Russia


REPORT: Renault and Russia come to agreement on AvtoVAZ

Renault has found a way to appease Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that didn't involve writing a check for $850 million. The French company took a 25% stake in Russian carmaker Avtovaz, and when Avtovaz started having a hard time of it earlier this year Renault looked content to see how things turned out. Putin wasn't: he told Carlos Ghosn to inject cash into Avtovaz, or Putin would dilute Renault's stake with a share sale. Things retreated from the cliff when Renault promised technology to Avtovaz, in return for which Russia would ... Read more →

REPORT: Renault delays new Lada products to focus on improving quality Noah Joseph

All eyes have been on Renault since acquiring a 25% stake in Russian automaker Avtovaz. The French carmaker headed by the venerable Carlos Ghosn beat out Fiat and General Motors to acquire the ...

REPORT: Renault could sell 40% of its F1 team to Russian investors Noah Joseph

A few weeks back, Toyota announced its departure from Formula One, and it looked like Renault could follow. The team had lost its drivers, its team leaders, its sponsors and its reputation. The ...

Foreskin Removal: Dartz Prombron drops the whale penis Frank Filipponio

You probably heard about the Dartz Prombron recently, the ultra-luxury armored SUV from Russia that would feature, among other ne plus ultra materials, leather pulled from whale penis foreskin. Why ...

Many Happy Returns? Russian designer pens Maserati Kuba concept Noah Joseph

It was only a few years ago, but how quickly we forget. Maserati actually toyed with the idea of building a crossover back in 2003, even going so far as to unveil a concept for the project called ...

Russian PM Putin reportedly tells Renault to put up or get out 1 month ago on Autoblog

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but with hindsight being 20-20, how many failed ventures can be summed up by that same excuse? Just last year, Russia was looking to foreign investors as one of the most promising emerging markets in the world. Renault got locked into a bidding war with ...

VIDEO: Man misses runaway bus in Russia by inches 1 month ago on Autoblog

Driving is dangerous. We know that, yet the vast majority of us seem willing to take the risks inherent with strapping ourselves inside a two-ton projectile to share the road with other human-piloted objects of mass destruction. With all of these behemoth chunks of metal flying around at high ...

VIDEO: Drop whatever you're doing and watch Black Lightning trailer 1 month ago on Autoblog

A couple of weeks ago we shared the trailer for a film about a very famous car from behind the Iron Curtain -- the Belgrade Phantom. However, it's been 20 years since the former Soviet Bloc began to disintegrate and frankly, much has changed. For instance, while a Porsche 911 might have been ...

Russian designer works with Zagato on ZR1-based Iso Rivolta Marella concept 1 month ago on Autoblog

Front-engine rear-drive aluminum chassis, 640-horsepower supercharged V8 engine, high bang:buck ratio... Chevrolet's Corvette ZR1 has got it all. No wonder it's proving to be such a compelling choice for coachbuilders. Reviving the time-honored tradition in re-cloaking Vettes with Italian ...

Aim Higher: GM Daewoo reportedly suing TagAZ over fears they are planning to copy the Lacetti 2 months ago on Autoblog

In what looks like a serious-but-probably-the-norm case of industrial espionage, General Motors' South Korean Daewoo division is reportedly alleging that the Russian automaker TagAZ has tried to copy its Lacetti sedan. Backing up those allegations are the arrests of two TagAZ engineers – ...

VIDEO: Mirror-finish Audi S5 in Moscow parking garage [w/POLL] 2 months ago on Autoblog

When we were in Frankfurt last week and saw the mirror-finish Audi R8 we thought we were so darn clever because we came up with the phrase, "All Dubai'd out" to describe its shiny, reflective surfaces. A little etymology if you will. The phrase, "All murdered out" has recently entered the car ...

Frankfurt 2009: Marussia B2 breaks cover, B1 Hybrid shown in new colors 2 months ago on Autoblog

When we hear the phrase "Russian Supercar" we initially think of either a turbocharged tank or something made from wallpaper, powered by fictional hubris yet somehow still finished in mirrored chrome. Any of which would come with his and hers full length mink coats. However, the two Marussia ...

Spy Shots: Marussia B2, is that you? 2 months ago on Autoblog

Marussia released two teasers of its new car, the not-so imaginatively-named B2, last week. What the company neglected to do before that was cover up its cars while they were being transported through Moscow. Someone took pictures of them, apparently not even knowing what they were (the blue one ...

Marussia, Russia's first supercar headed for international debut at Frankfurt 2 months ago on Autoblog

The hybrid Marussia B1 was unveiled last year, and can now be ordered for €100,000 (about $146,000 USD) while it is being prepared for serial production. Two of them will be on display at next week's the Frankfurt Motor Show alongside the company's latest car, the Marussia B2, being teased ...

New Renault Fluence compact sedan for Turkey, Russia, Romania... is Saturn next? 3 months ago on Autoblog

Renault has just announced a new compact mid-size sedan called the Fluence for its Turkish, Russian, and Romanian markets. The Fluence is sized to slot in between the usual C- and D-segment offerings, making it a bit larger than the Megane and smaller than the Laguna. The front-wheel drive four ...

REPORT: Russian conglomorate plans merger of top three automotive brands 3 months ago on Autoblog

While competition between local automakers may have worked in individual markets in the past, that same fragmentation is one of the chief elements hampering the global competitiveness of carmakers hailing from emerging markets. China's automakers have been learning that lesson for some time now, ...

Audi R8: The Ultimate Driving Machine? 3 months ago on Autoblog

In the pantheon of automotive wrongs, the Slavic hoser behind this "BMW R8" spotted in Moscow is a god. Hang around this car blogging business long enough and you see a lot of terrible things at SEMA. But this thing is almost cake-taking. Some of y'all might remember the Bentley badged up as ...

Review: 2009 Ural T sidecar motorcycle isn't as retro as it looks 4 months ago on Autoblog

Despite its obvious link to Thirties-era wartime motorcycles from BMW, the 2009 Ural T sidecar motorcycle can't really be described as "retro." Instead, the three-wheeled machines rolling out of Ural's factory in Russia really are a direct link to the past – a bygone era of motorcycling ...

VIDEO: The Superest of Supercar Shootouts: Bugatti Veyron vs. McLaren F1 on Top Gear 5 months ago on Autoblog

Episode 2 of Top Gear's 13th season aired last night in the UK, and the main event was a one-mile drag race between the McLaren F1 and the Bugatti Veyron. Notice that we didn't say a McLaren F1 and a Bugatti Veyron. These two supercars are so super (and rare) that any single example tends to ...

REPORT: Ex-GM VP Bo Andersson to run Russia's GAZ 5 months ago on Autoblog

Bo Andersson was General Motors' global purchasing group vice president up until last Friday, when he suddenly resigned without warning. Now, we appear to know why he left – Automotive News is reporting that Andersson will become CEO of GAZ, the Russian consumer and military vehicle maker. As ...

Opel stake could give Russian automaker an injection of "know-how" 5 months ago on Autoblog

If you tried telling us even as recently as a year ago that General Motors would be forced to sell its European assets and that a partnership between a Canadian parts supplier and a Russian bank would step up to take the stake, we'd have probably raised a few eyebrows. But such is the state of the ...

Save your Rubles: Ural introduces new entry-level sidecar motorcycle 5 months ago on Autoblog

Those interested in hearkening back to the old days of motorcycling can probably find exactly what they're looking for at their nearest Ural dealership. The Russian motorcycle maker has just introduced its newest model, which is called simply the Ural T, and it appears to be a solid step ...

German government approves majority sale of Opel to Magna, Russians 6 months ago on Autoblog

With General Motors expected to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York on Monday morning, negotiators in Germany scrambled to finalize a deal to save Opel from insolvency. Following a six-hour meeting in the German Chancellor's office in Berlin on Friday evening, a deal was finally ...

REPORT: GAZ confirms interest in Opel 6 months ago on Autoblog

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin himself has said that at the behest of Magna, Russia's GAZ conglomerate is considering taking a 30% interest in Opel. GAZ, though, has made it clear that it does not want to run or own Opel – what it really seems to want is to have cars to produce at its ...

Ukranian class warfare apparently leads to toasted Chevrolet Corvette 7 months ago on Autoblog

Judging by these photographs, someone in the Ukraine didn't like this Extra-Crispy Chevrolet Corvette. And although the melted plastic lump is being been blamed on "class warfare," it could have been an insurance scam, a tryst gone bad, or some hardcore Grand Theft Auto: Streets of Kiev payback ...

Ukraine lays claim to the mother of all potholes 8 months ago on Autoblog

Think the roads are bad in your neck of the woods? Growing up just a bit south of Detroit before moving to the sunnier climes of Arizona, this particular blogger has always assumed that Michigan's harsh winters and heavy traffic conspire to make the frost heaved and potholed highways of the ...

Putin Power: Even Russian automakers to get a bailout? 8 months ago on Autoblog

According to The Detroit News, Avtovaz, Russia's largest car maker and the home of Lada, is in line for government help. The Russian car industry is faring even more poorly than its counterpart in the U.S., with a 60% drop in sales being predicted. To assist Avtovaz with payments to creditors, ...

Ural to auction custom-painted Gzhel sidecar motorcycle 8 months ago on Autoblog

On the surface, it would seem that Ural's brand of rugged sidecar motorcycles has absolutely nothing at all to do with delicate Gzhel-style ceramics. Regardless, the American branch of the classic Russian motorcycle maker has commissioned a unique take on their bread-and-butter Tourist model ...

Top Gear Russia debuts, hide the women and vodka 8 months ago on Autoblog

The Russians have succeeded where the Americans have failed: they got a local version of Top Gear on the air. It's got all the familiar elements: fast cars, oddball challenges, timed laps, beautiful shots, beautiful women, explosions, mayhem, and it's even got The Stig, who drives in Russian. ...

Glory Days: Russia's "Grande Garage" builds Escalade-based GAZ retro rod 9 months ago on Autoblog

Remember the good old days? Well if they were spent under a communist dictatorship, perhaps they were not all that "good." And yet, there are some who still find ways to look back fondly. We're not sure that two vehicles is enough to qualify as a trend, but this is the second Western-built SUV ...

Russia expected to be third largest global market by 2012 10 months ago on Autoblog

Russia has long been included under the "emerging markets" umbrella that carmakers have been saying would lead to future industry growth. The economic fallout put an end to those predictions, with Russia suffering just as badly – and if you include the oil sector, some would say even worse ...

Not Quite Dead Yet: Russian firm vying for Ssangyong SUV assembly rights 10 months ago on Autoblog

What's next for Ssangyong? The automaker, which is the fifth largest in Korea, was forced to enter into receivership last week after failing to secure adequate funding past what was required to pay its workers for time already put in. SAIC, the company's Chinese owners, have given up management ...

Bloc Rockin' Beat(er): Volga GAZ-21 meets Porsche Cayenne 10 months ago on Autoblog

We recently told you that the Porsche Panamera would be unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show in April, but it turns out that it has already debuted in Russia. This Porsche-powered four-door just popped up with a retro body that seems to have caught the whole automotive world by surprise. We ...

Suzuki's Hungarian production halts due to Russia/Ukraine gas dispute 10 months ago on Autoblog

Russia and Ukraine are presently in the midst of a natural gas pricing dispute. Russia wants Ukraine to pay closer to market price for the commodity. Ukraine says that Russia should pay more for the use of its pipelines, through which the bulk of the EU's Russia-sourced natural gas flows. Russia has ...

REPORT: Toyota puts hold on Russia, Thailand plant plans 11 months ago on Autoblog

Just because Toyota is still spending on Formula 1 and the Lexus LF-A doesn't mean its not cinching up the fiscal belts -- scaling back at the Detroit Auto Show, killing Australia's TRD division, and delaying a highly anticipated sports car. And now you can add stopping construction on new factories ...

Russian Marussia supercar unveiled 11 months ago on Autoblog

Nikolay Fomenko, who was probably busy enough being a popular singer, television new anchor and theater actor, also found time to become an FIA N-GT champion. And if that wasn't enough to keep this Russian renaissance man busy, he has just launched his country's first sportscar company, Marussia. ...

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Autoblog Podcast #155: 'Twas the night before LA...

Chris, Dan, and Editor Paukert go over some LA Preview action and quietly whoop it up on the podcast.

 
 

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