No war of words, no strikes, no hard feelings: After only two rounds of negotiations, Volkswagen and the metalworkers union IG Metall had a deal late last night. There will be a 3.2 percent increase in base pay effective May 1, 2011, and each employee will also receive a one-time payment corresponding to one percent of his or her annual pay but no less than €500. (Read More…)

So, what really happened when two of the three hydrogen fuel-cell cars on Mercedes’s F-Cell World Tour ran out of fuel on an early leg? Previously we’d only heard the German perspective on events (not to mention Daimler’s non-telling of the story in the video above), but now TTAC Alum Jonny Lieberman has posted his extended take on the trip over at Motor Trend. Yes, you’ll have to give MT ten page-clicks to read the whole thing, but Lieberman goes into far more detail than any account of the mini PR fiasco yet published. Do give it a look.

Germans bought 211,056 cars in January. It could have been more than twice as many – if automakers would make enough autos. According to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, published in the German Newspaper Die Welt, Germans are waiting for 264,000 cars which they had ordered, but which the car companies are unable to deliver.  And who do Germans blame? The Automakers?

No, they blame the Americans and Chinese who snap up the cars before the Germans can lay their hands on them. (Read More…)

End of the 60s, Volkswagen and Porsche cooperated on a budget sportscar called the 914. Soon, one of the many feuds erupted between Wolfsburg and Zuffenhausen, and the mid-engined twoseater was sold as a “VW-Porsche” in Europe. Memories of the boxy, targa-topped car flash through my mind as I read in Germany’s AUTOBILD that Volkswagen might bring back a new Volksporsche. (Read More…)

While some analysts (who might be sitting on large quantities of GM and Ford stock) already dream of a sales rate between 15 and 16 million cars by year’s end in the U.S., CEOs of European carmakers are less gung ho. (Read More…)

You think only in America can we have good January sales? Over in Germany, things are looking up as well. Coincidentally, the growth rates are similar: Car sales in the U.S. went up 17 percent, Germans bought 16.5 percent more cars than in last year’s January. These are no “deliveries” or “sales to wholesale”, these are honest to goodness registrations, brought to you by the number crunchers of the German Kraftfahrtbundesamt. (Read More…)

To develop a new car takes a lot of cash, with unsure payback in some 5 years. During carmageddon, most large automakers delayed or stopped development of new cars. These new cars are missing now, especially at GM and rival Toyota.

Volkswagen went through carmageddon relatively unscathed and never stopped developing. Actually, they approved a record R&D budget of $71 billion for vehicle development and to boost production capacity from 2011 to 2015.

A preview of what all that money can buy will be given at the Geneva Motorshow, to be held from March 3 through 13^th. (Read More…)

Developing new cars costs a good deal of money. Developing new power trains costs a huge pile of money with unsure payback. So what do you do when you are on the bottom rungs of the Top Ten, or god forbid if you traipse around somewhere in the twenties and if you have neither the money to invest nor the volume to quickly amortize your investment? You find friends to share the burden. This is what PSA and BMW do. (Read More…)

The new 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK could give you reason to keep its trick roof up at all times, especially if you wrinkle your nose at diesel smell. Yes, the Daimler’s new roadster will be available with an oil burning option. (Read More…)

Porsche’s legal troubles aren’t over yet. A group of hedge funds appealed the dismissal of their $2 billion lawsuit against Porsche. The lawsuit had been thrown out by U.S. District Judge Harold Baer on December 31 for lack of jurisdiction. (Read More…)

Volkswagen workers in Wolfsburg are looking forward to a long weekend. No work on Monday, come back Tuesday. Are people not buying enough cars? Im Gegenteil. They are buying too many. Volkswagen is seriously running out of parts. (Read More…)

When Ed Niedermeyer reported about Volkswagen’s new sub One Liter  (235 mpg) car, the XL1, currently on display in Qatar, he prognosticated that this “One Liter car represents a step closer to production.” A very close step, as it turns out. (Read More…)

The recession must have come to a sudden end.  Volkswagen can’t make enough Phaetons to meet demand. Last year, Volkswagen sold 7,000 of the facelifted Über-VW. This year, all indicators say “mehr.” You probably suspect who’s buying most of those Phaetons: (Read More…)

10 days ago, we reported that Porsche’s Matthias Müller had told the German magazine Focus that Porsche will decide this year whether they will build the new Cajun in China. Or in the U.S. It didn’t take them long to make up their minds. (Read More…)

Porschephiles: How do you like the marvelous scent of diesel? You know, the stuff they sell at the big truck stops to those people with the big Mack trucks? Automotive News gives Porsche lovers heart palpitations with the news that Porsche is considering selling diesel versions in the United States. (Read More…)