AUTOMOBILE TECHNOLOGY » Citroen

VIDEO: Citroën C3 Visiodrive advertisement is for swingers

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:03:44 +0000

Citroen C3 Visiodrive commercial – Click above to watch video

A Citroën commercial without robots or an NRJ radio station soundtrack? We might have thought it impossible, but here it is. Promoting the new C3 hatchbach and its zenith windscreen meant to give you all kinds of panoramic views, the kids take this car on a joyride unlike any you’re likely to see outside of a Top Gear episode.

[Source: Citroën via YouTube]

Is Peugeot-Citroën on the verge of buying Mitsubishi?

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:03:43 +0000

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Mitsubishi, Earnings/Financials, Peugeot, Citroën

The French and the Japanese have gotten together to form a magic partnership once already with Carlos Ghosn at the helm. The question is, then, can that success be replicated? PSA Peugeot-Citroën seems to hope so, and it is reportedly on the verge of purchasing a controlling stake (somewhere between 30 and 53 percent, depending on the report) in Mitsubishi Motors.

The total price for the acquisition would cost the European automaker over $3 billion and the deal would also include Mitsubishi acquiring a somewhat smaller stake in PSA Peugeot-Citroën – again, similar to the situation between France’s Renault and Japan’s Nissan.

So, what does Mitsubishi have that Peugeot wants? Three things, apparently: A presence in the States, SUV expertise and, perhaps most importantly, electric vehicle technology. If a deal does indeed take place, the resulting entity would be the sixth largest automaker by sales in the world.

[Source: BusinessWeek]

Umlautfest: Kimi Räikkönen signs with Citroën Red Bull rally team

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:03:43 +0000

Kimi Räikkönen is now a WRC driver. The Flying Finn will pilot one of two Citroën CR4 Junior Team cars with Kaj Lindström as his co-driver. It’s been in the works for a while, and from the sounds of it, no one appears to have any doubts that Raikkonen will do well there. Team boss Olivier Quesnel rates the ex-Ferrari pilot highly, saying, “What he did there in a S2000 was amazing,” when speaking of Kimi’s run in an Abarth in a Finnish rally earlier this year.

Even 2003 WRC title winner Petter Solberg puts Kimi in with a shout, commenting, “If he’s in a decent World Rally Car next season I think he could finish between third and fifth on some rallies.” This will put four Citroën cars in next year’s Championship, with returning title winners Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, Dani Sordo and Marc Marti, plus the junior cars of Räikkönen/Lindström and Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia. You can check out Citroën’s official release after the jump.

[Source: Citroën]

2010 Citroen C3

admin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:15:46 +0000

The Citroen C3 is old enough in car years that it’s getting a re-do before it undergoes a mid-life crisis. The new version is certainly a more mature design, receding hairline and all. Citroen has come up with its own euphemism for it, coining the phrase “Zenith Windscreen” to describe a large windshield that extends further up into the roof than normal to create a panoramic feel to the interior.

The new C3 is a smoother looking supermini than before, with slicker styling keeping it modern and slipping through the air with a Cd of .30. Inside the redone sheetmetal, the interior gets classed up and quieted down. Most notably, there’s an integrated air freshener, presumably useful when you’re using all 10.5 cubic feet of boot space to haul big dogs or foie gras party platters.

An HDi (Citroenese for “diesel”) engine keeps CO2 emissions low, and new powerplants are in the pipeline for 2011. The new engines will use stop/start, the diesel versions of which will drop carbon dioxide emissions further, while gasoline-fueled C3s will also dip below the 100g/km of CO2 emissions level with a new three-cylinder engine. The C3′s new duds don’t come with the typical generational increase in weight, and the Chevron-emblazoned C-class car will motor onto the small car battlefield ready to earn more accolades with its latest generation.