Top Auto Designers Name Classic Citroën DS Most Beautiful Car of All Time

The Citroën DS is the most beautiful car of all time, according to the world's leading car designers. Assembled by UK-based Classic & Sports Car magazine, the 20 jury members placed the French sedan ahead of anything produced by Ferrari or Lamborghini.
Judges included Giorgetto Giugiaro, who was awarded Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and penned (among other vehicles) the Alfa Romeo 159, VW Golf, Maserati Bora and Mustang Giugiaro Concept; Gordon Murray, who created the iconic McLaren F1; and Ian Callum, who oversaw creation of the Jaguar XF along with the Aston Martin DB7 and DB9.Marcello Gandini, responsible for both the Lancia Stratos and Lamborghini Countach, said of the DS: “At the time I think it was complete folly, madness from a business and industrial point of view… but it was a really innovative car in 1955. A few people may have thought of all those beautiful ideas, but it was real bravery to implement all of them in one car.”

Giugiaro agreed, “The only example of a car really conceived ‘outside the box’. It is just impossible to imitate.”

Nissan-Renault plan for electric cars at Olympics

London’s streets will be abuzz with Renault and Nissan electric vehicles during the Olympics, if the alliance pulls off an audacious bid to showcase zero emission cars at the 2012 games. Renault boss Patrick Pelata pitched the idea to Boris Johnson, the city’s mayor, during the recent world economic forum in Davos. ‘We have started discussions. We want to be a part of the 2012 Olympics, if there’s a way,’ Pelata told CAR Online. In three years, Pelata expects Renault to have a three-strong electric vehicle (EV) range: the Kangoo van; ‘a big saloon that would make a good taxi’ and a Clio-sized EV. With Nissan also involved, as many as 4000 vehicles could create a mobile billboard for the alliance’s electric vehicle initiative.

Heat2Power: Thermal Energy Recovery Systems for better fuel efficiency

The world is changing, and it is changing rapidly. We became massively aware of our undesired impact on climate change with ever more frequent hurricanes, rainfall, draughts and the melting ice cap. Finally oil production seems to be near a decline but that almost passes unnoticed because of the gravity of the first two reasons. Three big reasons why fuel economy has caught our attention. Today we also realize that we have to do something about it and we have accepted that we have to change our behaviour, that we have to diversify our energy sources and that we can simply not go on like before anymore.
Heat2power has focused on the improvement of energy flows through an internal combustion engine to improve its efficiency. The flow through the exhaust had been identified as a potential source of energy for the generation of torque on the crankshaft. A technology has been developed to use the waste heat in a highly efficient manner. The goal as depicted in the following picture was also to realize this with a high efficiency. On top of this, high power density was aimed at in order to have an attractive solution for mobile applications.

Heat2power proposes solutions for fuel economy and lower CO2-emissions on combustion engines by making use of their exhaust waste heat. This fuel economy is accessible for engines running on gasoline, diesel, biofuels, hydrogen or any other type of fuel.
heat2power proposes both solutions with high power density for mobile applications and rugged solutions for power generation and marine applications.
Heat2power is also being recognized by the motorsport world as an important technology for the future in racing and road cars. heat2power has won the 2008 "Powertrain Innovation of the Year Award".

Infiniti Essence Concept Car: The Smell of Leather

We've caught a whiff of Infiniti's latest concept, the Essence, with this annoyingly restricted teaser photo. It's our first glimpse of a new concept car to celebrate the brand's 20th anniversary – and signals a potential move further upmarket, we hear. We'll see the car in full at the 2009 Geneva motor show on 3 March.
The Infiniti Essence show car has been produced in conjunction with fashion house Louis Vuitton, so expect plenty of catwalk cool details and accompanying leather luggage set. Sadly, we have absolutely nothing else to say about the Essence; this photo tells us next to nothing and no other information has been released by cagey Infiniti, which is banking on making a big splash at Geneva.

Land Rover - Live to tell stories, Brazil

With traditional advertising becoming less effective, advertisers and agencies are seeking new ways to capture the target's attention.
Entertainment marketing manage to engage the audience through entertainment and information. In Brazil, Land Rover recently launched a cross-platform partnership with Discovery Channel.

"Live to tell stories" is a serie of documentaries created by Wunderman where a team of adventurers visit remote places in Brazil in a Land Rover Defender.

In the second episode, Daniel Daiber (musician), Gabriel Ba (Quadrini) and Alexandre Schneider (Photographer) are in the Jalapão (TO) and visit the greatest beauties of the region, in a very realistic adventure.

Citroen DS returns

French maker shocks with all-new DS-badged luxury line-up, spearheaded by stunning MINI rival.

Watch out MINI! This stunning machine is an all-new small luxury car from Citroen, and not only does it revive the legendary DS badge but it will spearhead a fresh range of premium Citroen models. The exciting news was announced at a special event on the Champs Elysees, Paris, where this remarkable model took pride of place. Called the DS Inside, it’s a concept that points the way to a production version, which is set to go on sale in early 2010. Similar in size to a C3, the DS Inside has been designed to compete with prestige-badged small cars such as the MINI, Alfa Romeo MiTo and the forthcoming Audi A1. The first of a new range of premium Citroens that will all carry the DS badge, it will most likely be tagged DS3 when it reaches showrooms early next year. A C4-sized model, called the DS4, and a C5-sized car, called the DS5, will follow it. The original DS, which was launched back in 1955, was one of the most important models in Citroen’s history and the French firm is hoping to draw on its legendary reputation for luxury, innovation and style with its new premium line-up. While the DS name was a play on the French word déeesse, meaning goddess, the new badge stands for Different Spirit. And as you can see from these amazing pictures, the new model certainly stands out.

Check out: http://www.dsinside.citroen.com/

Citroën C3 Picasso launches a web series

To promote the forthcoming C3 Picasso, Citroën is launching a series of short programs on the Internet, through their website, community platforms such as Youtube, and e-mails addressed to potential clients.

With the C3 Picasso, Citroën is once again shaking up conventional automotive ideas, introducing an innovative concept that is sure to play a leading role in the B2 MPV segment. The C3 Picasso bears all the hallmark creativity of Citroën and stands out with its bold styling, innovative architecture and outstanding ingenuity. It does more than simply sublimate the qualities of an MPV. The high-set seating and onboard visibility will delight all passengers, while the vehicle’s complete and intuitive modular design will make their day-to-day life a charm. And the newcomer’s nimble roadholding will satisfy drivers looking for pleasure and involvement at the wheel.

Kia Soul targets influencers for its launch in Germany

Tests around the block are from a different era - Kia innovates for the launch of its Kia Soul in Germany with an integrated media partnership with Probier Pioniere: Kia Soul and the City Rally. 5 teams from Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Leipzig and Munich will be testing the new Kia Soul in their own city during 4 weeks! Their mission: relate their experiences in a blog and create some Buzzz. The winners will end-up with the Kia Soul!

Koln Team


Hambourg Team

Seat creates an advergame that allows internet users to challenge Chabal on the Internet … before going to the concessionaires! (France)

Seat has recently launched a game with Sébastien Chabal (popular French rugby player) available on Defis-seat.fr from January 12th to March 31st 2009.
Named “Les défis Seat” (the Seat challenges), this advergame consists in pitting one’s strength against Chabal to try and win a “Rugby week-end” in England and 50 signed rugby balls.
The aim: push back Chabal in his in-goal area (in less than 60 seconds) to get a hint and be able to continue to the Seat distributor by answering a question related to the rugby player. Once the internet user has accepted to challenge him, he lands up on a website with Chabal, with his hair streaming in the wind and lots of mischief, wearing his red slinky shirt. After having faced the champion, the participant can receive his entry form and continue to the concessionaire: he has to indicate where Chabal has been playing and drop off his form with the right answer in an urn at the distributor. He will first have to provide various information regarding himself, and related to vehicles.

Seat had previously established a similar advergame in March 2007: it launched the new Ibiza with a game on the internet, in a scenery with Jackson Richardson; Handball was at the centre of the setting. Seat is currently pursuing its series with an advergame around the rugby theme.

Citroën Debuts New Logo on 90th Anniversary

At 90 years old, Citroën is opening a new page in its history, with a new visual identity. The logo is part of a complete overhaul of the brand and its products spanning the next year. The new logo is being unveiled simultaneously in 34 countries today on the birthday of the company founder, André Citroën. In a difficult economic context, and in a period of changing automotive uses and new relationships between customers and brands, Citroën has opted to take action and reinvent itself.
The new mark was developed jointly by Citroën’s Marketing and Styling teams, and Landor. The chevrons have broken free from their frame and become three-dimensional, taking on relief and gaining in strength and body. Bridging Citroën’s past and future, the colour red is used for the new brand name typography. The red assumes a new, deeper tone.

Toyota sees first annual net loss since 1950

TOKYO – Toyota forecast its first annual net loss since 1950 on Friday as plunging demand for cars, especially in the U.S., and the strong yen pummeled earnings at the world's No. 1 automaker.

Toyota Motor Corp. reported a 164.7 billion yen ($1.8 billion) loss for the October-December quarter, down sharply from the 458.6 billion yen profit for the same period the previous year. Quarterly sales plunged 28.4 percent to 4.8 trillion yen.

Joining a string of Japanese companies that are now expecting to slide into the red for the year, Toyota said it expects a net loss of 350 billion yen ($3.85 billion) for the fiscal year through March — a stunning reversal from the record 1.72 trillion yen profit it posted the previous year.

In December, Toyota, maker of the Prius hybrid and Camry sedan, thought it would eke out a small annual net profit, but the outlook has darkened since then, particularly as the U.S. auto market has collapsed.

"Toyota is having serious problems responding," said Yasuaki Iwamoto, analyst with Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo. "It boasts a full and global lineup of products. But the world's auto demand changed in a flash."

Since the company can't count on global sales picking up next fiscal year, at best it can aim to cut costs to minimize the damage, Iwamoto said.

By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama, Ap Business Writer

Sierra Nevada Transforming Beer Waste into Fuel

Sierra Nevada Brewing has added to their arsenal of sustainable initiatives with their recent purchase of an EFuel 100 MicroFueler. The device produces ethanol from water, sugar and yeast - the later being something Sierra Nevada has in abundant supply. Around 1.6 million gallons of yeast are produced yearly as a byproduct of the beer brewing process. They plan on using the fuel for their company vehicles, and possibly for employee’s cars in the future. This is the latest in a long line of eco-friendly practicesused by Sierra including: solar, fuel cells, heat recovery, energy efficiency, water conservation and home made biodiesel.