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Showing posts with label Citroen. Show all posts

Spied: Did Citroen Just Pull a Nissan Juke-Styling Stunt on the New C4 Picasso?

Monday, February 4, 2013

We've known for a while that Citroen is developing replacements for the five-seat C4 Picasso and the longer, seven-seater C4 Grand Picasso, and that both minivans will feature a new design.

Nevertheless, these scoop pictures of a convoy of C4 Picasso MPVs driving on the streets of the city of Vigo in Spain, and which come to use courtesy of the crew over at Highmotor, caught us completely off guard - not so much by the fact that the cars were completely undisguised as by what is visible…

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

We've been telling you for some time now that the Citroën is working on the replacements for its C4-based five-seater Picasso and 7-seater Grand Picasso minivans in the popular compact segment in Europe.

We could in fact see one of the two models making their world premiere as early as the Geneva Auto Salon in March, with the Frankfurt motor show in September also being a possible venue for their presentation.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Sometimes you just have to see to believe how lucky people are. If it wasn't for a nearby security camera recording the road, we sincerely doubt that anyone would buy the story that these three pedestrians from Belarus had to share after an unfortunate encounter with a van.

The footage shows the driver of a Citroen Berlingo taking a left turn on a green light when a black sedan suddenly appeared in the picture travelling at high speed.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

On just the second day of 2013, Citroën released a new special edition version of its DS3 premium supermini for the UK market aptly named "Red".

The new DS3 Red models are based on the existing DStyle and DSport trim levels, adding bespoke styling cues and extra equipment features to the mix with on-the-road prices ranging from £15,655 to £18,060.

Friday, December 28, 2012

The €18.5 billion (US$24.4) refinancing deal struck between the French government and the ailing PSA Peugeot-Citroen group, which includes a €7 billion (US$9.3 billion) state guarantee, is causing headaches to the automaker for the second time in as many months.

In November, talks about advancing the alliance with General Motors’ European operations into a full-scale merger were put on ice because the conditions under which the funds are to be granted rule out any job cuts from the French automaker.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Even though it hasn't been that long since General Motors and PSA Peugeot-Citroen announced big plans for an elaborate partnership, the two companies have failed to come to an agreement on a number of projects.

After dropping plans to jointly develop a small car for Latin America and a dual-clutch gearbox earlier this year, we now learn that GM and PSA have also scrapped plans for a joint mid-size car program that would have seen models like the next-generation Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, Peugeot 508 and Citroen C5 sharing parts.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Starting from today, consumers in the UK can place their orders in for the 2013 model C3 Picasso that was updated with a mid-life facelift at the recent Paris Motor Show.

Cosmetically, the C3 Picasso small minivan benefits from a new face incorporating Citroen's double-chevron grille along with a restyled bumper featuring LED daytime running lights on higher-grade models, and two new body colors named Ink Blue and Pearlescent White.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

While we have no problem replacing everyday products such as DVD players and cell phones with new ones once they go bad, if the same thing happens to our car, it's a whole different story, and rightfully so, since automobiles are the second largest investment in most single family households.

Cars tend to be much more complex than most household appliance and face seriously more adverse conditions day-in, day-out. No matter how good the car is or how much carefully you maintain it, at some point, something is bound to go wrong.

Monday, November 19, 2012

If not all, most ordinary drivers would think twice before sitting behind the wheel of a racecar after such a traumatic crash as the one experienced by former BMW-Sauber and Renault Formula 1 star Robert Kubica in Italy almost two years ago.

But not Kubica, who not only returned to racing, but the Pole also made his maiden victory in a World Rally Car at the 2012 Rally di Como in Italy this past weekend.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

The 200,000th DS3 rolled off Citroën's assembly line at its Poissy plant in France on Wednesday, November 14. That's not too shabby if you consider that, the DS3 was launched in Europe in March 2010 as a more premium offering than the company's mainstream C3 in the supermini segment.

The DS3's first venture outside of Europe came towards the end of 2010, followed by Argentina in 2011, Brazil in the first half of this year and China in the second half of 2012, which means Citroën can increase its sales numbers over the next years.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

In many relationships, there comes a time where the two sides don’t know what they want from each other and things start getting awkward.

General Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroen seem to have reached that point faster than anyone would have expected. After all, their alliance was formed only eight months ago amid assurances that it would greatly benefit both groups and help them ride the European market crisis successfully due to the huge economies of scale that would be achieved.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Unlike the United States where the taxicab market is as tedious as a Ford Crown Victoria in a white finish, in Europe, it's as colorful as a summer garden with offerings ranging from inexpensive Dacia Logan saloons to luxurious Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estates and everything in between.

And the palette will soon get more vibrant with the addition of the Citroën DS5 Hybrid4 that will be unveiled in a world premiere at the upcoming European Taxi Fair in Cologne from November 9 to 11, 2012.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

It's been a long recovery road for former BMW-Sauber and Renault Formula 1 star Robert Kubica, who suffered severe arm and leg injuries in a horrendous accident in February 2011 in Italy's Ronde di Andorra rally.

The 27-year old F1 racer from Poland, who made an understated return to rally driving in September winning two small races in Italy, is now ready to take the next step and compete in the Rally di Como in Italy on 15-17 November and France's Rallye du Var the following week.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

On Tuesday, we ran a story based on a report by Bloomberg News that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has been talking to PSA Peugeot Citroen and Opel executives about the three carmakers merging into a single entity. Today, however, Marchionne refuted the report describing it to Automotive Europe as “bizarre”.

The Fiat-Chrysler CEO admitted that he had been talking with GM and PSA CEOs Dan Akerson and Philippe Varin, respectively, but he stressed that the discussions were misinterpreted by the report.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

If you're a professional in need of a medium-duty van and for whatever reason, you don't like the Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat badges and/or the selling and service points of the aforementioned brands, there's a fourth variant of the series from Toyota.

The Japanese carmaker wanted to re-enter the light commercial vehicle segment in Europe after suspending sales of the HiAce van and decided it would be better to sign an OEM agreement with PSA group and re-badge the Citroen Jumpy / Peugeot Expert, which is also offered under the Fiat brand as the Scudo.

Monday, October 15, 2012

With GM’s European Opel/Vauxhall brands and PSA Peugeot Citroen losing money as well as market share fast, the two groups are looking for ways to make the best out of the alliance they formed on February 29.

Under the initial agreement, GM paid US$423 million (€326 million) for a 7 percent stake in its French partner, which made it its second-largest shareholder. The Detroit carmaker had stated, however, that despite the massive gains for both companies, it might be forced to write down its investment.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

If anything, Sergio Marchionne is a man who speaks his mind – a bit too often, some might say. Still, the CEO of the Fiat-Chrysler group is deeply concerned about the drop in European car sales and he thinks something should be done about it.

Marchionne, who is also the head of ACEA, the European auto manufacturers’ association, is strongly endorsing the idea that there should be a European Union-led coordinated strategy if the industry is to survive.

“I am concerned that if we don’t find a collective will to resolve this at a European level, it is going to become a permanent crisis”, he said on Wednesday, October 10.

Monday, October 8, 2012

We bet that rivals of Sebastien Loeb wish that the 38-year old Alsatian hadn’t quit being a gymnast in favor of rally racing in 1995… If he had stuck to his former profession, Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena wouldn’t have done a Michael Schumacher (in his first Formula 1 stint) and dominate the FIA World Rally Championship.

Actually, they have outdone Schumi for they have won the WRC title nine years in a row after winning this weekend’s Rallye de France and helping Citroen secure its eight manufacturers’ title in the WRC.

Monday, October 1, 2012

After the U.S. market meltdown, which resulted in General Motors and Chrysler receiving a bailout, the two automakers along with Ford recovered quickly and are now posting near-record profits.

However, it seems that Detroit's Big Three have to face the fact that, even though their sales are blooming in most parts of the world, the European debt crisis will put their local operations in the red.

According to a report from the Detroit News, GM’s Opel/Vauxhall and its French partner PSA Peugeot Citroen, Ford of Europe and Fiat will lose a combined US$4 billion this year because sales in the Old Continent are slumping to their lowest levels since the mid-1990s.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Not to miss out on the electric car fad, Citroën is presenting a new take in the segment with a conceptual version of its DS3 supermini at the 2012 Paris Motor Show.

The not-too-brightly named DS3 Electrum might look like a regular model on the outside but under the hood, it replaces the internal combustion engine with a pair of 65kW 87Hp) electric motors.