Peugeot

The dating scene can be a jungle filled with suspense, pitfalls and strange species. Apprehensive women warn each other, "Watch out - there are so many creepy guys!" But while some men deserve that description, in my experience creepiness is not a gender-specific trait. A few years ago, I was living in Beverly Hills when the conclusion of a long-term relationship put me back into dating circulation. I encountered, in my own personal journey through the personals, a wide range of unique - and sometimes odd - women.

The dating scene can be a jungle filled with suspense, pitfalls and strange species. Apprehensive women warn each other, "Watch out - there are so many creepy guys!" But while some men deserve that description, in my experience creepiness is not a gender-specific trait. A few years ago, I was living in Beverly Hills when the conclusion of a long-term relationship put me back into dating circulation. I encountered, in my own personal journey through the personals, a wide range of unique - and sometimes odd - women.

Peugeot to Sell Electric Cars: The French car maker said it will sell electric cars in specially equipped French cities this fall, thus launching Europe's most ambitious electric vehicle project to date. Sales, and assembly-line production of the cars by the end of the year, won't succeed unless the French government offers up to $5,300 in tax breaks to offset the cars' price difference with gasoline-powered vehicles, PSA Peugeot Citroen said.

PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault, France's biggest carmakers, will get $7.8 billion in loans from the French government after they promised not to shut plants or fire people in the country. Peugeot and Renault, which reported slumping sales and thousands of job cuts in the last year, will each get a five-year loan of 3 billion euros at an interest rate of as high as 6%, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after talks with auto manufacturers in Paris on Monday.

Arvin Industries Inc. has bought engine-manifold and exhaust-tube maker Tubauto S.A. from Vallourec Group of Paris. Tubauto, with sales of about $20 million (U.S.), makes exhaust components for Renault, Peugeot and other car makers. Its plant in Joigny, about 80 miles southeast of Paris, employs more than 200.

Gunmen armed with Soviet AK-47 submachine guns kidnaped four Soviets from two embassy cars in Muslim West Beirut today, spiriting them away to undisclosed locations. It was the first reported abduction of Soviets in Beirut. The four men were kidnaped, two at a time, from the embassy cars and driven away in separate incidents within hours of each other. Both cars were later found abandoned several blocks from the Soviet Embassy, one with a window shattered.

Davis Phinney swept into the lead on the second-to-the-last lap to win the sixth stage of the Coors International bicycle race Wednesday night. Right behind him across the finish line was Doug Shapiro, Phinney's teammate on the 7-Eleven team, who moved into a tie for the overall lead with Norway's Dag-Otto Lauritzen.

Ford Motor Co. and Fiat S.p.A., Italy's largest auto maker, announced Tuesday that talks had broken off on combining the giant auto makers' European operations. The two companies had been negotiating for about a year over a variety of possible combinations, from a joint company formed by Ford of Europe Inc. and Fiat to the joint production of automotive components. The break-off in talks was announced in a statement issued by both companies.

Bruno Cornillet of France, who, after 102 miles, got lost seconds before the finish line Monday, was declared the winner of the Sonoma-Sacramento leg of the Coors International bicycle race. The judges ruled that the Cornillet, 23, of the Peugeot Team, won the race even though he crossed the finish line fifth. The first cyclist to finish was Greg LeMond, this year's Tour de France winner, with an unofficial time of 3:58:53.

We've had our flings with one-handed spring-loaded peppermills and push-button peppermills with built-in flashlights. But in the end, there's nothing like a Peugeot. If anyone makes a better pepper grinder, we've never found it. The 196-year-old French firm has some experience with mills: It began life as a grain mill in eastern France and made its name as a manufacturer of hand-cranked coffee mills. And yes, it's the same company that makes cars. Why is this peppermill so good?

Volkswagen and PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe's two biggest automakers, named new chief executives Tuesday as they seek to defend their home markets against rising Japanese rivals. Volkswagen of Germany unexpectedly named Martin Winterkorn, head of Audi, the company's most profitable division, to replace Bernd Pischetsrieder. Peugeot of France chose Christian Streiff, who last month resigned as head of plane maker Airbus, to succeed the retiring Jean-Martin Folz. Toyota Motor Corp.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Tuesday that it was in talks with PSA Peugeot Citroen to form a partnership, but the French firm ruled out a share deal and Japanese analysts doubted the negotiations would quickly boost the troubled Japanese car manufacturer's business.

Pierre Peugeot, 70, chairman of the supervisory board of PSA Peugeot Citroen SA, died Sunday of undisclosed causes in Paris. Peugeot spent his entire career with the family company, France's largest auto maker, joining the management board in 1972 and becoming president of the supervisory board in 1998. A company statement, released Sunday, described his work: "During these 30 years, he has played an essential role in the development of the group PSA Peugeot Citroen."

Peugeot to Sell Electric Cars: The French car maker said it will sell electric cars in specially equipped French cities this fall, thus launching Europe's most ambitious electric vehicle project to date. Sales, and assembly-line production of the cars by the end of the year, won't succeed unless the French government offers up to $5,300 in tax breaks to offset the cars' price difference with gasoline-powered vehicles, PSA Peugeot Citroen said.

Faced with a steep drop in sales and the arrival of new Japanese luxury models, French car maker Peugeot said it will pull out of the U.S. auto market later this year. Peugeot's pullout is the latest example of the woes that have beset European luxury car makers in the United States. The recession, the arrival of Japanese luxury models--such as Honda's Acura and Nissan's Infiniti--and the new federal luxury tax have all taken a toll on sales of expensive European car models.

We've had our flings with one-handed spring-loaded peppermills and push-button peppermills with built-in flashlights. But in the end, there's nothing like a Peugeot. If anyone makes a better pepper grinder, we've never found it. The 196-year-old French firm has some experience with mills: It began life as a grain mill in eastern France and made its name as a manufacturer of hand-cranked coffee mills. And yes, it's the same company that makes cars. Why is this peppermill so good?

IT'S the vegan of motorbikes -- lean, green and more than a little anemic. I'm talking about the moped, a humble, less-than-2-horsepower machine that cranks no more than 30 mph and weighs less than I do. There's only one moped manufacturer that meets the EPA's current requirements to sell in the U.S. these days, and chances are you've never heard of it. Peugeot, Puch, Motobecane -- they've all either died or left the U.S.

Arvin Industries Inc. has bought engine-manifold and exhaust-tube maker Tubauto S.A. from Vallourec Group of Paris. Tubauto, with sales of about $20 million (U.S.), makes exhaust components for Renault, Peugeot and other car makers. Its plant in Joigny, about 80 miles southeast of Paris, employs more than 200.

The French government suggested today that Peugeot, the nation's largest private industrial company, link up with Fiat of Italy to form an auto group big enough to withstand growing Japanese competition in Europe. The comment from a highly placed French official was made days after Daimler-Benz AG of West Germany and Mitsubishi Corp. of Japan announced a wide-ranging cooperation agreement involving cars and other industrial sectors.