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Volkswagen Unveils EA288 Diesel Engine Family

Volkswagen is introducing two highly innovative engine ranges this year, both of them comprised of four-cylinder units and some of which are potentially headed to the U.S.

One of these is a gasoline-powered four-cylinder engine family dubbed the EA211, which we previously reported would be the first four-cylinder engine on the market with cylinder deactivation technology.

The first EA211 engine will debut in the Volkswagen Polo range in Europe this summer before filtering across to other markets.

The other engine family Volkswagen is introducing is the new EA288 diesel range, which has already been previewed in concept form in the Cross Coupe TDI plug-in hybrid on show this week at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

Making up the EA288 family is a series of TDI turbodiesel engines ranging from 1.6 to 2.0 liters in displacement.

The latter is the unit that is most likely destined for U.S. sale, where it will appear in vehicles such as the Volkswagen Jetta TDI. It will develop upwards of 190 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, a considerable rise over Volkswagen’s current 2.0-liter TDI mill, which delivers 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. However, it is also expected to be more fuel efficient.

Standout features shared by both the EA211 and EA288 engines includes a non-replacement timing belt, faster heating systems for cold-weather conditions, and a pair of counter-rotating balance shafts to improve refinement.from http://www.motorauthority.com

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French car sales plummet 20%

New car sales in France plunged by an annualised 20.2 per cent in February, industry data showed this week, with the worst falls recorded by PSA Peugeot Citroen whose announced tie up with General Motors pushed PSA shares down.

Ratings agency Moody's downgraded the PSA group one notch to non-investment status, warning that similar alliances in the auto sector often failed to match expectations.

Moody's slapped Peugeot with a Ba3 rating and a negative outlook based on poor earnings while adding that previous mergers and alliances "have often not resulted in the anticipated competitive advantage and improved performance".

Sales in February by Peugeot plummeted by 29.2 percent while fellow French carmaker Renault saw its sale drop 28.5 percent.

The sharp drop is in large part explained by strong sales a year earlier fuelled by a French "cash-for-clunkers" scheme that subsidised new car purchases to boost the auto sector.

Sales in February by foreign automakers were stronger, falling only 7.3 percent overall with some companies, such as Japan's Nissan, German BMW of Germany and South Korea's Hyundai, showing growth.

But sales from General Motors fell by 25.7 percent to 7,819 cars. The drop in new car registrations should continue in March, CCFA warned and the committee has forecast a total market contraction of between 7 and 10 percent for this year.

On Wednesday GM and Peugeot - Europe's number two automaker - said they would form a global partnership with GM taking a seven-percent stake in the French firm through a reported one-billion-euro capital increase.

The two companies agreed to share vehicle platforms and create a joint venture to purchase commodities and other goods and services. They targeted $2 billion (1.5 billion euros) in annual savings within five years from the alliance.

Peugeot's share price sank by more than 5.0 percent on Thursday in a largely flat Paris market with traders focused on the capital increase caused by the venture instead of any potential synergies.

"The share price is suffering because of the capital increase that will dilute the shares and (traders) are ignoring the good news for the moment," Deutsche Bank analyst Gaeten Toulemonde said.

The automakers have struggled with flagging sales in Europe, where the eurozone debt crisis has brought on recession and a the sharp slowdown in demand for autos.

Thousands of workers at a Peugeot factory north of Paris were temporarily laid off this week as the company looks to avoid stockpiling as demand dwindles.

Hundreds of workers at a Renault factory west of Paris meanwhile marched and blocked traffic on Wednesday demanding salary increases, but Renault said its hands were tied by the deteriorating auto market.

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US reporter's body to go home 'as soon as possible: embassy

The body of US journalist Marie Colvin, killed in Syria along with French photographer Remi Ochlik, is to be repatriated "as soon as possible" after arriving in Paris on Sunday, the US embassy said.

"I can confirm that her remains are here and will be repatriated to the US as soon as possible," US embassy spokeswoman Sophie Roy-Sultan told AFP.

The bodies of Colvin, 56, and Ochlik, 28, arrived in Paris from Damascus early on Sunday after they were killed in a rocket attack in the rebel Baba Amr neighbourhood of the besieged Syrian city Homs on February 22.

The bodies had been formally identified in Damascus on Friday by French and Polish diplomats. Colvin's employer, Britain's Sunday Times, said earlier that her body was expected to be flown to the United States on Monday or Tuesday.

French reporter Edith Bouvier of Le Figaro newspaper and British photographer Paul Conroy were wounded in the same attack that killed their colleagues.

The Syrian regime is facing international condemnation as it continues to block the Red Cross from delivering desperately needed aid to Baba Amr. from http://www.expatica.com

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St. Patrick's Day in Paris

By Aedín Mac Devitt
Paris might lag behind Dublin or New York when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, but March 17th is still an important date on the Parisian calendar. Expats and locals alike flock to the city's numerous Irish pubs to raise a toast to the man responsible for green Guinness and some of the world's liveliest street parades. Thanks to the city’s ever-increasing Irish community, St. Patrick’s Day in Paris is a fun event, free of the cliches and paddywhackery that characterized it in the past.

Whatever your taste, March 17th should not pass you by without some form of celebration, and Paris has plenty on offer to ensure you have a Lá Fhéile Phádraig (Happy St. Patrick's Day).

Irish Pubs in Paris

For many, March 17th is synonymous with Irish pub culture-- so it's not surprising that most of the St. Patrick's Day action is scheduled in Paris' impressive supply of Irish pubs, frequented by expats and those attracted by the laid-back, homey atmosphere often lacking in chic Parisian counterparts. Regular bars will also be jumping on the Paddy’s Day bandwagon, offering specials to pull the crowds, but are best avoided in favor of an Irish equivalent, where you will be guaranteed craic, sport agus spraoi (fun and games).

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Fashion is for fun at Kenzo in Paris

Hands on hips, the US model Karlie Kloss glided down an elevator, shaking her mini-skirt to a punchy soundtrack, at the start of Kenzo's autumn-winter runway show on Sunday, day five of Paris Fashion Week.

Showcased inside a 1960s Paris university, its walls coloured orange, pink and yellow, the latest look by Kenzo's design duo, the New Yorkers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon brightened up a wet, blustery day in the French capital.

Models slid down the elevators criss-crossing the interior courtyard, four-storeys high, walking round its corridors in patterned trenches, neon stiletto heels, animal-print sweaters or wool coats with colourful knit sleeves.

The design duo explained they used home decoration as the starting point for prints on raincoats and jackets, suggestive of a country interior like a grapevine motif set against black or white.

"We wanted this girl to know who she was," Lim told reporters of the bold palette of blues, reds, bright greens or magenta, after greeting a long line of well-wishers including the hip-hop icon Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs. from http://www.expatica.com

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