citroen

A look at World Rally Championship history

I hope you've enjoyed all of this week's video of amazing World Rally Championship racing. I thought a good way to close this series would be this tribute video dedicated to the history of WRC and how it's changed throughout the years--how the cars have changed, and it even includes historical data at the end detailing what cars have won the title and in which year. It's great for knowledge hounds as well as anybody who just wants to see some fine automobiles kickin' up dust and sliding on the asphalt.

Petit French car promises to make big splash in Geneva

Expect stop-start's big start to arrive in 2010

Forecasters see 2010 as the big year for Europe's manufacturers of stop-start systems, which turn the engine off when a vehicle stops and restarts it when the driver's foot leaves the brake.

An estimated 2.8 million vehicles with stop-start will be made globally that year. About 2.5 million of those vehicles will be made in Europe and the rest in Asia, according to consultancy IHS Global Insight. That's up dramatically from last year, when about 54,000 stop-stop-equipped vehicles were made, an estimated 53,350 in Europe.

Stop-start maker Valeo SA is looking forward to the surge because it does not make a profit on the system at current volumes. "Today we manufacture 1,000 a month, so it doesn't make sense. But we knew that," Valeo CEO Thierry Morin told Automotive News Europe earlier this year. "It will be a profitable business by 2011, when we have the volumes, in particular from PSA."

The French supplier has a contract with PSA/Peugeot-Citroen to equip more than 1 million vehicles with a stop-start system by 2011. Valeo says the contract is worth 700 million euros, or $897.4 million at current exchange rates. Valeo now supplies stop-start for Citroen, Mercedes, and Smart vehicles.… Read more

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue updated with Paris Motor Show vehicles

Usually, car shows like the 2008 Paris Motor Show are look but don't touch affairs. Sure, the cars look nice, but wouldn't it be sweet if you could actually take that Ferrari California out for a spin? Thanks to Polyphony Digital and its Gran Turismo 5 Prologue game for the PS3, you "virtually" can.

Polyphony has released an update for the driving simulator to include three new cars from recent automotive shows, along with a smattering of new features.

If ever there were a great example of "a life gone digital," it's the … Read more