Porsche 911 Carrera 4s on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Porsche's former CEO Wiedeking to stand trial over VW-share manipulation

Former Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking (left in the above photo) could potentially be facing some time in the slammer after all. The last we had heard, he and former Chief Financial Officer Holger Haerter (right) had avoided a trial in April due to a lack of evidence. However, an appeals court in Stuttgart has looked at the case again and overruled the earlier decision, finding that the executives should be tried for share manipulation during Porsche's failed attempt to take over Volkswagen in 2008, Bloomberg reports.
The judges in the appeal "list numerous indications that could suggest that there was a hidden decision to increase the stake as they could suggest the opposite evaluation by the lower court," said Stefan Schueler, a spokesperson for the court, in a statement cited by Bloomberg. Wiedeking and Haerter put out their own releases saying that there was no merit to the charges.
The prosecutors allege that Wiedeking and Haerter had a plan to buy up VW stock options in 2008 to take the automotive giant over but hid it from investors. The whole thing was a massive failure and eventually allowed VW the chance to acquire Porsche and forced the two execs to step down. In addition to the criminal investigation, hedge funds have attempted to sue the company multiple times in civil court for the same reason, but they have repeatedly failed.

Watch Porsche's 918 Spyder break a sweat while hot weather testing

With five months left until the 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder enters production, Porsche engineers are still putting the hybrid sports coupe through a battery of last-minute tests. To give us new reasons to ogle over the car - as if we needed any more - Porsche has released a short video showing the 918 Spyder undergoing shakedown tests in the hot Nevada desert. And you can't drive through Nevada without visiting Vegas, too, right?
Although there's really nothing new to see in this video, it's still fun to watch as Porsche approaches one million test miles logged on this exciting new high-performance model. One interesting part (at around the 0:37 mark) shows the car taking off under electric power and then transitioning to engine power, which results in a mix of whirs and growls as the 918 Spyder switches from a 127-horsepower electric vehicle to an 887-hp hybrid supercar. Scroll down to watch - and hear - Porsche's latest creation in motion.

NYT profiles Blue Nelson, a reclusive and interesting CA car collector

If it weren't for his Dale Earnhardt Sr. looks, Blue Nelson could be one one of those soft-spoken, nondescript guys whom you meet briefly and never learn much more about. However, as The New York Times shows in a recent profile and video, behind closed doors, Nelson keeps a fascinatingly eclectic collection of automotive oddities and vintage bicycles.
While his main career is in the movie industry, Nelson's other job is as a car hunter. He takes on clients searching for a specific model and helps them find and restore the dream vehicle that they're after. Hiring him takes some dedication, though, because Nelson doesn't advertise his services. "If people want to find me, they know how to find me," he says in the video.
Beyond being an automotive private detective, Nelson has a fantastically varied collection of vehicles of his own. He likes to have models that people don't usually see, and his garage holds a classic Chrysler New Yorker and an extremely rare Rometsch convertible. Although, the one that means the most to him is the 1962 Porsche 356 convertible that Blue came home in as a baby. Check out the video to learn more about Nelson and his philosophy about forming a bond with a car.