Peugeot

Peugeot enters the Supermini market

Peugeot is capitalizing on the familiar "renew, reuse, recycle" campaign by adding "regenerate." The French car maker will debut the all-new 208 in Europe in the spring of 2012, replacing the 206 and 207 models.

The automaker also introduced a new range of three-cylinder engines promising fuel economy of 83.1 mpg (2.83 l/100km) using the diesel engines. The 1.0- and 1.2-liter VTi gas engines, also available, offer an estimated 65.7 mpg (3.58 l/100km).

The 208 has been completely redesigned. The controls are positioned around a small steering wheel, … Read more

Nine best European vehicle safety technologies

During the 2010 Paris Motor Show, Euro NCAP presented nine awards to automakers for new, advanced safety technologies. The awards covered crash prevention and mitigation technologies as well as emergency telematics services.

Here are the nine winning technologies:

Audi Side Assist A blind-spot detection system, Audi Side Assist shows a warning light when a car is detected on either the right or left rear quarter of the Side Assist-equipped vehicle.

BMW Assist Advanced eCall When onboard sensors show that a BMW has been involved in an accident, this system dials a BMW call center, sending data about the severity of … Read more

Nine new concept cars from Paris

Paris is noted as a fashion center, so we weren't surprised to find a number of very stylish concept cars at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.

As one example, French carmaker Citroen teamed up with Lacoste to design a very fun-looking car built for fun in the sun. Meanwhile Renault offered the very sexy DeZir concept in luscious red with pronounced curves.

But other regions of the world were not left out. Jaguar offers up the incredibly sleek C-X75 and Nissan came out with a funky utility car.

And BMW fans finally got treated to a taste of what … Read more

Peugeot EX1 electric car scares merde out of Tesla

French carmaker Peugeot is about to celebrate its 200th birthday. Rather than hiring scantily clad models to hop out of a giant brioche, or quaffing a skyscraper-size bottle of champagne with its 200 closest mates, it's marking the occasion by building an insane electric sports car.

The Peugeot EX1 concept is based on Peugeot's previous Asphalte and the 20Cup concepts, but unlike those cars (which looked slightly weedy) this thing looks as if it might tear your spine out through your nose if you looked at it wrong.

Read more of "Peugeot EX1 electric concept car scares the merde out of Tesla&… Read more

Peugeot, Mercedes diesel hybrids en route for 2011

Once again, European drivers will have access to cars with better gas mileage than their U.S. counterparts.

Peugeot announced Tuesday that its 3008 Hybrid4 diesel hybrid car will be available in Europe in spring 2011 and will get roughly the equivalent of 62 miles to the gallon.

Many have been skeptical of a diesel hybrid, since a diesel engine's high torque does not lend itself easily to incorporation with an electric motor. Peugeot tackled that issue by giving the car two separate power trains that can operate solo or in tandem. The two systems are controlled together electronically, … Read more

17 fantastic concept cars

During the last international auto show season, we saw a range of concept cars, some with wild, futuristic designs and some that look like they could roll out of a garage today. Three particular themes emerged amongst these design studies:

Hybrid and electric power trains Small city cars Personal electronics integration

Obviously, automakers are making serious efforts to build more fuel efficient cars, prodded by new European and U.S. regulations. BMW and Porsche joined hybrid stalwart Toyota with new gas-electric concepts.

Automakers are also planning for growing urbanization with small cars that are easy to park and maneuver through … Read more

Group promotes savings with open-source software

For about a year, a group of heavyweight automotive and technology companies has been working on a way to hasten development of in-vehicle entertainment systems. Their solution: share basic software development using the open-source Linux operating system.

Among the nearly 50 members of the group, called the Genivi Alliance, are automakers General Motors, BMW AG, Nissan Motor, and, as of February 17, Renault SA. Suppliers include Visteon, Delphi Automotive, and Continental AG.

The Genivi (pronounced jah-NEE-vee) Alliance is focusing on developing "middleware"--the layer of software that allows various kinds of information and entertainment applications to work together … Read more

Concept cars show new design, technology

GENEVA--The financial woes of the last few years caused automakers to scale back on outlandish concepts, using their design resources for more immediate and practical work. But the 2010 Geneva auto show sees the return of at least a few interesting concepts.

Some are so heavily design-oriented that they don't resemble anything in the automaker's current stable, and probably never will. Features like touch screens running along the entire dashboard and cameras for side-view mirrors may only show up when we get flying cars.

Others do presage technologies slated for production cars. Most of these concepts are specified … Read more

Peugeot's funny, little, electric concept

Our colleagues in Paris got to drive Peugeot's BB1 concept car, a rare opportunity as concept cars usually get rolled out for display in a few auto shows, then never see the light of day again. The BB1 is small, designed as a city car, and runs on electricity, getting a range of 75 miles.

The BB1 includes an iPod dock mounted in the center of the steering wheel, which might prove to be a problem for the airbag. With an iPhone in the dock, the BB1 becomes Internet-enabled.