While police agencies in North America have always favored large, high-powered sedans for use as patrol cars, the rest of the world sees things differently. The fact that most of the rest of the world has always had much higher fuel prices has certainly played a part in this. Police officers in Europe seem to get along fine with compact or mid-sized cars like the Opel Vectra and the Peugeot 307. Peugeot's latest entry in the segment is the 308 HDi 90. The 308s are being prepared by Peugeot's Special Vehicle Operation for police duty with light bars, sirens, radios, police markings and other modifications.

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For the fifth time Peugeot is holding their futuristic design competition. Last year the Flux, designed by 20-year old Romanian Mihai Panaitescu, won the competition and was built as a concept car and eventually shown at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. Besides eternal glory, winning the competition also came with a 6,000 Euro check.

This year the competition is themed as “Imagine a Peugeot for the Megalopolis of Tomorrow”. Designers from all over the world (aged over 14 mind you) can enter their concepts as long as they integrate four specific dimensions, namely environmental friendliness, social harmony, interactive mobility and economic efficiency.

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Peugeot's sports coupe concept, the RC Z, will go into full production and is set to go on sale in the spring of 2010. The French manufacturer announced its intention to build the radical 2+2 at the Lisbon Motor show today.

The concept was first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year and the final model will be revealed at Frankfurt in 2009. The production car is expected to be very similar to the concept, which was based on the 308 platform and was created by the Peugeot Style Centre. It is intended as a rival to the Audi TT.

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Peugeot has announced its 2008 design competition: competitors are invited to 'imagine a Peugeot for the megapolis of tomorrow.'

A full-scale model of the winning entry will be made for display at the 2009 Shanghai Motor Show. The winner will also receive €10,000 and an Xbox 360 games console, and their entry will also be made as a 1/43-scale model for them to keep.

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Prices for Peugeot's new 308 SW will start at £14,395 when it goes on sale in June.

The replacement for the 307 SW and 307 Estate will be available in four trim levels - S, SR, Sport and SE.

The S and SR versions will have a steel roof panel and a folding split rear bench seat, while Sport and SE versions come with individual removable seats and a panoramic glass roof. The panoramic roof on the SE and Sport is 27% larger than that on the 307 SW, with Peugeot also claiming that it's easier to operate.

The 308 SW will be available with eight engine options - five petrol engines and three HDi diesel engines - and there's a new six-speed manual gearbox for the four most powerful units.

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Peugeot and BCA launched the new 4007 (Peugeot’s new SUV) and 207 GTi THP 175 onto the used car market in a special sale staged at BCA Nottingham.

The Peugeot Closed Auction at Nottingham offered 200 vehicles and included a selection of 4007 and 207 GTi models, which were offered at auction for the first time. Over 50 franchised dealers attended the event, with a further 40 bidding over the Internet via BCA’s Live Online service.

Bidding was ‘fast and furious’ as the first 4007 and 207 GTi’s were offered. The 2007 registered ‘07’ plate 4007 GT (top specification) HDi 156 models averaged £19,125, while the SE models averaged £16,775 at around 8,000 miles. The 207 GTi (3dr) models averaged £11,850 at 8,000 miles.

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Launched in spring 2006, the 207 has crossed the peak of one million vehicles produced in less than two years after its commercial launch. Sold in over a hundred countries, the 207 has achieved major commercial success, which in 2007 enabled it to exceed its worldwide sales objective by more than 20,000 units, to 521,000 vehicles.
The 207 is the leader of the B segment in Europe With 440,000 vehicles registered in 2007 during its first full sales year, the 207 became the B segment leader in Europe. This segment, which represents almost a third of the European markets, is one of the most competitive segments, containing more than 70 models on sale. In the market of coupe cabriolets, the 207 CC followed in the tracks of the 206 CC by also taking the top position of its segment, with almost 45,000 vehicles sold in 2007.For the start of 2008, the 207 has continued its launch success and has confirmed this position as the market leader in Europe. Success that relies on a wide model range…In less than two years, Peugeot has sold the widest model range in the segment, offering a 207 model suited to everyone’s needs, thanks to its various body styles and very specific characteristics.

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Peugeot may well be the first team to run a hybrid vehicle at Le Mans and it looks like it will be a diesel, too. New Peugeot CEO recently told the French paper L'Equipe that a diesel-hybrid prototype is currently under development and that it may make some trial runs as soon as this June at Le Mans. Collin also said the car would begin racing in 2009. Peugeot Sport team manager Serge Saulnier, however, is being a little more cautious, acknowledging that a diesel hybrid is in the works. However, Saulnier would not confirm when the car would appear in public. Peugeot has already shown several diesel hybrid concepts based on production 307s and 308s and has acknowledged that they are planning to introduce such a powertrain in the next few years. Toyota may also be making a return to Le Mans as soon as 2010 possibly with a gas-electric hybrid. Let's just hope they bring some of these cars over to the American Le Mans Series and really spice things up.

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Construction of the Peugeot 4007 and Citroen C-Crosser is to be relocated to the Netherlands from Japan. The move will happen in January 2009, and follows on from Mitsubishi’s announcement that all European versions of its Outlander SUV (from which the Peugeot and Citroen are badge-engineered) will also be transferred to Europe.

Production is being moved to the so-called ‘NedCar’ plant, originally owned jointly by Volvo and Mitsubishi, but now the Japanese manufacturer’s European production base. The transfer should reduce order times for factory options, and allow both Citroen and Peugeot to respond more quickly to market demands.

The NedCar facility, which is wholly owned by Mitsubishi, currently builds the Colt supermini. In August 2008 Outlander production will begin there, with the Peugeot and Citroen versions following on in January 2009. The move will see up to 30,000 Outlanders and 25,000 of the Peugeot and Citroen versions being produced there every year. It’s a useful allocation for the Dutch plant, which has had spare capacity since the Smart ForFour was axed.

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French carmakers Peugeot and Citroen could be developing a second SUV model based around Mitsubishi running gear, just as they did with the current 4007 and C7 cars which are based on the Outlander midsize SUV. Mitsubishi is planning to launch its own compact SUV along the lines of last year’s Concept-cX and this is the vehicle that will likely spawn sister-versions for the French carmakers.

Peugeot is also working on a new crossover model based on its 308 hatch but this car will be positioned as a premium product and will be able to seat seven. Likely to be called the 3008, the new SUV would be offered in both FWD and AWD configurations and would be aimed at rival soft-roaders like the Toyota’s new Urban Cruiser and Ford’s Kuga. Mitsubishi’s Concept-cX featured an ultra-clean 1.9L turbodiesel engine as well as the carmaker’s new dual clutch SST automated manual transmission. The new model will enter production early next year at Mitsubishi’s Okazaki plant in Japan alongside its Outlander big brother.

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After months of the European Commission blocking French government subsidies to fund research into diesel-hybrids, PSA Peugeot Citroen is shifting its focus from mass-market hybrid diesels to diesel-hybrids made for high-end premium vehicles according to reports in the French media.

While vehicles such as the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight focus on mass-production vehicles that are affordable to a large market, PSA Peugeot Citroen’s move makes sense as small cars are already quite efficient with stand alone diesel engines while heavier premium vehicles still rely on powerful petrol engines to provide performance. Because of this shift in focus, delays to the release of hybrid-diesels from the manufacturer are likely. Previously PSA was working with automotive technology companies such as Continental and Bosch on a hybrid-diesel that would have been placed in the Peugeot 308 for a 2010 release but this deadline will no longer be met. To show it was serious about this technology, the company even produced a concept car based on its popular 308 model.

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Along with the all-new 308 SW, this year’s Geneva Motor Show will also form the stage for Peugeot to unveil the new 308 GT THP 175. This new top of the range model is powered by the 1.6 litre turbo-charged THP 175 HP petrol engine, previously found in the 207 GTi THP 175. It is also fitted with a new 6-speed manual gearbox.

The same powertrain is also used in the MINI Cooper S as the 1.6-liter turbo engine has been designed in co-operation with the BMW Group. According to Peugeot, the sporty 308 accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.3 sec while it achieves a top speed of 140 mph – 225 km/h.

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Peugeot is offering its 2.0-litre, 136bhp diesel 407 Coupe in a new, high-specification trim level.

The 407 Coupe Bellagio - which comes with equipment including sat nav, hands-free GSM phone, 18" wheels, twin chromed exhaust pipes and 30GB MP3 hard-drive - costs from £21,995 and comes in Flamenco Red or Nera Black metallic paint only.

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In its first full year on sale, the Peugeot 207 has become the No 1 best selling car in Europe. Between January 2007 and December 2007 the Peugeot 207 sold 437,505 vehicles, out selling the second placed car, the Volkswagen Golf.

Since its launch in the UK in July 2006, the Peugeot 207 range has expanded from the initial three and five door hatchback models, to the stunning 207 CC, the sporty 207 GTi THP 175 and the innovative and practical 207 SW.

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There's a new-shape Renault Twingo in metallic orange on our tail. Its driver can't believe what he's seeing. We arrive at a roundabout, squirt the whole way round to leave it the way we came in, and the Twingo is still there. This will be something to tell his friends later. He chased a Peugeot 308 RC Z on a real road. He really did.

Make that the 308 RC Z, because there's only one. As far as the world is concerned it's a glamorous concept car built to sparkle on a motor show stand, which it did first at Frankfurt last year. To see it out in the big wide world, being driven with vigour, is something else altogether.

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