Gibson guitars confiscated: what about the Renault Wind Gordini?

By Alison

Yesterday we showed you the official pics of the Renault Wind Gordini edition by Gibson guitars. Well, it seems like the Wind was lucky to get the logos and guitars to show off with as The Truth about Cars reports that the prestigious instrument manufacturer has been the victim of two US goverment raids in as many years, over legislation about the documentation of all raw materials in manufacturing.

According to search warrants provided at the raid, Gibson Guitars is accused of illegally shipping timber for its fretboards. You can check out The Tennessean for an explanation on the complicated legal machinations behind it all, but it says:

Hundreds of items were seized from Gibson’s Nashville facilities including rosewood and ebony in various forms, shipping documents, travel records, guitars including several Les Pauls, product specifications and hard drives, according to the search warrant. A Memphis facility was also raided Wednesday.

While TTAC drew a long bow on the connection between the Gibson guitar raids and the car world (saying that the legislation applies to cars as well - so you’d better have a long list documenting the materials of everything your Renault is made of), you’ve got to wonder what’s in that guitar-stringed upholstery. On a serious note, as a music lover and Gibson fan, here’s hoping the accusations are unfounded and the great guitar-making tradition continues.

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Renault Wind Gordini by Gibson Guitars

By Alison

The one-off Renault Wind Gordini by Gibson guitars has been revealed on the occasion of the Rock En Seine Festival. I’m not personally thrilled about the Renault-Gibson collaboration but the fact that the car is a Gordini version and the guitar one of the great instruments of the world kind of helps things.

The Wind Gordini by Gibson appears in the classic Gordini blue with white racing stripes, and the Gibson side of things is seen on the interior with exclusive leather seats with integrated guitar strings, Gibson logos, lacquered black and chrome trim in the style of an electric guitar and a guitar potentiometer volume knob.

Gibson in turn has created five 1961 Gibson SG guitars with Gordini colouring to celebrate, one of which will be given away at the festival to a solo guitar player, with the winner determined by internet voting.

Continue reading: Renault Wind Gordini by Gibson Guitars

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Renault Wind to lure male buyers

By Alison

Forget the stereotypes of gay men and women who want to look cool when picking their kids up from school, the compact Renault Wind convertible is set to woo male buyers with its sporty looks and focus on driving experience. The Wind will be released in September and on the local French market will have pricing starting at 17,500 euros for the 1.2 TCe model with 100 hp.

With the Peugeot 207 CC its main rival and a huge success among female drivers, Renault is hoping its Wind model will appeal to a wider range of customers. Renault says the Wind is aimed at both male and female drivers from 25 to 45 years old and carries a message of “fun driving”. Although this is clarified, with Renault saying the Wind is not a sports car but rather a ‘coupé-roadster’.

Small convertibles are popular in Europe and Renault predicts Europeans will buy 100,000 compact convertibles this year, with annual sales rising to 150,000 by the end of 2011. That would indicate a growing market despite the economic situation being a little shaky right now.

Renault hasn’t gotten into specifics, though, about sales projections and production figures for its Wind model so we don’t know what slice of that market Renault wants to occupy. The Renault Wind includes an innovative folding hard-top roof and will also be available with a 16V, 1.6-litre engine with 133 hp.

Source | AutomotiveNews

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Renault Wind appears early in UK, late for France

By Alison

The Renault Wind will not be available before summer and will likely appear only by September on the French market. It’s unfortunate for a spider model that would have been perfect for the warmer season, and in so doing, the Wind debut is taking a different timeline than originally expected.

The Wind was presented together with the new Megane CC which is already available for order, while orders for the former will be available only from May. It does appear, though, that some Renault Wind models will be made available to the UK market by summer, leaving us a little perplexed. The Wind is being built in Slovenia and will cost about 17,500 euros in France.