Welcome to Must Read, where we single out the best stories from around the automotive universe and beyond. Today we have reports from Petrolicious, The Truth About Cars, and Reuters.
Just a love story between a man, a woman, and a classic car. With lots of great photos, too.
Michael spent five years searching for the right 1800; the year, color, and condition had to be just right. A love for Volvo 1800s runs in the family; back in 1969, his father took a European delivery of a Volvo 1800S, and Michael's older brother has owned a number of examples over the years. Right out of college, Michael found his first 1800S on a farm in Kansas and purchased it as a project. He learned a great deal from the car but longed for a more solid example to refine; then proceeded the five-year search.
The inimitable Jack Baruth weighs in on Matt's policy against embargoes and how they're irrelevant in the Internet age. He's dead on accurate, too. At the same time, he worries that quality will suffer in what he calls the "fast news" era. I'd like to kindly remind him that's not all we do around here.
The bottom line is that the people who played by the rules in the embargo will not benefit. Which, in the long run, removes any reason to participate in embargoes. As much as AutoWeek doesn’t want to get their news from Matt Hardigree, they like watching him run photos of their own magazine that they, in turn, are unable to publish even less. Better to have a situation where everybody grabs the news at the same time and publishes it as quickly as they can.
Times are real tough at Peugeot-Citroën. Will China be their savior?
Once known worldwide for the reliability and ruggedness of its cars, Peugeot - which has also owned the Citroën brand since the 1970s - has in recent years watched rivals spot global opportunities and snatch them from under its nose. Both France and PSA must find a way - if there is one - of competing in world markets while funding the labor and welfare provisions that make up the country's cherished social model. France's share of euro zone exports has fallen by a third since 2000 to just over 12 percent, while PSA's share of the Western European car market has fallen to just over 11 percent from a peak of 15 percent in 2002.
Photo credit Yamamura Tsukiko
The Volvo P1800S Is Central To This Couple's Marriage