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Former Porsche boss Wiedeking won't face criminal charges over VW bid

Hedge fund managers have been suing Porsche for years now, alleging that the car company lied about its intentions during its failed attempt to take over Volkswagen, a gambit that caused them billion in losses. Over the same period, authorities in Stuttgart built a criminal case against former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking (above, left) and Chief Financial Officer Holger Härter (right), filing charges in December 2012. When those fund plaintiffs lost their most recent court case, one of the dimming lights in the dark and receding tunnel was that the criminal investigation might unearth more evidence about Porsche's actions that could help the plaintiffs in pending litigation.
Bloomberg reports that another light has gone out, though, with a Stuttgart court dismissing the market manipulation case before going to trial because, as a court spokesperson said, "there wasn't enough evidence backing up the charges." When prosecutors get the files back from the court, they have a week to decide to refile, but unless they've been sandbagging evidence that could bolster the case, the only lights at the end of the tunnel will be those welcoming Wiedeking and Härter back to the world of legally unencumbered men.

VW pulls Lamborghini and Bentley from the Paris Motor Show

It's been slightly more than a year since the news that Volkswagen had intentionally cheated on diesel emissions testing broke. Since then, the company's reputation and image have suffered and it has struggled to regain its footing and composure. The automaker is shelling out billions in fines, so cost cutting is inevitable. Today, Reuters reports that Volkswagen subsidiaries Lamborghini and Bentley won't bring their elaborate displays to the Paris Motor Show next week. Auto shows can cost automakers millions of dollars, especially for supercar and luxury car brands that constantly try to compete and one-up with each other. Much of the money and fanfare goes to catering the media, and if an automaker has nothing new to reveal it can be difficult to justify the expense. The company told Reuters that it plans to attend smaller events that focus more on potential buyers. The Volkswagen group as a whole has shifted it's focus, both when it comes to products and auto shows like Paris. Next week, the automaker will be focusing on electric vehicles and electromobility. The company plans to reveal a new EV with 373 miles of range, eclipsing both the Tesla Model 3 and Chevy Bolt. Volkswagen has plans for 30 new electric vehicles by 2025. Lamborghini and Bentley aren't the only major automakers skipping Paris. Ford, Volvo, and Aston Martin have all decided to save money and focus their efforts elsewhere. Related Video:

Elon Musk says VW scandal proves limits of fossil fuel cars

Tesla Motors chief Elon Musk didn't appear to mince words when commenting on Volkswagen's diesel-emissions scandal when making comments at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy conference in Berlin this week, according to Bloomberg News. Musk called the news of scandal "obviously bad." He also used the opportunity to note that he thought the German automotive industry may be lacking when it came to getting its powertrains to cut emissions. Pretty tough talk in Berlin. Musk did note that, when it came to clean electricity generation, Germany was ahead of many countries. But he also used the occasion to note that global industries could do a better job addressing "the chemical constituency" of the world's air and oceans. Musk also spoke to the Belgian press about the VW scandal this week. Asked if people might lose their faith in green technology, Musk said that what the scandal shows is that "we've reached the limit of what's possible with diesel and gasoline. And so, the time, I think, has come to move to a new generation of technology." You can see his comments in the video above, starting at 1:12. Musk made these comments as the automotive industry reacts to news that Volkswagen tried to game the system by manipulating its diesel-powered vehicles to meet worldwide emissions regulations. VW has set aside $7.3 billion to address the issue, and has estimated that at least 11 million vehicles may have been programmed to cheat emissions mandates. As a result of the scandal, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn has stepped down and Porsche chief executive officer Matthias Muller has taken over. For those keeping track, VW sold almost 51,000 diesel vehicles in the US through the first eight months of the year. That is about eight percent less than a year earlier but is probably about three times the number of Tesla Model S electric vehicles Musk sold in the US (we say probably because Tesla discloses neither monthly nor country-specific sales). So, while this may not be a case of diesel envy, Musk did have a pretty wide-open shot to tweak VW and its reliance on diesel technology. News Source: Bloomberg News, EV AnnexImage Credit: AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu Government/Legal Green Tesla Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles Electric vw diesel scandal