2004 Audi S4 Quattro Sedan 4d on 2040-cars

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Audi workers are frustrated with 'disastrous' indecisiveness of top management

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Audi's management board, including Chief Executive Rupert Stadler, has been sharply criticized by company managers, Bild am Sonntag reported on Sunday, citing an internal dossier. It said the executive board had shown no signals of a fresh start, change or readiness for the future, and that workers were frustrated with "disastrous" indecisiveness. Stadler has come under fire for how he has handled the fallout from parent company Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal. Munich prosecutors have been investigating Audi on suspicion of fraud and criminal advertising in the United States, where the Volkswagen scandal broke in September 2015. Stadler only got a five-year contract extension last month because of an agreement among supervisory board members that he would not serve out his full term, two sources close to the company's supervisory board have told Reuters. An Audi spokesman said: "We deny plans to get rid of Stadler," adding that he declined to comment on the content of the dossier. Volkswagen is looking at rehiring the chief executive of General Motors' Opel, possibly to lead Audi, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters this month, following his resignation from Opel. Bild am Sonntag also quoted Oliver Blume, the head of Porsche, Volkswagen's sportscar division, as saying he had no interest in replacing Stadler. "I have a dream job and am very happy at Porsche. Nothing else comes into question for me." (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Nick Zieminski) Related Video:

2012 Seat Exeo is Audi with the old, in with the new-ish

We know what you're thinking: This car looks an awful lot like an Audi A4. But it isn't. And it is.
Regular readers may be aware that Audi's Spanish sister-company Seat inherited the previous-generation A4 some time after it was replaced. They put some new badges on it and presto! A new flagship model for Seat.
Called the Exeo, it has now undergone a minor facelift that did nothing if not make it look even more like an Audi, if that were possible, and we got up close and personal with the new model here in Frankfurt. Check it out in our high-res gallery of live images from the show floor.

Weekly Recap: 2016 CTS-V gives Cadillac new momentum for the new year

It's been a rough year for Cadillac. The historic luxury carmaker been in the news for all of the wrong reasons: Declining sales, ditching its advertising agency and the relocation of its headquarters from Detroit to New York. But in late December, Cadillac reminded everyone what it does best: Build some of the rawest and most compelling luxury sedans in the world, as evidenced by the 2016 CTS-V. This monster churns out 640 horsepower from a supercharged 6.2-liter V8. Sound familiar? That's the Corvette Z06 engine, and it makes this CTS the most powerful production Cadillac ever. It also puts the sporting divisions of the Germans on notice. The new CTS-V easily overpowers the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S 4Matic and its 5.5-liter biturbo V8 rated at 577 hp, and the BMW M5 (with the competition pack) and its 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 that pushes out 575 hp. The rear-wheel drive Cadillac can sprint to 60 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds, which is close to the 3.5-second time turned in by the 4Matic-driven E63 S, and a bit quicker than the 4.1 seconds posted by the M5. With Magnetic Ride Control, General Motors' stout eight-speed automatic transmission (also used in the Corvette), Brembo brakes and a carbon-fiber option package that pretty much builds your car out of carbon fiber – it's clear this Cadillac means business. Truth be told, we expected this CTS-V to deliver. It's been a serious sports sedan for a decade, and the recent generation and its 556-hp arrogance have been particularly memorable. But notice what we're doing here? We're talking about product. Not who makes Cadillac's ads, or if the brand's headquarters has a mailing address in NYC. Like the 2016 ATS-V that's due in the spring, the debut of the 2016 CTS-V (on sale in late summer) is a shot in the arm for Cadillac, and its arrival comes during time of transition. The brand is trying to reinvent itself as a modern luxury maker. It wants new customers, a different image and obviously more sales. Those things are going to take time, but with a 640-hp sledgehammer of a sports sedan on tap for next year, Cadillac can still maintain some of its swagger through all of the change. Other News And Views 1984 Audi Sport Quattro heads for the auction block If you're into '80s rally cars, you're really a car person. But if you're into that stuff – and we are – this 1984 Audi Sport Quattro is sure to get your blood flowing.