Top News
- VW investors hope Piech exit may usher in change – Automotive News: Investors hope that Volkswagen will be able to revive profitability at its core division, cure underperformance overseas and bury lingering plans for acquisitions after the resignation of Chairman Ferdinand Piech.
- Volkswagen stocks surge as investors bet on post-Piech regime – FT: Volkswagen stock surged more than 4 per cent in early trading on Monday as shareholders bet chairman Ferdinand Piech’s resignation will herald…
- VW board members demanded Piech go after learning of secret plot – Reuters: Ferdinand Piech, who resigned as chairman of Volkswagen over the weekend, sowed the seeds of his own demise by reneging on a deal to support CEO Martin Winterkorn and secretly plotting to oust him instead, according to sources close to the VW board.
- At VW, a Game of Thrones as Patriarch Quits – WSJ: Ferdinand Piech’s exit as chairman of Volkswagen resolves a boardroom battle, but uncertainty isn’t over for the automotive giant.
- Volkswagen shares jump on Piech exit as investors await change – Reuters: Preference shares in Volkswagen rose more than 5 percent, nearly making up for a slide in value during the two-week boardroom battle, and were…
- Piech ploy over Winterkorn fail, VW chairman quits – Just-auto: As an example, when Porsche, the sports car maker, tried to take over Volkswagen in 2008, Piech was eventually able to turn the tables and take over…
- Piech Exit to Shake Up VW’s Politburo, Creating U.S. Opportunity – Bloomberg: … Chairman Ferdinand Piech stands to loosen his politburo-style management, which could help VW finally start making cars Americans want to buy.
- Infiniti Makes PlayStation Racing Car a Reality – WSJ: Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand, has turned a virtual racing car from a PlayStation game into a physical concept car. Vision Gran Turismo, unveiled earlier…
- Next Gen 2016 Toyota Innova May Get Automatic Transmission: Report – Ibtimes: Rumour mills have been spinning for months now with stories about Toyota’s upcoming new generation Innova. A lot has been written about the new…
- Are automakers addicted to in-car features overload? – Automotive News: Automakers are confusing customers by overloading vehicles with an array of infotainment features, many of which are never used.
- China’s cheap car strategy for the U.S. – Automotive News: Wu Song, boss of China’s Guangzhou Automobile, says his cars need to be 30 percent cheaper than rivals to make it in America. If everything goes his way, GAC will test his pricing strategy with the U.S. launch of its GS4 crossover in 2017.
- Ford’s Sync 3 debut, vehicle launches are out of sync – Automotive News: The 2015 Ford Edge has been on sale for only a month, but it’s already about to be out-of-date. Ford Motor Co. plans to start rolling out Sync 3, its replacement for the MyFord Touch infotainment system, starting this summer.
- Industry revels in good times but manages to avoid overdoing it – Automotive News: There are many signs suggesting the U.S. auto industry is on a positive, sustainable track, but perhaps the most reassuring sign is the kind of caution that dealers and manufacturers are showing amid the boom.
- Audi tests 2 car-sharing concepts in U.S. – Automotive News: Audi On Demand is a car sharing pilot in San Francisco where consumers book an Audi rental from a smart phone app, and a concierge delivers and picks up the car.
- To EV or not to EV: The China question – Automotive News: As automakers race to comply with China’s increasingly stringent emissions rules, they are conflicted about the best electric-vehicle strategy and about whether the Beijing government is sufficiently supporting its avowed desire to see more EV sales.
- Recalled program cars vex GM, hurt profits – Automotive News: Late last year, General Motors decided to hold off on auctioning many of its retired rental vehicles because of depressed prices.
- How Hummer maker, Mercedes came together – Automotive News: Production of the Mercedes-Benz R class will begin on the line that once made Hummer H2s for General Motors, just a stone’s throw from where AM General builds light tactical military vehicles for the U.S. and other governments.
Other news, rumors and, gossip
- VW Will Regret Losing Its Napoleon – Bloombergview: By 2014, sales were back to their 2011 level of about 367,000 cars, heading in the wrong direction to meet Winterkorn’s target of 800,000 units a year…
- Volkswagen shares jump as Piech quits – Dw: The surprise resignation of Ferdinand Piech as Volkswagen (VW) chairman has given investors hope that the struggle for power at the German…
- Volkswagen says single battery design could cut costs by 66% – Worldcarfans: Volkswagen has announced battery costs could be reduced by 66% by adopting a single configuration applicable on all models. According to…
- Tesla Model X deliveries on track for September – Ecomento: Tesla Motors filed its latest quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 23. In it, it told the SEC that it has completed the…
- 2015 Dodge Viper SRT sells for 482.000 USD in China – Carnewschina: A fiery red 2015 Dodge Viper SRT, Spotted in China in a supercar shop in the Beijing Tuning Street. The Dodge Viper is not officially sold in China by Chrysler but it is a very wanted car, so the gray market has stepped in, big time. Price for this pretty piece of America: 2,98.77 million []
- Toyota Provides Earthquake Relief Aid in Nepal – Marketwatch: To support local relief efforts, Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Tsusho Corporation will be making a combined donation of 10 million yen.
- GM-OnStar Adds Network Speed Indicator To 4G LTE Vehicles – Gmauthority: Here’s something you may not have known: accessing the OnStar Wi-Fi Settings menu in General Motors vehicles equipped with OnStar 4G LTE will…
- US: Tesla’s crucial Twitter account was hacked – Inautonews: Tesla Motors Inc. and its charismatic billionaire entrepreneur chief executive Elon Musk have a tradition of making numerous media-related…
- Audi is the preferred address: top places in German employer rankings – Volkswagenag: “Vorsprung durch Technik” attracts the experts of tomorrow: This is proven by recent studies by consulting companies trendence* and…
- Tesla Roadster 3.0 Coming in August, Says Elon Musk on Twitter – Autoevolution: Seven years have passed since Tesla Motors launched the Roadster in 2008, but no matter how good a product is, too much time on the market…
- Tesla website and Elon Musk Twitter handle hacked over the weekend – Motoroids: The website and Twitter account of electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors, along with the Twitter account of it’s CEO, Elon Musk, were both hijacked…
- France to speak with Renault again, continues to support vote strategy – Inautonews: French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron recently declared his willingness to “talk again” with Renault chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn,…
- Toyota’s latest fuel cell promotional move targets critics, including Tesla’s Elon Musk – Inautonews: As far as Toyota is concerned, they have pledged their faith on fuel cell cars, mainly their hydrogen-powered Mirai – claiming it represents the future of…
- Tesla hack promised free cars for followers – Cbronline: Later, the attackers changed the name of the account from “Tesla Motors” to “#RIPPRGANG, and also tricked users to follow certain accounts and call…
- Porsche and BMW car apps compatible with new Apple smartwatch – Motoring: Owners of the BMW i3 or i8 electric cars can look at their watch to check the battery charge level and cruising range status, and also to see if the doors…
- Toyota Mirai becomes first hydrogen-powered vehicle to serve as NASCAR pace car – Motoroids: NASCAR may be notorious for its fuel-guzzling race cars, but its pace car this last weekend is a lot kinder to the environment. A 2016 Toyota Mirai…
- Ford S-Max Forbidden Fruit First Drive – Motortrend: Ford seldom invents segment-busters, but back in 2008 its European arm did just that. The first-generation S-Max had enough success to be worth…
- Stress and speedup in German GM-Opel plants – Wsws: In mid-April, GM-Opel worker Viktor Uselmann was acquitted of charges of assault before the Russelsheim district court. Just one day earlier, the…
- BMW and Porsche Launch Apple Watch Apps – Motorward: Not because it is entirely necessary but because it’s cool and fashionable, car makers are these days busy connecting their cars with the latest trendy…
- Tesla Short Interest Hits 13-Month High (TSLA) – Seekingalpha: Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) continues to be one of the biggest battleground stocks in our market. The debate continues to rage on over whether or…
