2006 Bentley Arnage R Sedan 4-door on 2040-cars

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Car cocktails and Risky Business Porsches with Brett Berk | Autoblog Podcast #502

On this week's podcast, Mike Austin and David Gluckman are joined by a special guest, Autoblog contributor Brett Berk. The three discuss cars in film and TV as well as Brett's series on car-themed cocktails. There is of course a recap of what they've all been driving lately, and the episode wraps up with Spend My Money buying advice to help you, our dear listeners. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #502 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics and stories we mention 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV - Autoblog's 2017 Technology of the Year Car award winner 2017 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R 2016 Kia Soul EV 2017 Audi A4 sedan The story of the Risky Business Porsche 928 The Taxi Cocktail took us for a ride The myth and mystery of The Bentley Cocktail Used cars! Rundown Intro - 00:00 What we're driving - 01:50 Brett Berk interview - 21:12 Spend My Money - 39:44 Total Duration: 54:02 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Audi Bentley BMW Chevrolet Maserati Mercedes-Benz Porsche kia soul ev Chevrolet Bolt porsche 928 ford shelby mustang gt350r cocktails

Volkswagen posts quarterly profit despite drop in sales

Volkswagen returned to profit in the third quarter as surging Chinese demand for luxury cars helped offset a 1.1% drop in vehicle deliveries due to the pandemic, sending its shares as much as 3% higher on Thursday. The German automaker's return to the black comes amid spiking coronavirus cases in Europe that led governments in France and Germany to order their countries back into strict national lockdowns on Wednesday. "The coronavirus remains a central problem," Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said in a conference call with reporters. "This situation now is anything but relaxed." But Witter said the group expected the economic recovery to continue and did "not anticipate any nationwide lockdowns in larger markets." Witter said the takeover of U.S. truck maker Navistar International by Volkswagen's trucking unit Traton was an important acquisition, but the "current economic climate will not make this easy." Volkswagen reiterated it expects to post a profit for the full year, saying its business "recovered noticeably" in the third quarter as sales in China of premium vehicles, including Audi and Porsche sports cars, rose 3%. The quarterly performance was also aided by a series of cost-cutting measures launched earlier this year. Volkswagen said its net liquidity rose to 24.8 billion euros from 18.7 billion at the end of the second quarter. Excluding one-time items, third-quarter operating profit was 3.2 billion euros ($3.8 billion), down from 4.8 billion euros a year earlier, but up from a second quarter loss of 1.7 billion. In a note to clients, Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois described the results as a "solid performance with strong cash, but relatively muted in the context of the (auto) sector recovery." Last week, German rival Daimler reported a record 24% jump in Chinese demand for its Mercedes-Benz cars, boosting its margins in the third quarter. Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot manufacturer PSA Group both also posted solid results this week. Witter said Volkswagen could not say for sure whether it would meet EU CO2 emissions targets this year, adding "it will be a tough race." At 1030 GMT, Volkswagen shares were up 2.9% at 129.20 euros. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Audi Bentley Bugatti Lamborghini Porsche Volkswagen

Bentley planning new Le Mans prototype for LMP2 class

Word has it that Bentley is planning a new Le Mans prototype racer. Speaking with Bentley chief Wolfgang Durheimer, Autocar reports that a new LMP2 project is underway at Crewe. The program would be run in-house instead of outsourced to a partner racing team. But while the prototype would likely use the company's 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, the chassis by necessity would have to be outsourced: the three major sanctioning bodies recently got together to approve Dallara, Oreca, Riley-Multimatic, and Onroak exclusively to supply LMP2 chassis, so Bentley would have to base its design around one of theirs. The British automaker might have a number of reasons for restricting itself to the LMP2 class. Chief among them is likely the presence of both Porsche and Audi in the top-tier LMP1 category, and parent company Volkswagen's likely reluctance to send another one of its brands into the same fight. Another is budget: developing and fielding a competitive LMP1 program can be as costly as running an F1 team, whereas the prospect of sourcing and adapting an LMP2 chassis from an approved supplier would cost Bentley far less. But another factor not to be discounted is that Bentley may be choosing its battles carefully. Where the LMP1 prototypes are constricted largely to Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship of which it is part, there are several series that top out at LMP2 – most notable the IMSA SportsCar Championship where Bentley is tipped to focus first, but also in the European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. In fact [SPOILER ALERT] an LMP2 entry just won the 24 Hours of Daytona for the first time, beating out the Daytona Prototypes against which they compete. Those are bragging rights that Bentley could be keen to capture, and if it plays its cards right, it could sit out the LMP2 class at Le Mans and in the WEC altogether, rather than compete for second-tier victory behind its big brothers in LMP1. That would make this program radically different from the last time Bentley built a Le Mans prototype. In the early 2000s, Bentley fielded successive versions of the Speed 8 (pictured above) with a little help from Audi, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans outright in 2003. The company then shut down the program, only to return to racing with the Continental GT3, developed with longtime Ford rally partner M-Sport and offered to privateer teams.