Category Archives: News

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Goodbye Renault Twingo

September 7, 2024 Francis Mitterrand

At the Paris Motor Show on 5 October 1992, Renault unveiled its new city car, the Renault Twingo. So far, three generations of this model have arrived on the market, and the successor to the current electric version is planned to be presented in 2026.

After three decades of presence on the market, Renault has decided to withdraw this car from some of the most important European markets. The model is still present in France, although it will soon say goodbye to its home market. In Spain, Germany or Switzerland, it is no longer configurable, although there are still some models on sale from stock orders from the last few months.

The third generation of this city car arrived on the market in 2014 with two versions of gasoline engines (0.9 L H4Bt turbo I3 and 1.0 L H4D I3). However, for several years now, it has only been available as an electric.

At the end of last year, the French firm announced that the Twingo would continue to live on as the leader of the new wave of small city cars. The new Twingo will use a smaller version of the AmpR platform that was launched on the electric R5. Although it was previously said that the French company would develop this project with Volkswagen, this will not happen. According to the latest information, Renault is in talks with a Chinese partner.

Source: Renault

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News

Volvo faced the reality

September 6, 2024 Francis Mitterrand

A few years ago, car manufacturers announced that electric cars are the future, and they took big steps towards the electrification of their cars, some even completely removing cars with internal combustion engines from their offer. However, production problems and a drop in demand for EVs showed that everything was too fast. This has prompted some manufacturers to abandon their plans, such as Volvo, which has a new plan. They hope that by the end of the decade, 90 percent of all sales will be electric and hybrid PHEVs.

There are three main reasons for changing the decision and facing reality. First, the Swedish automaker believes that the rate of development of infrastructure for electric cars is slower than expected. The second reason is the abolition or reduction of subsidies for these cars by several countries, and the third reason is attributed to the introduction of very high tariffs for certain markets.

Volvo has announced that it will continue to produce cars with internal combustion engines after 2030, but they will have mild hybrid systems and will be produced in limited series. Also, the plan is for PHEVs and electric cars to account for between 50 and 60 percent of total sales by the end of this year. This target is too ambitious if we consider the sales of the last few months when fully electric cars accounted for only 26 percent of the total sales.

It should be noted that Volvo’s long-term plan is to become completely carbon neutral by 2040.

Source: Volvo

News

2025 Aston Martin Vanquish

September 5, 2024 Francis Mitterrand

Aston Martin has introduced the third generation of the high-performance grand tourer and successor to the Virage model, the Aston Martin Vanquish. It is the most powerful flagship in the company’s history, which brings a combination of refined comfort, performance and superb dynamics.

The car has a welded aluminum body structure with a 75 percent increase in lateral stiffness compared to the DBS 770 Ultimate model, a longer wheelbase by 80 mm, upgraded suspension with Bilstein DTX shock absorbers, thicker anti-roll bars, a recalibrated electric power steering system and a new electronic stability control system. . There is also a carbon ceramic braking system with 410 mm discs at the front and 360 mm discs at the rear, offering better braking performance than its predecessor.

The new Vanquish comes with a combination of classic elements and modern details, such as a wide grille with Matrix LED headlights on the sides, a larger splitter, a new sculpted hood with engine cooling vents, flat handles, while glass surfaces convey the car’s sporty spirit. The rear part is equipped with a Karam Tail design, seven LED “light blades”, a large diffuser, as well as four tailpipes of the exhaust system. Customers can choose a titanium exhaust system, which is 10.5 kg lighter.

Inside, the seats are upholstered in Alcantara and leather and are adjustable in 16 directions. In front of the driver are a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.25-inch infotainment system. Passengers can also enjoy a 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system, while wood trim is available as an option.

The Aston Martin Vanquish is powered by a 5.2-L V12 twin-turbo engine with 824 hp (614 kW) and 738 lb-ft (1,000 Nm) of torque, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and an electronic limited-slip differential through which the power is transferred to the rear wheels. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.3 seconds with a top speed of 344 km/h (214 mph), which means that it is a production Aston Martin with the highest top speed in the company’s history.