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Renault ousts CEO days after Nissan gets a new one

Newly-appointed interim CEO Clotilde Delbos and Chairman of Renault SA Jean-Dominique Senard. / Reuters   PARIS — Renault ousted chief executive Thierry Bollore on Friday, as the French carmaker and its Japanese partner Nissan seek to rekindle their alliance following the scandal-hit tenure of former alliance supremo Carlos Ghosn. Tensions between Renault and Nissan, which picked a new CEO on Tuesday, have been high since Ghosn's arrest in Tokyo last year on allegations of financial misconduct, which he denies. Bollore, who was close to Ghosn and had strained relations with Nissan's previous boss, will be replaced on an interim basis by Renault finance director Clotilde Delbos. With new faces at the helm, Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard is hoping to draw a line under almost a year of turmoil and revive cooperation between two carmakers once seen as destined to fully merge. That is vital at a time when auto markets are slowing and carmakers are having to invest in costly new technologies as well as meet challenging European emissions regulations. "We're at a new stage now for this alliance. Sometimes you need new management ... to breathe new life into things," Senard, who was brought in earlier this year from tyre maker Michelin, told a news conference in Paris. He said three members of Renault's 18-strong board abstained in the vote to remove Bollore, who hit out at his looming dismissal in a newspaper interview the night before, calling it a coup. Following Ghosn's arrest, a feeling of stagnation around joint Renault-Nissan projects, including on issues such as advancing on cost savings, had begun to set in, people at Renault have said. These would now be the first priority, according to a source close to the carmaker. "There are a lot of concrete matters that have already been identified, including on the industrial front: working on batteries, electric vehicles, connectivity, purchasing and self-driving cars," the source said. Shares in Renault closed up 5.1%. 'Coup de force' Tensions between Renault and Nissan were further inflamed this year, including during various spats over governance reforms, and after a failed deal to pair Renault up with Fiat Chrysler, which withdrew a merger offer. Senard reiterated on Friday that a tie-up with Fiat, which was abandoned in June, was not at present on the agenda.

Nissan teases next-gen Titan in 'Truckumentary'

The Nissan Titan has grown long in the tooth over its decade on the market, especially against major competitors on the truck scene like the latest Ford F-150. Not for long, though, because the next-generation Titan is expected to debut at the upcoming auto show in Detroit in January. Ahead of that big unveiling, the Japanese brand is launching what it calls the Nissan Titan Truckumentary, a series of videos delving into what it takes to engineer a fullsize pickup. The first teaser clip is already online and shows the next-gen Titan wearing camouflage amidst engineering snippets. Hopefully, future releases starting in mid-December will give an even better look. Until now, Nissan has kept Titan development a guarded secret, but it did reveal that a 5.0-liter diesel V8 from Cummins with claims of over-300 horsepower and around 550 pound-feet of torque will be part of the powertrain range. The truck was has also been rumored to offer a wider range of models than before, including the possibility of a regular cab version and a V6 engine option. Earlier spy shots have given an even clearer view than this video, showing a pickup with headlights pushed out to the corners. Check out the video above to hear what Nissan engineers have to say about developing the new Titan, and read below for the automaker's announcement of the Truckumentary series. "Nissan Titan Truckumentary" tells story of next-generation pickup truck development NASHVILLE, Tenn. – To celebrate the launch of the next-generation Titan, Nissan will be telling the story of its upcoming full-size pickup's development via a series of short videos under the "Nissan Titan Truckumentary" banner. A teaser of this video series was issued today along with an introductory letter to the series from Nissan North America's Director of Product Planning for trucks and SUVs and Chief Product Specialist for the next-generation Titan, Rich Miller. "The 'Truckumentary' is not meant to be the all-encompassing last word on Titan," said Miller. "Rather it's the continuing story of the vehicle's evolution, accompanied by a close look at the American-based team that is bringing this all-new truck to market." The series will launch in mid-December with more than a dozen videos coming throughout the next calendar year. About Nissan North America In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing.

Nissan IDx 'in the plan' for production, needs support from fans [w/poll]

If there's a trend in the auto industry we can firmly get behind, it's the small, light and affordable rear-drive coupe. The positive critical reception to the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ twins has encouraged other manufacturers to look at building their own rear drivers, and even a few to show actual concept cars based on the idea. The Chevrolet Code 130R from 2012 and more recently, the Nissan IDx twins that were first shown at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show both come to mind, as does the brand-new Kia GT4 Stinger Concept.
Nissan trotted out the IDx Nismo and the IDx Freeflow for another showing in Detroit and we'll admit to being totally smitten with both cars. Again. The duo draw inspiration from the iconic Datsun 510, a lightweight, affordable rear-driver that remains a cult favorite decades after production ended.
Now, a report from our friends at AutoWeek reveals that we may, possibly, hopefully see a production IDx, provided fans make a strong enough case for it. "It's in the plan," Nissan product boss Andy Palmer told AW. According to the report, Palmer said the IDx is "into the first sage of the development process. The next stage is project validation and then looking at the business case. It's no one's intent to waste millions of the company's money, so obviously we have a good feeling about this one."