Renault celebrates hitting teh one million milestone for the Kangoo at Renault’s Maubeuge plant in Northern France.

• Renault’s Maubeuge plant in Northern France has produced its millionth second-generation Kangoo
• The future owner of the millionth Kangoo will be a retail customer in Japan
• Over 3.2 million Kangoos built since 1998

Renault’s Maubeuge plant has produced its millionth second-generation Kangoo. Initially released in 1998 and then redesigned in 2007, the Kangoo is available in a choice of three sizes – the Kangoo Compact, Kangoo Express and Kangoo Maxi – as well as an electric version, the Kangoo Z.E. Since launching in 1998, over 3.2 million first- and second-generation Kangoos have been produced.

Jose Martin Vega, Director, Renault Maubeuge commented: “Kangoo continues to appeal to a diverse clientele of both business and retail customers in all its markets. Our entire plant is proud to celebrate this new production landmark, which confirms our ability to meet customer expectations in terms of quality and lead times.”  

Renault’s entire range of light commercial vehicles is made in France. The Trafic and Master vans are manufactured at the Group’s Sandouville and Batilly plants, respectively, illustrating the know-how and competitiveness of its French production sites.

The Maubeuge facility also produces the Mercedes-Benz Citan for Renault’s partner, Daimler.

Renault UK’s van sales increased significantly in 2015 to 25,458 vehicles – up 39.5 per cent compared to 2014 and significantly outpaced the UK van market which grew by of 15.5 per cent. Renault van full-year market share stood at 6.7 per cent – up 1.2 percentage points on 2014.

First Restored Corvette, the "Blue Devil" is the first finished car after sinkhole damaged eight cars.

TMW COMMENT - This is great news to see that the cars have been restored to their former glory, I am a little upset that the entire batch of damaged cars will not be repaired, as these cars should be kept in the condition before the hole appeared, this is our fourth post on the sink hole, please read the others here.

SINKHOLE DESTROYS MUSEUM 

FINAL CORVETTE RESCUED FROM HOLE 

CORVETTE MUSEUM RECEIVES HUGE DONATION

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Corvette ZR1 ‘Blue Devil’ debuts at SEMA Show on way back to museum

Chevrolet today unveiled the restored 2009 Corvette ZR1 that was damaged earlier this year when a sinkhole developed beneath the National Corvette Museum. It’s on display this week at the SEMA Show, before heading back to the museum in Bowling Green, Ky.

The ZR1, nicknamed the “Blue Devil,” is the first of the eight cars swallowed by the sinkhole to be restored. One of two show cars used to introduce the all-new Corvette ZR1 in January 2008, the car was on loan from Chevrolet to the National Corvette Museum when the sinkhole developed.

Museum personnel were alerted about motion detectors going off in the Skydome area of the facility on the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 12. They arrived to find a sinkhole measuring about 45 feet wide, 60 feet long and up to 30 feet deep – and it had swallowed eight Corvettes.

Three weeks later, the ZR1 was pulled out of the sinkhole. Despite falling nearly 30 feet, it started and drove out of the Skydome under its own power.

“After that unprecedented event, the ZR1 was the first car to be lifted out of the sinkhole,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president, performance vehicles and motorsports. “It was great to recover it, bring it back to Chevrolet and begin the restoration of this significant Corvette.”

The ZR1 remained on display at the museum until September, when it was returned to Chevrolet for restoration. The damage included:

• Cracked carbon-fiber ground effects and a broken passenger-side rocker panel
• Damaged passenger front fender, as well as cracks in both doors
• Cracked windshield, hood window glass and passenger headlamp assembly
• Bent rear control arms on the driver’s side
• Cracked oil lines to the supercharged LS9 engine’s dry-sump oiling system.

Six weeks after work began, the restored ZR1 was started for the first time at the General Motors Heritage Center.

Two other cars will be restored next year – the 1-millionth Corvette and a 1962 Corvette – while the other five will remain in their as-recovered state to preserve their historical significance. They will become part of a future display at the museum.

USA - Museum cars damaged in sinkhole collapse will be shipped to Warren Mich.

To help the National Corvette Museum recover from the massive sinkhole that opened under the facility this week, Chevrolet will oversee restoration of the Corvettes damaged. General Motors Design in Warren, Mich., will lead the project.

“The vehicles at the National Corvette Museum are some of the most significant in automotive history,” said Mark Reuss, executive vice president of General Motors Global Product Development. “There can only be one 1-millionth Corvette ever built. We want to ensure as many of the damaged cars are restored as possible so fans from around the world can enjoy them when the Museum reopens.”

Ed Welburn, vice president of GM Global Design, will oversee the restoration.

When the cars are recovered, they will be shipped to the Mechanical Assembly facility, a small specialty shop within GM Design, where the best restoration approach will be determined. Mechanical Assembly has been part of GM Design since the 1930s, and today maintains and restores many of the vehicles in the GM Heritage Collection and GM’s historic concept cars.

The National Corvette Museum is independently owned, and supported solely by charitable donations from enthusiasts. It is currently accepting donations on its website to assist in refurbishing the facility. Donations are tax-deductible.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year.  Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality.