Renault-Volvo marriage on the cards—BIG mistake

Renault-Volvo marriage on the cards—BIG mistake

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Now I know that Carlos Ghosn made the Renault-Nissan alliance work but you see, the French company had a lot to benefit from the intercontinental marriage because Nissan is an expert in robust larger engines and have a range of good small and mid-size cars that Renault can benefit from.

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Renault also learnt a lot about Japanese manufacturing methods, practices and standards, which helped them screw together their French products better.

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Nissan benefited from Renault’s European marketing savvy and Gallic design flair.

They shared technology and knowhow and complemented each other across product range and over global markets.

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Whereas Volvo is a niche carmaker with safety to sell. Lets face it, Renault has more EURONCAP five stars than Volvo so what are they going to take from the Volvo alliance?

Big engines? well Nissan’s got better ones, more reliable, more robust, more refined than anything coming out of Gothenburg

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Luxury image, perhaps but only up to the entry level, Volvo is too much of a thinking man’s car, too much emphasis on safety, too boring

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If Renault takes on Volvo they will have to put safety on the back burner and maybe use this tagline “It’s a Volvo; Safety is a Given” and start working on glamour and excitement.

Remember how Audi insisted on beign a geek with their Vorsprung Durch Technik… trying to seel their car on tech alone?

They did OK but things started to really shoot up for them when they introduced cool looking cars, when they got Walter Da Silva to come on board and sketch their rides, when they made the C5 A5, you know the rouded rear car and the TT which aped that same look..

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Audi’s fortunes turned up when they began reminding people in earnest about their motorsports tradition,

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their rallying their grand prix exploits, when they used the Nuvolari name on their concept car and the Nuvolari grille (technicaly called the single aperture grille) as their new corporate face.

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They have to make Volvo sexy, they have to get someone like Chris Bangle to refresh the look, depart from the accepted Volvo norm and reinvent the brand and the look… I just don’t think renault has that kind of plans or resolve to carry out such a risky adventure…

this is why I say Volvo  and Renault may last only as long as Volvo makes money for them, but then again if anyoen can make Volvo sexy its the French so maybe they can pull it off…. I certainly hope so but hope alone may not be enough

3 COMMENTS

  1. So much said had been said Nissan cars had got no sex or image appeal no matter how good they are ?. Why is Nissan under Renault? Remember the Asian crisis?

    Same thing now, GM, Ford and Chrysler even Toyota post big losses. Ford is not doing enough to improve Volvo r&d ( funds) rather than milking Volvo since 1999 . When the milk become tainted , Ford decided to dump it !!
    Does Nissan produce any proven engines that had clocked travel two million miles with proper maintenance. If they do perhaps their car skeleton could have been rusted by now . Volvo engines had got it what about Nissan engines ??
    Any Nissan engines good for btcc ?? Chance of grabbing the campionship title?? Volvo engines from Gottenberg had done it so what about Nissan engine from Japan?
    In the past Nissan cars were boring before Renault came in . Remember datsun, they use morris engine know how!!
    Remember Nissan winding up operation in australia?
    Any way Nissan big cars sales are not doing well.
    Nissan cars are meant for middle income groups.
    Audis are lady like cars just too much mechanical and reliabilty problems.
    I would say anything from Gottenberg are much better than from Japan . No toys in the making please !!!
    In reply to your sole thinking of big mistake which is not a mistake anyway
    Volvo f14 !! Most powerful in the world now

  2. P. Corwer

    Whilel Volvo engines may have that reputation for lasting long ( thought that may have as much to do with Volvo drivers as well as Volvo engines), Nissan’s engines do have the reputation of being unbreakable,

    Skyline R33 & 34 are tuned to more than 600 horses all over the world without spilling their innards while some have cranked out 1000 horses while remaining in one piece

    I don’t think Renault get’s Volvo just like BMW did not get Rover, all Munich got was the 4×4 tech which they then used to buiold the X5 and other SUVs

    Renault may yet cast Volvo aside after gettign the tech but it’s nto going to be good for Volvo

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