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Anti-union group files lawsuit against VW and UAW

The fight for unionization at Volkswagen's Chattanooga, TN, factory isn't letting up. Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board decided to allow anti-United Auto Workers employees at the plant the right to defend voting down the measure. Now, a group called the National Right to Work Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of five workers against VW and the UAW for allegedly working together to organize.
The group says in a release that it wants "to block further collusion between the company and the United Auto Workers." It alleges that VW forced workers to attend "mandatory pro-union meetings" and prevented managers from opposing. In a rebuttal on its website, the UAW called the claims "baseless" and said its actions were entirely legal.
One possible problem faces the carmaker in regards to the lawsuit. According to the Detroit Free Press, a recent US Court of Appeals ruling found that neutrality agreements like the one the business had with the UAW could be illegal if the company provided "things of value" to the union. The newspaper also claims that VW held a mandatory employee meeting concerning the election, but workers were free to leave during the UAW's presentation.

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn resigns amid diesel scandal

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn is stepping down amid charges the company manipulated its diesel-powered cars to meet emissions regulations around the world, the automaker announced Wednesday. No successor was immediately announced, though recommendations will be made at VW's board meeting Friday. Winterkorn, 68, has led VW since 2007 and oversaw the German automaker's staggering growth around the world. His departure comes less than a week after the EPA alleged the company has been cheating on diesel emissions testing for years, and that its cars might emit 40 times more pollution than legally allowed. The EPA says about 482,000 vehicles are affected in the United States, and VW estimates at least 11 million vehicles globally might have the software that allows the vehicles to cheat emissions regulations. "As CEO I accept responsibility for the irregularities that have been found in diesel engines and have therefore requested the Supervisory Board to agree on terminating my function as CEO of the Volkswagen Group," Winterkorn said in a statement. "I am doing this in the interests of the company even though I am not aware of any wrongdoing on my part. "Volkswagen needs a fresh start – also in terms of personnel. I am clearing the way for this fresh start with my resignation." Winterkorn stepped down after an executive committee meeting of the VW Supervisory Board Wednesday. The committee agreed Winterkorn had no knowledge of wrongdoing. "The executive committee has tremendous respect for his willingness to nevertheless assume responsibility and, in so doing, to send a strong signal both internally and externally," VW said in a statement. Volkswagen is conducting an internal review and expects more "personnel consequences" in the coming days. It also will voluntarily submit a complaint to the state prosecutor's office in Brunswick, Germany, and cooperate with the expected criminal investigation. Winterkorn's departure is the latest development in VW's burgeoning diesel emissions scandal. It came to light last week after the work of researchers at West Virginia University detailed the software manipulation designed to skirt EPA tests, and it has resounded as governments around the world examine Volkswagen's diesel vehicles. The company set aside $7.3 billion to deal with the fallout and has retained the law firm that defended BP during its oil spill.

Everybody's doing flying cars, so why aren't we soaring over traffic already?

"Where's my flying car?" has been the meme for impending technology that never materializes since before there were memes. And the trough of disillusionment for vehicles that can take to sky continues to nosedive, despite a nonstop fascination with flying cars and a recent rash of announcements about the technology, particularly from traditional automakers. Earlier this month, Toyota applied for an eye-popping patent for a flying car that has wheels with spring-loaded pop-out helicopter rotors. The patent filing says the wheels/rotors would be electrically powered, while in on-land mode the vehicle would have differential steering like tracked vehicles such as tanks and bulldozers. At an airshow in July, Aston Martin unveiled its Volante Vision Concept, an autonomous hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle it developed with Rolls-Royce. Aston says the Volante can fly at top speeds of around 200 mph and bills it as a luxury car for the skies. Audi used the Geneva Motor Show in March to unveil a flying car concept called the Pop.Up Next it developed with Airbus and Italdesign. If the Pop.Up Next, an electric and autonomous quadcopter/city car combo, gets stuck in traffic, an app can be used to summon an Airbus-developed drone to pick up the passenger compartment pod, leaving the chassis behind. Audi said that the Pop.Up Next is a "flexible on-demand concept that could open up mobility in the third dimension to people in cities." But Audi also acknowledged that at this point it has no plans to develop it. The cash-stoked, skies-the-limit Silicon Valley tech crowd is also bullish on flying cars. The startup Kitty Hawk that's backed by Google co-founder Larry Page announced in June that it's taking pre-orders for its single-seat electric Flyer that's powered by 10 propellers and is capable of vertical takeoffs and landings. The current version can only fly up to 20 mph and 10 feet in the air and has a flight time of just 12 to 20 minutes on a full charge. The Flyer is considered a recreational vehicle, so doesn't require a pilot's license. Uber says it plans to launch its more ambitious Elevate program and UberAIR service in 2023. "Uber customers will be able to push a button and get a flight on-demand with uberAIR in Dallas, Los Angeles and a third international market," Uber Elevate promises on its website.