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European jury picks finalists for 2015 Car of the Year

There are countless Car of the Year awards handed out each year, and naturally, Europe has its own way of doing things. Every year, a panel of jurists representing seven publications in seven different languages and seven different countries get together to name their joint Car of the Year. The panel released a list of 32 candidates back in July, and it has now whittled that list down to seven nominees. The list consists of the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, the Citroen C4 Cactus (shown), the Ford Mondeo, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the Nissan Qashqai, the Renault Twingo and the Volkswagen Passat. Of those seven, only two are available in the US – those being the Mondeo (sold Stateside as the Fusion) and the C-Class. The Passat is an entirely different model in North America, the Qashqai isn't offered here, Citroen and Renault don't even participate in our market and the BMW 2 Series is represented here only by the completely different coupe and convertible. Expect the one and only recipient of the 2015 Car of the Year award to be announced at the Geneva Motor Show this coming March, and while you're waiting, you can place your guesses for the eventual winner in Comments. Featured Gallery 2015 European Car of the Year: Nominees News Source: CaroftheYear.org BMW Ford Mercedes-Benz Nissan Volkswagen Citroen Renault car of the year nissan qashqai citroen c4 cactus bmw 2 series active tourer

Fast & Furious Nissan 350Z offered for big money

Fans of the Fast & Furious film franchise will want to check out this latest listing. It may be located all the way over the pond in the UK, but it could be worth the trouble for the rare privilege of owning one of the stars of Tokyo Drift. It just won't come cheap. The vehicle in question is a 2002 Nissan 350Z tuned by Veilside for use in the third F&F film. It's got a Version 3 widebody kit and twin APS turbochargers that bring output up to 430 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. All that muscle is handled by a Nismo two-way differential and twin-plate clutch. It's got a roll cage, NOS tank, center-lock modular alloys, racing buckets... the works. It's the car that Takashi drove in the movie, and was imported to the UK by its current owner. With 9,800 miles on the odometer, it's currently listed at Cheshire Classic Cars for a hair under GBP150,000 – or about $235k at current exchange rates. Now if that strikes you as quite a handsome sum, you may be right - especially considering that the Toyota Supra from the first movie just sold a few months ago for $185k. That's a hefty $50,000 difference, which could account for a pretty sweet garage to display it in or a whole lot of extra tires after you smoke these ones bald. True, the pink Supra it may not have aged as well as this sinister-looking black Datsun, but then that Toyota is the one that the late star of the franchise Paul Walker drove himself. So as far as investments go, Walker's Supra is bound to appreciate in value better than the Drift King's Z. Related Video:

Renault splits into 5 businesses in drive to boost profit

  PARIS — French car maker Renault announced a major overhaul that will see it separate its activities in five businesses, deepen ties with China's Geely and spin off its electric vehicles unit through a stock market listing next year. At a long-awaited investor presentation on Tuesday, Renault said it targeted operating margins of 8% for 2025 and rising to more than 10% in 2030, from 5% expected this year. It also plans to reinstate dividends from 2023 after a three-year hiatus, and generate more than 2 billion euros of cash annually between 2023-25, growing to more than 3 billion euros in the following five years. An early mover in the electric car race, Renault has fallen behind newer, more agile rivals like Tesla. After needing emergency state cash during the COVID pandemic, the group is looking to extend on a turnaround following losses in 2019 and 2020, and increase the valuation of its different parts. But big question marks remain on its strained relationship with long-standing Japanese partner Nissan, as Renault looks for other outside investors for each of its divisions. The main plank of the car maker's strategy is separating its combustion engine business — which will partner with Geely in a 50-50 joint venture, also announced on Tuesday — from its electric vehicle unit, to be listed in the second half of next year. Nissan is expected to take a stake in the EV venture, codenamed "Ampere," alongside other investors, though Renault will keep a majority stake. Talks with Nissan have been dragging on, amid Japanese reservations about sharing technology with others, including a Chinese rival like Geely, sources have told Reuters. Shares in Renault fell 2% by 1254 GMT after earlier dipping more than 4% as it gave little detail on the state of play of the discussions with Nissan on the future of their partnership. Renault CEO Luca De Meo said the group wanted to give the alliance a strong future and a "new chance." But he also said that — as in a marriage — "it is important for us to have our own hobbies and our own life." The companies had initially set a Nov. 15 target to reach a deal, but no announcement is now expected on that date, according to people familiar with the talks. Aside from the Ampere EV unit and the combustion engine division, Renault will have an additional three businesses — the Alpine sports-car brand, financial services and new mobility and recycling activities.