The Demo Site

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen incoming CEO Philippe Varin (left) and chairman Thierry Peugeot (right)

It's buddy-up time in the European auto industry, and French automaker PSA/Peugeot-Citroen does not want to be left all by itself. With Fiat gobbling up automakers large and small, and General Motors poised to sell off its European assets, the Peugeot family, which owns a controlling interest in parent company PSA, wants to pursue a merger. And towards that end, the family has stated its willingness to dilute its own interest in Europe's second-largest automaker.
Currently, the Peugeot family - headed by the normally reclusive Thierry Peugeot (above, right), chairman of the company's supervisory board - holds 30% of PSA's shares, and controls 45% of its voting rights. The Peugeots would be willing to give up some of its shares, as long as it remained the largest shareholder. The announcement came the day before the company's annual shareholders meeting, at which Philippe Varin (above, left) was presented as PSA's new chief executive to replace the ousted Christian Streiff.
[Source: Automotive News Europe - Sub. Req.]

Maybe this image is exciting in France?

While the French are best known for their valiant defense of their homeland and their love of high-brow American comedians like Jerry Lewis, did you know that they also make the most exciting minivans in the world? Move over, Zafira and Mazda 5, here comes the 5008 (those extra “0s” come at no extra charge). To generate “interest” in advance of the Frankfurt Auto Show, Peugeot has released a stunning series of shots of the 5008 in action! (If you’re wondering if it’s a slow news day, don’t even ask!)

Peugeot's official photos of bored children in a 5008.

Even the 5008 has bags under its eyes, probably from boring itself to sleep in the development process. That being said, it seems like a useful vehicle and perfect for the Euro-mommy set. Thankfully for us non-Euro mommies, we won’t have to see this things at Pop Warner football anytime soon.

The dog looks happy because it's been drugged.

[Source: Autoblog]

Peugeot plans to offer its 3008 CUV with a diesel-electric hybrid by 2011. The step after that is to add plug-in capability, but those plans have been pushed back "a year or two" because of the economy. With R&D budgets pinched by slim sales, the investment in the technology simply can't be justified right now, especially in light of Peugeot's assertion that such cars will sell in "in the tens of thousands, not millions."
As exhibits of Peugeot's intention to employ the diesel-hybrid drivetrain, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen showed three concepts at last year's Paris Motor Show that employed the technology: the Peugeot Prologue HYmotion4, the Peugeot RC HYmotion4, and the Citroen Hypnos. Nevertheless, the head of Peugeot's hybrid innovations unit said plug-in hybrid production - and we would guess the actual date of any PSA hybrid production at all - would "depend on battery costs."
[Source: Automotive News, sub req'd]

One of the few notable risks of this job is when you find yourself offending your mates and the car choices they’ve made.
This week’s edition of the magazine had barely hit the nation’s doormats before I found myself being hauled over the coals by two different acquaintances, both of who had taken offence at the Peugeot 308CC comparison that I’d written in it.

I won’t rehash the full article here, but it’s fair to say that it took a fairly sceptical point of view as to whether the retractable hardtop cabriolet was really such a great idea, especially considering the extra weight and packaging issues it creates when compared to a simple folding fabric roof.
Anyway, well before lunch the first email had arrived from a mate who told me that his wife has recently swapped a five-year old Audi A4 Cabriolet 1.8T for a brand-new Volkswagen Eos 2.0 TSI – “The Eos is a better car in every way”, he writes, reckoning that it’s quicker, more efficient and “massively more practical”.
Shortly afterwards, a friend who I’d describe as a comfort-loving petrolhead wrote to tell me that his new 3-series Convertible, complete with its folding hardtop, is “faster and far more rigid than my old E46 323Ci ragtop … and quieter as well.”
So there you go. It’s fair to say that I’m still far from convinced that the folding hardtop is one of those great automotive ideas that will stand the test of time – but the concept certainly has plenty of fans.