The Dacia Duster will debut in the UK in 2012, with the new SUV appearing on the European market in a few weeks’ time at just 11,900 euros. The Dacia is a Romanian car brand that belongs to the Renault group, and is creating a stir with its entry level market options. Dacia was not a brand originally earmarked for the UK market, but with solid results in the last five years, the Duster is up to the challenge.

While Dacia is not set for a UK debut until 2012, you can see details of the project on the website at www.daciacars.co.uk, complete with a countdown. The Dacia Duster will be available in both 4×2 and 4×4 driving options, costing 11,900 euros or 13,900 euros. It has an engine range with a 16 valve, 1.6-litre petrol unit with 110 hp, and two dCi diesel models with 85 or 110 hp. CO2 emissions measure between 135 and 145 g/km. It has the minimum safety features you’d expect with ABS, ESP and four airbags.

Off-road options include the Pack Look kit with 16-inch light alloy wheels, roof bar, brushed chrome side skirts and darkened rear windows. The Pack Cuoio, on the other hand, includes interior leather finishes. The Dacia Duster comes with a six-speed manual gearbox with a short shift for off-road driving. Below you can find live pics of the Duster at Geneva, more official pics and a video showing its offroad capabilities.

Continue reading: Dacia Duster at 2010 Geneva Motor Show: official details, price and video

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As you may well imagine, Volkswagen did very nicely in the European market for 2009, as did Opel and Ford (and there’s no prizes for guessing for which models). There are a couple of surprises though, with Fiat doing very well, but not with the Fiat 500, which makes a nice change, and Peugeot and Renault put in appearances as well. Check out Europe’s top ten cars for 2009 after the jump.

Continue reading: Europe's top ten cars for 2009

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The new Renault Megane Coupe Cabriolet will be presented at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show on March 2nd. The Renault Atelier in Paris will also feature the new Megane on March 5th. The new coupe-cabriolet will extend the Megane line-up, with the sports style coupe and open top cabriolet combined. The Megane Coupe-Cabriolet will feature a fold-away glass roof, although no further technical details, including engine options, are available.

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The Fiat 2010 New Year commercial is less about wishing you a Happy New Year and more about showing you the hopes for the Fiat-Chrysler deal for 2010. With a few historic images, very Italian in nature, we’re taken to the Fiat 500 cruising some world famous American sites. It’s a strange video for the local Italian audience, as if they needed convincing about the Fiat-Chrysler deal.

Another European manufacturer focussed on something more ecological for the New Year, with Renault producing a New Year video about its electric cars. With highly recognisable footage from recreation to environmental disasters, the Renault commercial closes with a brief look at the Renault Zoe: one of the family of Renault electrics made up of the Twizy, Fluence and Z.E. See the video after the jump.

Continue reading: Fiat and Renault: New Year commercials on Chrysler deal and electric cars

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According to reports the new Megane C-C will be the first Renualt with twin-clutch technology, to be called EDC or Efficient Dual Clutch. The technology comes from collaboration with Getrag and will appear on the 1.5-litre Dci engine with 105 hp. From there, it will migrate to other Renault motors, and was originally planned to debut on the Megane or the Scenic; with the arrival of the cabriolet in March at the Geneva show, we should see it earlier.

The Megane CC will incorporate the front of the coupe with a large rear to accommodate the folding metal roof. After the debut at the 2010 Geneva show, sales should start in spring, when other versions of the Megan should also start to offer the new dual-clutch transmission.

Source | Autointernationaal

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The first look at the Samsung Motors’ SM5 sedan has been released, and reports say the car will form the basis of the new Renault Safrane. The SM5 is clearly produced for the Asian car market, but will appear in Europe under the guise of the Safrane, which is replacing the Vel Satis, whose production end was recently announced.

If the Safrane was to take on this design, it’s certainly not displeasing and has the dimension to be a competitive sedan. It measures 4.9 metres long and has a wheel base of 2.8 metres, with plenty of room for passengers. The new Safrane will likely debut at the 2010 Paris motor show with an engine range the same as the Samsung Koleos: a four-cylinder, 2.5-litre petrol engine with 170 hp, and diesels with 150 and 173 hp.

Source | Autointernationaal

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This video shows the French Formula One driver at the wheel of the new Dacia Duster crossover, rally driving the new car for its market debut. The Dacia Duster in the video has been designed for driving on ice and there’s plenty of sliding and drifting for the rev heads among you. The Dacia Duster is a low cost model based on the Nissan Qashqai and you can get a closer look of its style in this video.

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Here’s a look at the interior of the new Renault Twingo Gordini model, which continues the French racing blue theme with white stripes on the inside, too. The blue and white theme can be seen on the steering wheel, gear stick, seats and car mats.

Most of the finishings are in leather, and the Gordini logo is included on the seats, head rest and door panels, which continue with the white stripes. Overall it’s a nice look, and as far as I can make out, the dash and central panel are the same as the Renault Twingo RS. Given what was pegged as the great rebirth of the Gordini tuning brand, frankly I was expecting a little more. It’s not displeasing, just a little underwhelming perhaps (I’m sold on the alloys, though - very nice!).

Renault Twingo RS Gordini interior

Continue reading: Renault Twingo Gordini interior pics

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These Renault Twingo Gordini pics show the brand new Gordini revival pocket rocket, with its classic blue tint and white racing stripes. If you’re in Paris, you can check it out at the Renault shop on the Champs-Elysées, where it’s part of Renault’s “Christmas in Blue” exhibition.

The Renault Twingo Gordini RS is equipped with a 1.6-litre petrol engine with 133 hp and a specially tuned engine pitch. It features a sport chassis and 17-inch wheels, and inside it has classic Gordini quilted effect leather seats. The Twingo Gordini will be available for order from February next year, and on the market around Europe from March. The Twingo Gordini RS will be a part of the Twingo range that still includes the Twingo RS. The former is designed as the most exclusive and sporty of the Twingo offering.

No performance figures have been released, so it’s hard to say whether this is a genuine sports offering on top of what you can already get with the Twingo RS, or whether it’s just a blue paint job and some interior leather. The Twingo RS is also equipped with the 1.6-litre engine and 133 hp. It also shares the same Renault Sports chassis and 17-inch wheels. The RS performance figures are 0-100 km/hr in 8.7 seconds and 201 km/hr.

We think the Twingo Gordini will be just the same, except that there’ll be a blue flash and a couple of white stripes coming down the straight. Which means that a paint job might not be enough to compete with the likes of Abarth, which is what I had understood part of the project was about. So until further notice, let’s say the RS is the tuned part, while Gordini takes on the looks department.

Renault Twingo Gordini RS

Continue reading: Renault Twingo Gordini RS pics

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Renault has announced the production end of the Vel Satis sedan, which first appeared in 2001. The Vel Satis was originally designed to replace the Safrane, but was unsuccessful due to its unusual design for a car of this segment. It was designed by Patrick Le Quément who is also behind the Avantime model, itself another flop.

It has also been the victim of overly optimistic sales targets from Renault, which were set at 50,000 units a year. The Vel Satis was supposed to compete on a par with German sedans and other similar models, but in eight years only 62,000 units have been assembled.

It will probably be replaced by a Samsung Motors model, which will adopt the Safrane name once again. After the jump is a video of the Vel Satis in action.

Continue reading: Renault Vel Satis out of production

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