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Bentley testing new SUV in Audi Q7's clothes

Sure, this looks largely like an Audi Q7. What if we told you, though, that it was actually a Bentley? This may be one of the very first sets of images we've seen of the aristocratic brand's SUV. Based on the borrowed Audi bodywork, however, testing appears to be in the early stages.
While it may look like an Audi Q7, there are a number of giveaways. One of the more subtle are the British number plates, in place of the traditional German plates that would be found were this a mule for the next Q7. Other changes are more noticeable. According to our spies, this mule is much wider, while its fenders have also been enlarged to accommodate larger wheels and tires.
Out back, four exhaust pipes jut out from the lower fascia, while larger brakes are hidden behind black wheels. The big indicator that this is something special, though, can be seen in the front fascia. The heavily modified front clip is home to two massive intakes below the headlights. According to our spies, these conceal a pair of intercoolers. Whether they are for Bentley (and Audi's) twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V8 or the 6.0-liter W12 is unclear.

Horn, Hackenburg, Hatz to be fired as VW diesel scandal deepens

Volkswagen will sack three more high ranking executives, including the head of its US division, as the company's diesel scandal deepens. Reuters reported Thursday morning that the executives are: Michael Horn, who has led VW's US operations since January 1, 2014; Ulrich Hackenberg, who oversaw Audi's research and development; and Wolfgang Hatz, who was in charge of R&D for Porsche. A VW spokesman wouldn't comment in response to an Autoblog email. The moves come in the wake of longtime VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn stepping down on Wednesday. Volkswagen's board said at the time that it expected more personnel changes to follow. Volkswagen's board is scheduled to meet Friday, and Porsche CEO Matthias Muller has reportedly been named as Winterkorn's successor. The German auto giant was plunged into crisis last Friday when the EPA charged that the company manipulated software in its diesel-powered cars to pass US emissions tests. About 482,000 vehicles in the US are affected, and VW estimates 11 million around the world could have the rigged software. The revelations have prompted outcry from governments and regulatory agencies, and in the US, Volkswagen could face a fine of up to $18 billion. The departure of Horn, Hackenberg, and Hatz is a stunning downfall for three of the company's top and most visible executives. Horn had led US operations for less than two years, taking over from Jonathan Browning, who was well-respected but failed to reach VW's ambitious sales targets. Before overseeing Audi R&D, Hackenberg was hailed as a visionary for work in developing VW's modular architectures, which allow the company to save time and money by building many vehicles off the same chassis. Hatz had led Porsche R&D since 2011 and also was in charge of engines and transmission development for all of Volkswagen. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Getty Images Government/Legal Green Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Audi Porsche Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal vw diesel ulrich hackenberg michael horn wolfgang hatz

Delphi thrilled with results from autonomous car's cross-country trip

In the first trip across the United States ever made by an autonomous car, engineers from Delphi Automotive were surprised to learn that, in some cases, their vehicle behaved a lot like a human driver. "The car was scared of tractor trailers," said Jeff Owens, the company's chief technology officer. "The car edged to the left just a little bit when it would pass trucks, and that was an interesting observation." Engineers made hundreds of notes throughout the drive, as the autonomous car covered 3,400 miles through 15 states en route to a showcase near the New York Auto Show. Overall, company officials said the car performed better than anticipated in a variety of road and weather conditions. In the course of the cross-country drive, drivers actually controlled the car only for about 50 miles, and those cases were limited to on-and-off ramps and the occasional construction zone where lanes were not marked or only sporadically marked. The purpose of the trip was to glean information on how the autonomous car worked in a real-world environment. Google and others have tested autonomous cars and autonomous features in select real-world environments before, but Delphi's adventure was the first to trek into a test with such varied challenges over a nine-day trip that began near the Golden Gate Bridge on March 22. There are some things the engineers have already learned, like the fact the camera systems had the occasional blip when the sun-angle was low. And there are some things to still be learned, as they pour over three terrabytes worth of data from cameras, radar and lidar sensors in the weeks ahead. "It's going to take us a couple weeks to digest all this," Owens said. "But we had all the data from tests. It was time to put this on the road." Built into an Audi SQ5, the vehicle was striking, if only for the fact it looked like a normal car. Many other autonomous vehicles have quirky sensors atop the roof or other features that make them stand out as experiments. Delphi arranged this one to look as much like a normal car as possible, right down to stowing an army of computers under cargo mats, so the rear contained as much trunk space as the production model. If a fellow motorist didn't know where to look -- or take the time to notice the person in the driver's seat didn't have their hands on the wheel -- there was no reason to suspect this was anything other than a regular car.