Lowe's

The corporation also sponsors NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports. This was shown in October of that year and is called Renault Identité. Lowe's has purchased naming rights of Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway) in Concord, North Carolina, which is home to several auto racing events annually. In 2004, French typeface designer Jean-François Porchez was commissioned to design a replacement. Some of their advertisements have attempted to portray The Home Depot as an intimidating warehouse that caters to contractors and not consumers. This type family is said to have been designed not for prestige reasons, but mainly to save costs at a time where the use of typefaces was more costly than it is now. Lowe's has attempted to position themselves as a more consumer-friendly alternative to their primary rival, The Home Depot. Both the Renault logo and its documentation (technical as well as commercial) had used a specially designed typeface called Renault, developed by British firm Wolff Olins.

It is now the second-largest hardware chain in the United States of America, after The Home Depot. Renault has regularly topped the French car sales charts, fighting off fierce competition from Citroën and Peugeot. The chain is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, which is about 30 minutes north of downtown Charlotte. The Renault 12 (1970), Renault 5 (1972), Renault 20 (1976), Renault 25 (1985) and Renault Laguna (2002) have all achieved runners-up in spot in the competition. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now operates (as of 2004) over 950 stores in 45 states and is number 50 on the Fortune 500 list. Renault cars have performed well in the European Car of the Year awards: the Renault 16 (1966), Renault 9 (1982), Renault Clio (1991), Renault Mégane Scénic (1997), Renault Mégane (2003) and Renault Clio III (2006) have all won the award. Lowe's NYSE: LOW is a United States-based chain of home improvement and major appliance retail stores. Conversly if the team is unsuccessful in future it can be expected that Ghosn will withdraw resources from the sport.

In short he will continue Renault's investment in F1 as long as the team is successful and can use the resulting publicity for wider commercial gain. However at the 2005 French Grand Prix Ghosn set out his policy regarding the company's involvement in motorsport:. Questions have been raised regarding Renault's commitment to its Formula One team, particularly with the appointment of Carlos Ghosn as CEO. 2004 saw the Renault team finish a close third in the Constructors' Championsip and in 2005 the team won both Constructors' and Drivers' titles (with Fernando Alonso).

Renault also took over the Benetton F1 team in 2001, and quickly became very competitive, Fernando Alonso winning Renault's first race in its second incarnation at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix. However, the team were to win their first race on home soil in Dijon a mere two years later and by the early eighties, every front-running Formula One team used turbochargers. Initially, Renault's entry into Formula One in 1977 was ridiculed when the team's first design included such curiosities as a turbocharger. In the late seventies and early eighties, Renault began to involve itself more heavily in motorsport, setting up a dedicated motorsport division called Renault Sport, and winning the Le Mans 24 Hours (once again in collaboration with Alpine) while achieving success in both rallying (with the Renault 5 Turbo) and Formula One.

Motorsport has long been recognised as an effective marketing tool for automobile manufacturers. See List of Renault vehicles. Current members of the board of directors of Renault are: Yves Audvard, Michel Barbier, Alain Champigneux, François de Combret, Charles de Croisset, Carlos Ghosn, Jean-Louis Girdolle, Itaru Koeda, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, Dominique de La Garanderie, Bernard Larraouturou, Henri Martre, Jean-Claude Paye, François Pinault, Franck Riboud, Louis Schweitzer, Georges Stcherbatcheff, and Robert Studer. Renault, together with associated brands Dacia and Renault Samsung, aims to sell 4 million vehicles worldwide in 2010.

Renault retained its position as the leading brand in Europe with 1.8 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles sold and market share of 10.8%. The Group (Renault, Dacia, Renault Samsung Motors) posted a 4.2% increase in worldwide sales to a record 2,489,401 vehicles, representing a global market share of 4.1%. For 2004 Renault reported a 43% rise in net income to €3.5 billion and 5.9% operating margin, of which Nissan contributed €1,767 million. The most popular French car in Britain is currently the Renault Clio, which has been a strong seller throughout Europe since its launch 14 years ago.

In 2004, Renault was the fifth most popular car maker in Britain behind the Ford Motor Company, Vauxhall Motors, Peugeot and Volkswagen. Renault also owns Samsung Motors (Renault Samsung Motors) and Dacia, as well as retaining a minority stake (20%) in Volvo Trucks. Nissan in turn took a 15 per cent stake in Renault in 2002. Renault has a stake of 44.4 per cent in Japanese automaker Nissan together with which they form the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

In 2005, Carlos Ghosn (also CEO of Nissan) has become Renault's CEO, Louis Schweitzer staying Chairman. Louis Schweitzer has been the Chairman of Renault since 1992 and CEO from 1992 to 2005. The government of France owns 15.7 per cent of the company. The Laguna was the first car to achieve a 5 star rating and in 2004 the Modus was the first small car to achieve this rating.

As well as its distinctive styling, Renault was to become known for its car safety - it is currently the car manufacturer with the largest number of models achieving the maximum 5 star rating in EuroNCAP crash tests. The Avantime, a bizarre coupe/minivan hybrid, sold very poorly and was quickly discontinued while the luxury Vel Satis model did not sell as well as hoped. Less successful were the company's more upmarket models. The second generation of the Laguna and Mégane featured ambitious, angular designs which turned out to be highly successful.

In the twenty-first century, Renault was to foster a reputation for distinctive, outlandish design. This new freedom allowed the company to venture once again into Eastern Europe and South America, including a new factory in Brazil and upgrades for the infrastructure in Argentina and Turkey. It was eventually decided that the company's state-owned status was detrimental to its growth, and it was privatized in 1996. The return to success on the road was matched by a return to success on the racetrack - Renault-powered cars won the Formula One World Championship in 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1997 with Williams and in 1995 with Benetton.

A revitalized Renault launched several successful new cars in the early 1990s, including the phenonemonally successful 5 replacement the Clio, the second generation Espace, the Twingo, the Laguna, and the 19. He was replaced by Raymond Lévy, who continued along the same lines as Besse, slimming down the company considerably with the result that by the end of 1987 the company was more or less financially stable. Although this succeeded in halving the deficit by 1986, Besse's treatment of the workforce resulted in him being assassinated by the left wing terrorist group Action Directe in 1986. The government intervened and Georges Besse was installed as chairman; he set about cutting costs dramatically, selling off many of Renault's non-core assets, withdrawing almost entirely from motorsports, and laying off many employees.

Although its cars were successful both on the road and on the track Renault was losing a billion francs a month and reported a deficit of 12.5 billion in 1984. The second-generation Renault 5, the European Car Of The Year-winning Renault 9, and the most luxurious Renault yet, the 25 were all released in the early 1980s, building Renault's reputation. The company's road car designs were revolutionary also - the Renault Espace was one of the first minivans and was to remain the most well-known minivan in Europe for at least the next two decades. In the late seventies and early eighties Renault increased its involvement in motorsport, with novel inventions such as turbochargers in their Formula One cars.

Renault sold AMC to Chrysler in 1987 and the brand and its cars subsequently disappeared (though the subsidiary Jeep brand remained). Renault sold some interesting models in the USA in the 1980's, especially the simple looking but fun Renault Alliance GTA convertible - a real automatic-top convertible with a simple but clean euro-style design with a gently sloping hood, as well as a 2.0 liter engine - big for a car of its class; and the ahead-of-its-time Renault Fuego coupe; Renault sold other models here in the 80's. Unfortunately the American Renault-AMC partnership was not successful - the cars had so-so reliability and by the time the Renault range was ready to become established in the American market, the energy crisis was over, taking with it much of the trend for economical, compact cars. Some consider the Jeep XJ Cherokee as a joint AMC/Renault project since some early sketches of the XJ series was done as a collaboration of both Renault and AMC engineers (AMC insisted that the XJ Cherokee was designed by AMC personnel; however, a former Renault engineer designed the Quadra-Link front suspension for the XJ series).

Renault continued to increase its control over AMC, eventually owning 55% of the company by 1980; the Renault-AMC partnership also resulted in the marketing of Jeep vehicles in Europe. This was one of a series of collaborative ventures undertaken by Renault in the late 1960s and 1970s, as the company established subsidiaries in Eastern Europe and South America (many of which remain active to the present day) and forged technological cooperation agreements with Volvo and Peugeot (for instance, for the development of the PRV V6 engine). Previously, an AMC Rambler American was badged as a Renault Torino in Argentina (sold through IKA-Renault). However, in the early part of the decade, when the energy crisis-hit continent required small, economical cars, Renault began to make plans to return through a collaborative partnership with the American manufacturer AMC.

The energy crisis also provoked Renault's attempt to reconquer the North American market; despite the Dauphine's success in the United States in the late 1950s, Renault had virtually disappeared from North America by the 1970s. Endangered like all of the motor industry by the energy crisis, during the mid seventies the already expansive company diversified further into other industries and continued to expand globally, including into South East Asia. The formula was much the same however, and the Super5 inherited its styling lines from its father. The 5 remained in production until 1984 when it was replaced by the Super5.

The company's compact and economical Renault 5 model, launched in 1972, was another success, particularly in the wake of the 1973 energy crisis. As well as the 4 and 8, the company achieved success with the more upmarket Renault 16 launched in 1966, which continued Renault's reputation for innovation by being the world's first hatchback larger than subcompact size as well as the first hatchback with folding rear seats, which became and remains the universal standard hatchback design. Both cars continued Renault's motor racing traditions with great success in rallying, a tradition which was further upheld by collaborations with the Alpine company (which most famously produced the Renault-powered Alpine A110). The 4 in particular was to continue in production until 1992.

In an attempt to revive its flagging fortunes, Renault launched two cars which were to become phenonemonally successful - the Renault 4 and Renault 8 in 1961 and 1962 respectively. The car did not sell well in North America and it was outdated by the start of the 1960s. The 4CV's replacement, the Dauphine, sold extremely well as the company expanded production and sales further abroad, including Africa and North America. However, despite the success of its flagship model, the company continued to be blighted by labor unrest, and indeed continued to be well into the 1980s.

As with earlier Renault models, the company made extensive use of motor racing to promote the 4CV, the car winning both the Le Mans 24 Hours and Mille Miglia races as well as the Monte Carlo rally. In the years immediately following its nationalization Renault experienced something of a resurgence, led by the rear engine 4CV model, which was launched in 1946 and proved itself a capable rival for cars such as the Morris Minor and Volkswagen Beetle, its success (more than half a million sold) making sure it remained in production until 1961. The Renault factories became a public industry (known as Régie Nationale des Usines Renault) under the leadership of Pierre Lefaucheux. His industrial assets were seized by the socialist provisional government of France.

An autopsy later proved that his neck had been broken, suggesting that he was murdered. He was, for this reason, arrested during the liberation of France in 1944 and died in prison before having prepared his defense. During World War II, Louis Renault's factories worked for Nazi Germany producing trucks with work on cars officially forbidden. This continued through the 1920s and it was not until 1930 that all models had the radiator at the front.

The pre First World War cars had a distinctive front shape caused by positioning the radiator behind the engine to give a so called "coalscuttle" bonnet. However, Renault struggled to compete with the increasingly popular small, affordable "people's cars" from Volkswagen and Fiat, while problems with the stock market and the workforce also adversely affected the company's growth. Between the two world wars, Louis Renault enlarged the scope of his company, producing agricultural and industrial machinery. By the end of the war, Renault was the number one private manufacturer in France.

Renault became the world's leading manufacturer of airplane engines, and the success of the company's military designs were such that Renault himself was honored by the Allies for his company's contributions to their victory. As well as cars, Renault manufactured taxis, buses and commercial cargo vehicles in the pre-war years, and during World War I (1914 - 1918) branched out into ammunition, military airplanes and vehicles such as the revolutionary Renault FT-17 tank. At the time, cars were very much luxury items, and the price of the smallest Renaults available being 3000 francs reflected this; an amount it would take ten years for the average worker at the time to earn. The Renault reputation for innovation was fostered from very early on - in 1899 Renault launched the first production sedan car as well as patenting the first turbocharger.

Louis was to take full control of the company as the only remaining brother in 1906 when Fernand retired for health reasons. Although Louis Renault never raced again, his company remained very involved, including their Renault AK 90CV winning the first ever Grand Prix motor racing event in 1906. Both Louis and Marcel Renault raced company vehicles, but Marcel was killed in an accident during the 1903 Paris-Madrid race. The brothers immediately recognized the publicity that could be gotten for their vehicles by participation in motor racing and Renault made itself known through achieving instant success in the first city-to-city races held in France, resulting in rapid expansion for the company.

Louis was a bright, aspiring young engineer who had already designed and built several models before teaming up with his brothers, who had honed their business skills working for their father's textiles firm; Louis handled design and production, Marcel & Fernand handled company management. The Renault corporation was founded in 1898 as Société Renault Frères by Louis Renault and his brothers Marcel and Fernand. . However, Renault is correctly pronounced "Rhen-oh" (as it is commonly in the UK).

When its cars were imported to and sold in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s, it was decided to pronounce the name as "Ren-ALT" in marketing to the American public, and the Anglicized pronunciation continues in common usage. Renault S.A. is a French vehicle manufacturer producing small to upper-midsize cars, vans, buses, tractors and trucks. 2005 - Carlos Ghosn becomes president. 2002 - Benetton Formula One team formally becomes Renault F1.

2001 - Renault sold its industrial vehicle subdivision (Renault Véhicules Industriels) to Volvo, which renamed it Renault Trucks in 2002. Renault vice-president, Carlos Ghosn was parachuted in to turn round the ailing firm. 1999 - Renault purchased a 35 percent equity stake in Nissan the troubled Japanese car maker, injecting $3.5 billion to obtain effective control of the company under Japanese law. 1996 - The company was privatized to create Renault S.A..

1992 - Louis Schweitzer becomes president of Renault group. 1986 - On April 9 the government of France ruled against the privatization of Renault. 1979 to 1987, Renault held majority ownership in the American Motors Corporation (AMC), which it sold to Chrysler Corporation in March 1987. 1898 - Louis Renault founded Renault.