales number proved that a market does not exist for electric propulsion. CEO Carlos Ghosn saw differently,…
Renault-Nissan and Daimler have announced the joint engine production of Mercedes-Benz 4-cylinder engines at Nissan’s Decherd, Tennessee, plant beginning 2014. According to the press release, this marks the first ever production of a Mercedes-Benz engine within the North America Free Trade region. Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Daimler Board of Management and Head of…
Renault is looking to take a step back in order to take two steps forward, looking to discontinue at least five models from their UK lineup in February. At the top of the list of vehicles getting killed off are the Laguna hatchback, Sport Tourer and Coupe, along with the Espace and Grand Espace, Modus…
Robert Kubica, one of Formula One’s most promising young drivers, will sit out the start of the 2012 F1 season as he continues to recover from a crash that partially severed his arm. While Kubica is making a recovery, the pace is not as rapid as some had hoped for. Kubica can move his arm,…
Renault is in development of an ultra low-cost vehicle, along the lines of the Tata Nano. While the Nano is currently suffering from some awful sales numbers (initial projection of 20,000 a month but only saw 1,200 units sold in September), CEO of Renault/Nissan Carlos Ghosn is convinced that an extremely affordable vehicle would…
Mercedes-Benz is rethinking their line of Smart cars and will bring the ForFour, a four door, four passenger vehicle, to American consumers by 2015. That choice, among others, came after Mercedes-Benz took over distribution of the brand in the U.S. last July. They also plan to scrap the current FourTwo (above) in favor of a new…
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that the Japanese government’s effort to keep the yen’s value under control had failed and that Nissan was strongly considering moving production out of Japan and into foreign countries. A weakened United States dollar has meant that the value of the greenback has shifted from 91 yen per dollar to…
It’s that time of the year again as Car of the Year begins the laborious task of whittling down new Car of the Year contenders for 2012. A total of 59 journalists, representing automotive authorities across 23 European countries, have been recruited for the task of choosing top car. The number of journalists to represent…
When it comes to bizarre concept cars, the Tokyo Auto Show might be the traditional winner, but when it comes to production time, often things end up looking like a Camry. Not so for those baguette-loving Frenchmen (and women). From Citroen, to Renault, to Peugeot, their production cars are plenty strange and the concepts that…
At that time, Nissan had planned to introduce an updated, rear-drive Infiniti G, slated for a 2011 model year release, but with new input from Daimler, said introduction was pushed back as the car underwent some significant revisions.
The News Of The World scandal rages on, with pressure mounting from Parliament, investigators, and the general public. Now an anonymous executive suggests that car companies who had planned to advertise in the tabloid should donate the money to charity instead. “If we had advertising booked with the News of the World the advert would…
Nissan has emerged from the global economic downturn as a powerhouse, quietly growing but without grabbing headlines like Ford or Hyundai have. Now the Japanese automaker has unveiled a new business plan titled “Nissan Power 88″ that aims to grow its share of the global market to 8 percent, while bringing operating profit to a…
Renault deserves all the credit in the world with its stunning 8:07.97 lap time on the Nurburgring, giving it the FWD record and besting some seriously impressive machines such as Audi’s RS4 and BMW’s E46 M3. So it’s without a doubt that we have to share a video of the record setting run from the…
If we asked you what the fastest Nurburgring time for a front-wheel drive car was you’d probably guess the Ford Focus RS. Nope, not even close. In fact it belongs to French automaker Renault, and has for some time. Back in 2008 the automaker ran an 8:16 with a rather stripped-down R26.R version of the…
In an official press release, the Renault-Nissan Alliance stated that the office will “build staff organically,” to focus on specific projects and business developments as they emerge.”
Renault has upped the bar in the European sport compact market with a special edition Megane RS, sporting 261-hp and 265 ft-lbs of torque. In addition to the slight performance increase, the Megane RS Trophy features several aesthetic changes including 19-inch wheels and special decals. One of the Megane RS Trophy’s selling points is the…
When the Nürburgring Nordschleife was built in 1927, the good folks of the ADAC—who were there to promote Socialist Teutonic goodness, eventually—hadn’t expected to carve out a 14-mile merchandising empire among the world’s finest carmakers. Now Renault has given its hot-hatch Megane RS the full-on Nürburgring treatment, and it promises to be a corker, as…
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…
