This is sad news, at least to enthusiasts with a rally bent and a predilection for French cars, Renault has just announced that is has canceled its plans to revive the Alpine division. This seems to be all part and parcel of the current economic downturn affecting high-performance vehicles harder than more bread and butter lines. As Renault has to focus their attention on more mainstream volume cars, a lot of performance vehicles are being tabled until things mellow out.

The French automaker was planning to produce an all-new Alpine model by 2010, but those plans have officially been canceled in order to stem the red ink. Renault COO Patrick Pelata referred to the cancellation as a direct result of the economic slump, stating the project was a “casualty” of the times.

The now-departed Alpine model would have been a mid-engine two-seater, aimed at cars like Mazda’s MX-5, and therefor, will be pre-missed by gearheads the world over.

Renault’s first version of the Alpine was a rear-engined giant killer of a car. Amazingly small, seemingly knee high when you were standing next to it, it took the rally world by storm, and also made a big impression on the streets of the world when Renault decided to put out a road going version.

Source: LeftLaneNews

Two years ago I upgraded all the stereo components behind the factory head unit/in dash 6-disc changer. For those who think Bose represents high quality, don’t let the name fool you. The Bose stereo installed by the Acura fcatory is crap. We’re talking paper cone speakers, two tiny underpowered amps and a subwoofer that will make you laugh because it burps more than it thumps.

Check out the differences between the Bose 5.25″ subwoofer and the Focal sub that took its place. One, the Focal speaker cone material is stiffer than a 15 year old finding his dad’s porn collection. Two, the surrounding material and the overall basket construction is of a much higher quality over the Bose.

Stage 1 of the upgrade included installing Accumat in the door panels and rear quarter panels, using new wires/cables everywhere, Alpine amps, a/d/s component speakers for the front stage, Pioneer 6.5″ speakers for rear fill, power and ground distribution blocks, and a hi-lo converter. Sound quality was a HUGE improvement over the Bose stereo components.

I finally got around to upgrading the head-unit because I wanted integrated iPod control. The FM transmitters and cassette tape adapters just weren’t up to par. I’ve seen my friends use them and I didn’t like the drawbacks: finding an unused FM frequency to broadcast the iPod tunes, moderate sound quality, must use an external adapter to power/charge the iPod, must fiddle with iPod to access music and playlists (dangerous when driving).

So, I went from this:

To this:

Plus, there was a noticeable improvement with sound quality after dumping the hi-low converters.

Below are some pics of the install.

Alpine V-series amps, a/d/s crossovers and Scosche power distribution blocks. The green box is the hi-low converter which founds its way to the trash immediately after I installed the Pioneer head unit.

Focal subwoofer in Bose enclosure

Accumat sound dampening material applied to doors and rear quarter panels.

Upgraded parts list:

Pioneer DEH-5900IB
Alpine MRP-F250 (4 x 40 Watts)
a/d/s 246IX (6.5″ component speakers for front stage)
Pioneer TS-G1641 (6.5″ speakers for rear fill)
Scosche power distribution blocks
Phoenix Gold wire and interconnects
Accumat sound dampening material in door and rear quarter panels