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VW readying CC Shooting Brake?

This was bound to happen. Volkswagen's relentless drive for big volume has the brand mining seemingly every niche it can find for additional sales worldwide. And with its CLS Shooting Brake, fellow countryman Mercedes-Benz has already shown that a wagon based off of a "four-door coupe" can look dead sexy and command extra dollars. So it follows that the Volkswagen CC (whose existence is all but directly attributable to the success of the original CLS sedan) will also get a load-lugging variant. That's according to the UK's Autocar, which notes that the five-door will come in the CC's next generation.
According to the report, the next CC will be available in front and all-wheel drive variants with the usual assortment of gas and diesel four-cylinders found in the Wolfsburg empire, with the possibility of a gas plug-in hybrid model, too. The rakish estate will ride atop VW's MQB architecture, a shorter variant of which is also found underneath the new Golf. The scalable chassis is set to spread like kudzu throughout the company's lineup, but the CC probably won't happen until after the launch of the next European-market Passat in 2015.
Will we get it in North America? Hard to say. Volkswagen sells the standard CC saloon here, but not in particularly large numbers, and when the company moved to a North American-specific Passat, it dumped the wagon variant. The traditional VW estate apparently continues to pick up sales momentum abroad, however, making the CC Shooting Brake a seemingly natural fit for buyers who still want the utility of a two-box form but can afford to sacrifice a bit of cargo room in the name of style.

VW CFO Hans Dieter Potsch nominated as new board chairman

The search for a successor to Ferdinand Piech has come to an end as the Volkswagen Group has nominated a new chairman. The Executive and Nomination committees of VW's Supervisory Board have put their weight behind one Hans Dieter Potsch, who currently serves on the company's management board as its chief financial officer. He's expected to continue in his current role until November when an extraordinary general meeting of the supervisory board can be called to confirm his nomination and a replacement CFO can be found to take his place. As you may recall, the chairmanship of the Volkswagen board fell until recently to Ferdinand Piech, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche and one of the principals of the Porsche family that holds over 50 percent ownership in Volkswagen through Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Piech went head to head with VW CEO Martin Winterkorn and ultimately lost. Piech resigned and Winterkorn is about to have his term as chief executive extended through the end of 2018. In Piech's place, former union head Berthold Huber was named as interim chairman, but is now referred to in the statement below once again as deputy chairman instead. An Austrian native, Potsch is an industrial engineer by training. He started his career at BMW where he ultimately served as group controller, and subsequently served as CFO and as chairman at a number of German corporations. Potsch joined the VW management board in 2003, initially without portfolio, and soon assumed the financial portfolio – a role he has held until now. In 2009 he took on the additional role of chief financial officer at the Porsche holding company, whose supervisory board representatives are the parties proposing Potsch's nomination as the group's new chairman – even though he is not, strictly speaking, one of their own. In a related development, it appears that Julia Kuhn-Piech will be leaving her board seat sooner than expected. The departing chairman Ferdinand Piech opposed his niece's nomination to the board in his place, and now she'll apparently be stepping down to make way for the family's new choice of chairman.

VW updates Scirocco with revised styling, new engines

The Scirocco is undoubtedly one of the better-looking models in the Volkswagen lineup, but introduced back in 2008, it's now been on the market - some markets, anyway - for the better part of six years. VW is said to have an all-new replacement in the works, but before that arrives, the German automaker has announced a facelifted version with revised styling and a new engine lineup.
Set to be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show next month, the new Scirocco benefits from updated styling front and rear, high-tech exterior lighting, a revised cabin space with some throwback retro touches, some new technologies and, of course, an array of fresh wheel options ranging from 17 to 19 inches.
The updated Scirocco will be offered with a wide array of engines right from the get-go, including four gasoline options and two diesels, spanning from 125 horsepower all the way up to the 280-hp Scirocco R. The 2014 model hits European showrooms in August, but unfortunately isn't any more likely to make the transatlantic voyage Stateside than the version it replaces. Still interested? There's plenty to see in the high-res image gallery above and details in the press release below.