In 1965, Nicolae Ceausescu came to power in Romania. He wanted to demonstrate the economic capabilities of the socialist republic that he had just established. With this objective in mind he launched the construction of a car for the people, called DACIA (etymologically the name comes from Dacie, a territory in antiquity corresponding to present day Romania).

The design brief was for a mid-range automobile fitted with a 1,000 cm3 to 1,300 cm3 engine to be produced in 50,000 units a year. Starting up production from scratch was too tall an order given Romania’s automotive culture at the time, so the decision was taken to manufacture under license. Several car manufacturers were approached, including Renault, which, with the backing of the French government, won the call for bids with a vehicle that at the time was still in the prototype stage. That prototype was the Renault 12

Beginnings with the “Romanian R8″, or Dacia 1100

In France the Renault 12 was not scheduled to go into production until the second quarter of 1969. In the meantime Renault gave the go ahead for another model, the R8. The new car would be assembled in the Pitesti factory that had been built and made ready for production in the record time of just 18 months. The first produced car was inspected on August 3, 1968 and the factory was officially inaugurated a little over two weeks later on August 20. Production of the “Romanian R8″, baptized the Dacia 1100, had begun.

According to the license contract, production of the 1,100 cm3 car consisted in assembling and painting the bodywork, initially manufactured in France. All the components were imported. The Dacia 1100 fully resembled the French R8, apart from a chrome strip on the front grille, displaying the Dacia brand and vehicle type, and a band on the rear engine hood again displaying the Dacia brand. A total of 37,546 examples of this model were produced through late 1971, when production ended.

It may be noted that a further 642 examples of another model, the Estafette, were produced a few years later (between 1975 and 1978), with all the parts again imported from France.

The Dacia 1300 and 1310: the stars of Dacia

Assembly of the Dacia 1300 (Romanian Renault 12) started in August 1969 and continued for an exceptionally long time, until July 2004. Over the years it was re-styled seven times and manufactured in numerous LCV versions. In all, early two million Dacia 1300s were built at the Pitesti factory. Initial technical characteristics of the Dacia 1300: four doors, five seats, longitudinal front-mounted engine,1298 cm3, 54 hp, maximum speed 144 km/h.

By 1970 the 1300 was available in several versions, including the standard 1300, the super 1300 and a model developed specially for the apparatchiks of the Romanian Communist Party, the 1301 (in reality a French R12 TS). The estate version went into production in 1973.

The last facelift of Dacia 1300

Two new engines were launched – a 1,185 cm3 developing 48 hp. and a 1,397 cm3 developing 63 hp – as was a 5-speed gearbox. The car got a fresh restyle in 1999.

Dacia 1300 pick up

The Dacia 1300 in all its guises. The Dacia 1300 received various guises: the Dacia 1320 was a 5-door hatchback version produced between 1987 and 1990 (the majority of these cars were used as taxis) while LCV versions met the needs of professionals (it ranged from the pick-up, launched in 1975, to the double cabin pick-up available in 4×2 and 4×4 versions).

Other models appear in the meantime. The Dacia 2000,  reserved for members of the Romanian nomenklatura, was in fact the Renault 20 that was sold in France between 1976 and 1984. The Dacia 500 or “Lastun”, a city car with fibreglass bodywork turned out in limited quantities during the 1980s. With quality failing to reach a suitable level, production was brought to a definitive end in 1989.

The later models

Dacia Nova

The Dacia Nova, launched in 1996, was the first car to be designed by Pitesti engineers. It bore a close resemblance to the Renault 9. The Dacia Supernova appeared in 2000. It inherited the engine and gearbox systems of the Renault Clio 1.4.

Dacia Solenza

The Solenza is a transition vehicle. Launched in 2003, it was a re-styled Supernova. The new model was vastly better equipped, with electric windows, central locking, ABS and air-conditioning. In fact the Solenza served as a study project in order to prepare the entire industrial system for Logan. In March 2005, after the production of more than 79 209 cars in less than two years, production was terminated in order to make way for Logan…

The big star at the Nissan booth this year is the TeRRa concept car, an all-electric SUV powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

The PIVO 3 Zero Emission concept car, presented here for the first time in Europe, features the innovative Automated Valet Parking, which not only enables the car to find a place to park all by itself, but also brings it back to its driver with a call from his smartphone.

In addition to Juke Nismo and the radically designed Juke R, Nissan has unveiled a limited-edition Juke (3,000 units in Europe, including 350 in France) manufactured in partnership with Ministry of Sound. The Juke MoS and mixes from the London nightclub of the same name can be found between Halls 3 and 4.

On the booth’s mezzanine, two of Nissan’s racecars that are in competition this year are on display.

On one side sits the star of Le Mans 2012, the Delta Wing prototype. With strikingly original lines, it weighs in at less than 500 kilos and has a 1.6-liter engine from the Juke, boosted to 300 horsepower.

On the other side we find the ORECA 03/Signatech-Nissan powered by a Nissan 4.5 L V8 engine, which has competed in the Le Mans Series in the LMP2 category.

The NV200, the future taxi for London and New York, are also featured at the Nissan booth. Derived from the NV200 compact van, they will go into service about one year from now, in 2014. Meanwhile, Nissan is also developing an electric version of the NV200 Taxi based on the eNV200 concept car presented at the Detroit Auto Show in 2012.

Other Nissan models on display at the booth include the new Micra ELLE, the new Juke Nismo and the new version of the GT-R.

New Clio’s global score of 85 percent – including the top ratings for child protection, pedestrian protection and safety equipment – even marks an improvement over its predecessor and features among the very best in its segment. In addition to this formal recognition of its safety credentials, New Clio also delivers reassuring dynamics thanks to its precise, responsive chassis.

A holistic approach for optimal protection of all occupants

Clio III was the first vehicle in its class to claim a five-star EuroNCAP crash test rating, which meant that New Clio was compelled to mark a further step forward: Renault consequently took into account the findings of its road accident studies and the real-world behaviour of motorists to develop occupant safety solutions based on an even more holistic, more efficient approach. To guarantee even more effective occupant protection, New Clio’s electronic architecture was designed to ensure that the latest-generation protective systems are triggered even sooner.

Adult occupant protection: In a head-on impact, New Clio’s front occupants are protected by two high-efficiency airbags, as well as by seat belts equipped with pretensioners and load limiters calibrated at 400daN. At the rear, all seats are equipped with an anti-submarining hump and three three-point seat belts with load limiter.

Meanwhile, Fix4sure technology is a Renault innovation that has been developed to combat submarining (whereby passengers slide beneath their seat belt in a head-on impact). All New Clio’s occupants are protected against this phenomenon thanks to a special hump in each seat cushion, as well as by the low position of the seat belt buckles.

Because the sides of a car benefit from relatively less protection, side impacts are a frequent cause of fatal injuries, but New Clio benefits from specific work that has produced spectacular results to achieve a maximum score of eight points. To respond up to twice as quickly, New Clio features two impact detection sensors (in the front doors and B-pillars). A specific algorithm adjusts the way the new-generation head-thorax airbags are deployed to match the severity of the impact.

Combined with those of the pole and rear impact tests, these results helped New Clio to obtain 32 points from a possible 36 for adult protection, which is one of the best results ever obtained in the small car segment.

Number one for child protection: Thanks to the overall design of its structure and to the availability of three-point Isofix child seat anchorage for the front passenger seat and outer rear seats, New Clio’s child protection rating figures among the very best in the B segment with a score of 43 points out of a possible 49.

Pedestrian protection: The front end of New Clio was designed to minimise injury to pedestrians. The bumper has no salient edges, while the lower part of the windscreen, which is traditionally very rigid, was designed to reduce the risk of injury in an impact. Meanwhile, the height of the bonnet was raised by 20mm in order to incorporate a crumple zone between the structure and the uppermost parts of the engine. Thanks to a score of 24 points out of 36, New Clio has emerged as the best car in its class in terms of pedestrian protection, too.

Safety in its genes… plus equipment

New Clio is equipped with cruise control and a speed limiter as standard, as well as audible and visual seat belt reminder warnings for all seats, plus ESC. It claimed the maximum score of seven points which, once again, is the best score for its segment in this area.

Looking to open up to new technological innovations in connected mobility, Renault has joined forces with Paris Région Lab to select partner start-ups and develop working relationships as part of an approach based on dialogue, innovation and openness. The two partners have chosen five young companies, Apila, SoCloz, MobiquiThings, I-Dispo and Telepark, which have set up shop in a dedicated space at the Paris Innovation Masséna “incubator” in the 13^th arrondissement in Paris. The partnership’s initial achievement is a set of new connected mobility services available on R-Link (to feature notably on New Clio and ZOE) based on the development of special apps.

Commenting, Nicolas Nollet, head of international after-sales strategy at Renault, said: It is very important for Renault to open up to the innovative momentum of the Parisian ecosystem and in particular to this type of partnership. This experience is an excellent opportunity to mix and match cultures to the benefit of each party with a view to bringing Renault customers new connected mobility offers.

Jean-Louis Missika, assistant to the Mayor of Paris and head of innovation, research and universities, added: The partnership brings these companies an outstanding context for their development. For the first time, a carmaker is joining forces with a City of Paris incubator to identify young innovative companies and speed their development.

The initiative provides the start-ups with strong support for their development. The contribution of Renault’s human and technical skills combined with Paris Région Lab’s experience in backing start-ups is a particularly rare opportunity for getting a business on track. This incubator is a real-life sign of a shift in the relationships between small and large companies in the field of innovation.

Overview of the five first start-ups to join the adventure

Apila. Urban drivers spend a total five hours a month trying to find a parking space. Apila is a multi-platform, community-based mobile app used to exchange street parking spaces in real time. Available free of charge on iPhone, Android and, soon, Renault R-Link, Apila disseminates information on supply and demand, puts motorists in touch with each other, handles their interaction, and ensures parking space swaps, all the while taking real-life cases into account.

MobiquiThings is a mobile operator that works with manufacturers in all sectors (automotive and transport, logistics, energy, water, health, safety, etc.) by operating fleets of communicating machines. The company supplies its own, branded SIM 2G (GSM) and 3G cards and the corresponding subscriptions, contracts and connection offers so that its SIM cards hook up flexibly and dynamically to the networks of telecom operators with the best services in terms of coverage, service quality, cost and availability.

SoCloz is a pre-shopping assistant that helps web users find products and the real-life stores that sell them. Users get dedicated store information (stock, prices and special deals, plus opening hours, distances and so on) updated several times a day. SoCloz users can also find high-street stores with just one click. Some 65 major brands are now working with SoCloz (including Galeries Lafayette, Morgan, Bérénice, Darty and Castorama), which lists over one million products and nearly 7,000 stores.

I-Dispo. People waste some 30 minutes a day doing simple tasks such as organizing an appointment with a local professional, comparing product and service prices and getting estimates from service providers. I-Dispo helps them to cut this time down to zero thanks to an original virtual concierge service, in the shape of a personal assistance available 24-7 via phone, car or television.

Telepark is an electronic automation and parking management solution for town councils and motorists. More specifically, it helps motorists pay for parking instantly from their mobile device and brings them a range of complementary services such as reminders on parking time limits, remote reminders/deactivation, and consumption records. A new solution is in the pipeline for motorists to pay their street parking spaces directly from their cars.

These four Mégane R.S.-based vehicles will be on display and used at events and sports demonstrations attended by Renault over the year. They highlight Renault’s 35-year commitment to Formula 1.