Whoa, what? Are they serious? The news out of Europe is that Fiat and Peugeot/Citroen are thinking about merging? Most of the merger talk has been all in the US, mainly about who is going to marry Chrysler, but this one has come out of nowhere.

Fiat’s CEO, Sergio Marchionne, said that ” … the company would need to find another automotive partner to ensure the company’s survival in light of the recent economic downturn.” Hm, OK, that’s showing some foresight on his part, and also let’s you know just how deep in this mess we’re all in.

It seems that things are far enough along that political leaders in both France and Italy have held discussions on the matter. This, of course would be a necessary step, since both the Italian and French governments are part owners of Fiat and PSA (the conglomerate that contains Peugeot-Citroen).

The marriage isn’t without precedent, since the companies have worked together in the past such as the recent Peugeot Boxer, Citroën Jumper and Fiat Ducato vans. Also, if the merger takes place, the resulting company would be the fourth largest automaker in the world, with an output rivaling Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan.

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For those who don’t know, Peugeot is a French car company that isn’t really relevant outside of Europe. They don’t have astronomical sales, they control no market segment, their cars aren’t incredibly exciting, in short, they aren’t really well known.

But at the 2008 Paris Motor Show they generated a deserved amount of attention over several of their cars, the coolest being the absurdly named RC HYmotion4 Concept.

And it is not hard to see why. This four door four seater basically proves two things: that a sedan doesn’t have to be boring, and that it is very possible to look cool, be green, and haul four people around in one nice package.

I mean, just look at it. That, my friend, is one sick ride. Personally, I think it copied the Audi R8’s front, only it looks better, and it far outshines the no doubt more expensive Lamborghini Estoque that was shown at the same show. I’m usually a two-seat speed addicted sports car guy, but I would be proud to own one of these sensual machines.

More info, spec sheet and lots more pictures after the jump: Continue Reading…

Well, well, well, the Le Mans 24 Hour race for 2009 will be quite interesting.

It looks like Peugeot, not content to seriously worry Audi with its diesel 908 is preparing/threatening to run a hybrid version on the next go round.

Although there has been some confusion about just what type of energy recovery system Peugeot is using, some say it’s a KERS system form F1, other say it is only derived from KERS, what is known is that it is a kinetic energy recovery system that stores the energy in a bunch of LiIon batteries. from the batts it’s out to the drive-line via the same generator, which now functions as a motor.

Peugeot has some impressive, yet guarded, statements about its new toy:

Peugeot 908 HDi Hybrid Le Mans“This hybrid 908 HDi FAP is in perfect keeping with the overall mission of our endurance racing programme which covers not only the challenge of competing, of course, but also the fact that as a car manufacturer we can use motor sport as a research and development tool for the Peugeot brand as a whole,” commented Peugeot Sport’s Director, Michel Barge.

“After innovating through the use of our HDi FAP technology in competition, running a hybrid car in endurance racing would give Peugeot a chance to gain extremely valuable experience that would benefit the development of production cars. Whether we use this technology or not in 2009 will obviously depend on the details of the new regulations published by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest,” he added.

Huh … hedging of bets … and it get even more mysterious if you dig deeper, like Sam Collins of Racecar Engineering, who calls the 908 HDI a “false dawn.”

So, are they serious, or is this just hype?

Source: Carscoop & Racecar Engineering

The newest concept from Peugeot is a 2+2 coupe that bears a striking resemblance to the current Mitsubishi Eclipse. Peugeot (pronounced “pooZHO” in case you’ve ever wondered,) calls this new car the 308 RC Z. Don’t expect to be impressed with tire-smoking abilities here; this concept is more about elegant design. However, the 308 Concept houses a 1.6L 218 horsepower turbocharged Inline-4 Cylinder which can get you from 0-60 mph in 7 seconds - not shabby for an efficient everyday driver, but it’s no Ferrari.

The overall design of the car is elegant, if you can tell if it’s coming or going. The rear and side profile looks a bit like a new Mitsubishi Eclipse: Continue Reading…

Weird, this is the first Ferrari 360 Modena replica I’ve ever seen that actually looks good! Now that I think about it, it’s one of the only kit cars in general that looks good. Yeah, that picture up there is the kit, not the real 360.

The Ferrari 360 Modena happens to be my favorite car of all time, and while there aren’t very many kits out there for it, there are a few I’ve seen…and they’re hideous. Take this horrendous example:

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