A lot of people assume Porsche and Volkswagen have long been united. Well they kind of are. They make cars together. They share management. Winterkorn is also Boss of Porsche SE. Former Volkswagen strategist Matthias Müller is now CEO of Porsche. Go to any tradeshow: Porsche is where Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bugatti etc. are. Porsche and Volkswagen are united in everything but the final signature. And that may wait a little longer. Read More >

How things change. A few months ago, German dealers complained that the sky is falling, and that it’s the end of the car business as we know it – just because German cars sales had crashed from their Abwrackprämien-induced unnatural highs. Now, German car dealers have new reason to be worried: More buyers than cars! Rationing! Come back next year! Read More >

Launching a new car division is tough. A monumental task, you might say. And it has to be executed just right. I’ll give you an example, look at Lexus. When Lexus was launched in the United States, it was a hit. It didn’t take much to separate American drivers from their Cadillacs, Lincolns and Buicks. Now compare this to the European launch. Lexus never really took off. Why? Well, a good reason would be that when Lexus starting exporting to Europe, Germany was making luxury cars to a high standard already, so Lexus was nothing special. Hyundai knows this. Read More >

In 1999, a group of shareholders launched a court action against DaimlerChrysler management. They shareholders felt that their shares in Daimler AG (before the DaimlerChrysler “merger of equals”) were undervalued because management used an unfair exchange ratio (1.005 shares of DCX to every share of old Daimler AG). In 2006, a Stuttgart court ruled in favor of the shareholders and ordered DaimlerChrysler to pay them €230m (about $321m in today’s exchange rates). As far as everyone was concerned, that was the end of that. But not to Daimler. Read More >

When GM went on the begging tour around Europe, they had dire projections. They expected a loss of $1.7b or thereabouts for 2009. Can’t have such bad news before an IPO. And imagine the elation when the big bottom line was drawn under the books of the 2009 fiscal – and Opel had lost only $600m. Who dunnit? Read More >

BMW says there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that they might be cooperating with GM. A week ago, Germany’s Handelsblatt had reported that “GM flirts with BMW.” Supposedly, there were low level talks.

“Absolutely no discussions … not on our end,” BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofer told Reuters an event at BMW’s plant in Spartanburg. “I don’t know where it comes from.” With the “not on our end,” he alluded that GM may have been talking to itself.

BMW is actively shopping its engines to achieve better economies of scale. Late September, Saab and BMW announced a deal allowing Saab to use BMW engines in next generation Saabs from 2012. Whether that will have huge scale effects is another story.

Approximately two weeks ago, I reported how Volkswagen CEO, Martin Winterkorn, confirmed that Porsche was going to bring us a new, smaller SUV. A sort of younger brother to the Cayenne called the “Cajun”. Well, it appears that the “Cajun” and few other things aren’t so clear cut. Either that or someone doesn’t value their career at Volkswagen. Or rather Porsche. Read More >

There’s no replacement for displacement? Sure, as long as you own an oil well. If you want to save gas, there are three ways to do it:

1. Make the car as light as can  be (you can’t fool Newton.)
2. Use the smallest amount of displacement you get get away with, and make it up with direct injection, a turbocharger, and computer smarts.
3. Combine 1 with 2.

And what’s the easiest way to reduce displacement? Lose cylinders. That way, you also lose a lot of internal friction. If “Laufkultur” is part of your vocabulary, don’t read further, you’ll get sick. If you want to sick it to Big Oil, by all means, read on. Read More >

The EU has ambitious CO2 targets: Less than 130g/km by 2012, less than 95g/km by 2020. Carmakers are shaking their heads: No way! Even the most electro-agnostic firms tinker with EVs (even if they are from Japan) to bring their average down. “No problem,” says a new study. The targets are a cinch to reach. What’s more, no heavy and expensive batteries to lug around. use the existing engine! No range anxiety. What is that miracle technology? Read More >

When Renault, Nissan and Daimler all tied up together many people thought this was just a symbolic gesture. The venture may help each other out in designs and joint ventures, but personally, I didn’t see anything of real substance happening from it. Well, it seems that Nissan and Daimler are taking this cross holding seriously. Very seriously. Read More >

If you work at Porsche, you get a sweetheart deal on a 911 or whatever your heart desires. But it comes at a steep price: You will not be able to use Facebook, or any other social networks. Blocked by Porsche’s firewall. About 25 percent of the nearly 13,000 Porsche employees used to use social networks (that sounds like just about everybody at the office) – no more. Aus. Vorbei. HTTP Error 401. Read More >

Skoda dealers in Europe are up in arms and openly protest plans by Volkswagen to strip Skoda cars to a point where they become unsalable, Automobilwoche [sub] says. Volkswagen denies any stripping. They wouldn’t do something as crude, at least not in public. They “derefine.” Read More >

In the eighties, the European auto makers were quaking in their boots at the prospect of a “Japanische Welle” (Japanese wave). Having seen the huge damage the Japanese brands inflicted on Detroit during the seventies and early eighties, they braced themselves for a similar onslaught. It never quite happened. Now they’re wondering if the Koreans are going to succeed where the Japanese fell short. There are plenty of indications to suggest they will. In Germany, probably the most auto-chauvinistic of all the  European countries, the Golf-class Hyundai i30 (above) is currently the number one selling import car, not counting VW’s captive import brand Skoda. Toyota and Honda’s European market share is down, and Hyundai’s is up, and growing quickly. Is the Hyundai Welle unstoppable? Read More >

The on-again, off-again, and forget about it romances between BMW and Daimler are legend. So much legend, that they fill pages on Google. Short version: The tops want some kind of a wedding, the bottoms torpedo any collaboration wherever they can. So if BMW and Daimler won’t be able to tie the knots(s), who can? Wait until you hear who dares. Read More >

Deep in their hearts, the folks at Volkswagen think the ICE has a long ways to go. Privately,  and after a few drinks, they often say that EVs are lunacy on  wheels. I don’t blame them.  Publicly, they put on a good show when needed. Here is another act: Volkswagen introduces an all-electric Golf. Read More >