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Winterkorn remains CEO of Volkswagen's majority shareholder

Martin Winterkorn may have stepped down as the chief executive of Volkswagen in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal, but he's not out from under the company's large umbrella just yet. In fact, according to a report from Reuters, he still holds four top-level positions not only within the industrial giant's bureaucracy, but at the top of it. And one of those is as CEO of the company's largest shareholder. That holding company is Porsche SE, the investment arm of the Piech and Porsche families (Ferdinand Porsche's descendants) which holds over 50 percent of VW's shares. In 2008, Porsche SE acquired majority interest in the Volkswagen Group which in turn acquired Porsche the automaker – and placed VW's Winterkorn at the head of the executive board of the holding company. Though Winterkorn has resigned from his position as chairman of VW's management board, he has apparently yet to step down from running Porsche SE. That's not the only job that Winterkorn still retains in VW's senior management. He also continues to serve as chairman of Audi, as well as truck manufacturer Scania, and the new Truck & Bus GmbH into which Scania has been grouped together with Man. It remains unclear if or when Winterkorn might resign from those positions as well, or how his tenure in those posts might affect the company's effort to start over in the aftermath of the scandal in which it is currently embroiled. Also unclear, Reuters reports, is how much, exactly, Winterkorn will receive in compensation after having stepped down from his chair at the head of the VW executive board. His pension is reported at over $30 million, but he could be awarded a large severance package as well amounting to as much as two years' worth of his annual compensation, which amounted to around $18 million last year. Whether he receives the severance pay or not is expected to depend on whether his resignation is considered by the supervisory board to have been the result of his own missteps or independent of the situation that resulted in his resignation. One way or another, he's not likely to go poor anytime soon.

Audi A5 and S5 Sportbacks look slinky for the Paris Motor Show

Following closely on the heels of the updated Audi A5 and S5 refresh, the German automaker introduced the 2017 Audi A5 and S5 Sportback. The vehicles are set for an official debut at the Paris Motor Show next month and share many of the same exterior touches as the regular coupes. Audi's sportback models are not sold in the US. A spokesman from Audi told Autoblog that the automaker is still deciding whether to bring the vehicles to the US. The A5 and S5 Sportback are aimed at drivers that want the same feel as the coupe with the added functionality of a hatchback – think wagon meets sedan. Besides the extra set of doors, there's very little that differentiates the sportback models from the coupes. The new models are built upon Volkswagen's MLB platform, which makes the car roughly 190 pounds lighter than the outgoing model. European customers will be able to choose between two TFSI and three TDI engines for the A5 Sportback. The engines range from a 2.0-liter inline-four that makes 190 horsepower to a 3.0-liter turbocharged diesel V6 putting out 286 hp. The engines can be paired to a six-speed manual transmission, seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch gearbox or an eight-speed tiptronic unit. Front-wheel drive is standard, with all-wheel drive as an available option on two variants. AWD comes standard when opting for the more powerful engines. The vehicles will also feature Audi's new Quattro Ultra all-wheel-drive system that can disconnect the rear wheels to be more fuel efficient. The S5 Sportback is the one enthusiasts will enjoy as it packs a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 that's good for 354 hp and 369 pound-feet of torque. Audi claims the S5 Sportback, even with the addition of its new doors, will be able to get to 62 mph in 4.7 seconds, which is the same time as its two-door counterpart. In addition to the diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles, the A5 Sportback g-tron will be offered for drivers looking for flexible fuel choices. The g-tron model is powered by a 170-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged-inline-four that can run on Audi e-gas, natural gas or regular gasoline. The exterior design is nearly identical to that of the coupes with Audi's new single frame grille and muscular front end. The rear incorporates a fastback-like design, similar to the one found on the A7, which helps soften the vehicle out – all sport in the front and luxury in the rear.

5 stars in Euro NCAP crash tests for 5 new cars available in U.S.

Seven new cars have received a full five-star rating in the latest Euro NCAP crash tests. Of these, five are available in the United States: the Audi E-Tron, Lexus UX, Toyota Corolla, RAV4 and Mazda3. The Renault Clio and the Volkswagen T-Cross also took part, also receiving five stars. The Mazda3 hatchback was the fourth car in Euro NCAP history to reach an adult occupant protection score of 98%, after the Volvo V40 and XC60 and the Alfa Romeo Giulia. No NHTSA ratings for the Mazda3 or the Audi are yet available, but the Lexus and the Toyotas have all received five-star NHTSA safety ratings as well. Those three were tested as hybrid variants by Euro NCAP. Audi's first fully electric vehicle, the E-Tron, scored 91% in Euro NCAP's adult occupant rating, with unavailable knee airbags bringing down the score. The Mazda and the Toyotas offer them for the driver only, and the Lexus has the passenger's knees covered as well. The Lexus UX managed a 96% adult occupant score, close to the Mazda, and it provided better pedestrian safety (82%) than the Audi (71%), despite neither, or none, of the test vehicles having an active hood to catch pedestrians. As for the Toyotas, the Corolla, tested in both sedan and hatchback guises, scored 95% for adult occupant safety, with the RAV4 a couple notches down at 93%. Still, the five-star rating means all these vehicles are a very safe choice in their respective classes. Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general of Euro NCAP, states how important it is that even family hatchbacks perform well and have the latest safety tech available. "It is encouraging to see that all manufacturers did well, regardless of type of powertrain or class of vehicle tested," said van Ratingen. "New cars on the market continue to offer more advanced technology as standard, systems that were not even considered an option a few years ago." More crash test videos are available on Euro NCAP's YouTube channel. Audi Lexus Mazda Toyota Car Buying Safety audi etron lexus ux