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Chief designer Walter de Silva out at Volkswagen

After decades of penning beautiful machines, Volkswagen Group design boss Walter de Silva will retire at the end of November but will still hold an advisory role. He has led the styling for the automotive giant's brands since 2007. The company's statement didn't announce a successor for him. De Silva began his design career at Fiat in 1972 and led styling at Alfa Romeo from 1986 to 1998. He first joined VW Group with Seat but made a big splash at Audi in 2002. His work there included the sixth-generation A6, A5, and the fantastic R8. Later, he created a great take on the classic Leica M9 camera, too. VW praised de Silva's creation of a design culture that spanned its division but still allowed for creativity within each one. "Walter de Silva epitomizes creativity and the Italian sense of beauty and style on the one hand and thoroughness, a systematic approach and discipline on the other," CEO Matthias Muller said in the announcement. De Silva's retirement could bring a major change in the way VW Group organizes its studios, according to Automotive News. The automaker reportedly wants to cut its annual styling budget and might not seek a replacement for him. Walter Maria de Silva takes retirement Head of Group Design established common design culture across all brands while retaining creative autonomy of each individual brand Walter Maria de Silva Walter Maria de Silva Walter Maria de Silva (64), Head of Group Design, is retiring with effect from the end of November. De Silva assumed design responsibility for all passenger car brands within the Volkswagen Group in February 2007. Walter de Silva will continue his links with the Group in an advisory capacity. Walter Maria de Silva was born in Lecco (Italy) on February 27, 1951 and joined the Volkswagen Group 17 years ago when he became Head of the SEAT Design Centre in 1998. He was put in charge of the design of the Audi brand group, including the brands Audi, Lamborghini and SEAT, in 2002. His new design language with Audi was epitomised by the 6th generation of the Audi A6 and Audi A5 Coupe. He was appointed Head of Group Design at Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft in 2007. Walter de Silva saw the main focus of his work as design chief in establishing and nurturing a common design culture across all brands, which nevertheless allows each brand to retain a high degree of creative autonomy.

Are more diesel scandals about to erupt?

More automakers may soon be embroiled, like Volkswagen, in diesel emissions scandals. According to the Daily Kanban, either the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) or the Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) will soon announce from 10 to 15 more cases of automakers cheating national diesel emissions rules. The outlet says three of the incidents are attributed to Opel. Studies conducted by the DUH, the University of Applied Sciences in Bern, Switzerland, and the UK's Leeds University found that Opel's diesel Zafira, Corsa, and Vectra models emit more NOx than European regulations allow when tested in ways that go beyond the European testing protocol, such as when done on a four-wheel rolling road instead of a two-wheel rolling road. Opel said the accusations had no merit. Specifically on the Zafira, the DUH asked Opel about the emissions findings, and Opel said that no General Motors software contains any measures to enable cheating. Opel then tested a Zafira of its own "both on a two- and a four-wheel roller dynamometer," finding that "The emission behavior determined in each case does not differ from one another." That makes this a case of he-said-she-said for the moment. The Daily Kanban's sources say the cheating methods "range from the crude to the highly sophisticated," with those at the latter end complex enough to render Volkswagen's methods "pedestrian." As for any automakers who might be named, the matter of real-world emissions exceeding a legal limit doesn't mean a carmaker has designed systems that cheat, it might mean the company designed the car to pass a test. Related Video: News Source: Daily KanbanImage Credit: PATRICK PLEUL/AFP/Getty Images Government/Legal Green Volkswagen Opel Emissions Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal icct

Volkswagen Caddy gets the Alltrack treatment for Frankfurt

We've seen Alltrack versions of the VW Golf and Passat. The German automaker's commercial vehicles division has even done a concept version of the Multivan with a similar treatment. And now it's taking that same rugged off-road approach with the Caddy van. The new Caddy Alltrack starts off with the latest, fourth-generation city van revealed earlier this year in Geneva, and beefs it up to replace the previous Cross Caddy. That comes down principally to black trim on the wheel arches, side sills, bumpers, and underbody protection with metallic accents. It also packs unique 17-inch alloys, fog lights, chrome trim on the grille, silver roof rails, a new optional beige metallic paint (pictured), and Alltrack logos galore. The interior has similarly been worked over with unique trim. Though no mention has been made of any suspension upgrades, the Caddy Alltrack can be specified with 4Motion all-wheel drive. Prospective buyers (in markets where VW offers its commercial vehicles line) will also have to choose between passenger and panel van body-styles, and between four diesel and three gasoline engine options. They range in output from 74 to 123 horsepower and come mated to manual or dual-clutch transmissions with five, six, or seven gears. Look for the new Caddy Alltrack to highlight the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles display at the Frankfurt Motor Show opening later this week. Related Video: The new Caddy – now available as Alltrack version with off-road styling - World premiere of Cross Caddy successor at IAA 2015 - Fourth generation of the Volkswagen best-seller once again available in rugged off-road style - Passenger car and panel van Alltrack variants optionally available with 4MOTION Hannover/Frankfurt, 10 September 2015 – Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will be showcasing the latest off-road style version of its best-selling Caddy at the IAA (International Automobile Show) from 15 to 27 September, 2015. The successor to the Cross Caddy is called the Caddy Alltrack. Like its predecessor, it is available both in passenger car and panel van formats. The latest version of the urban delivery van and family MPV is clearly distinct from the other Caddy models with its exclusive 17-inch alloy wheels 'Quito', new Mojave Beige metallic paintwork and optional 4MOTION all-wheel drive technology.