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VW could look outside its own ranks for next CEO

Companies have two options when coming up with succession plans – hire within, or go outside its ranks. Either choice comes with advantages and disadvantages, to be sure. Hiring within means generally getting someone familiar with the company and its culture and traditions, while going outside is ideal if you're looking to shake things up and bring in fresh ideas. It's unclear which avenue the Volkswagen Group will go down when it comes time to replace its head man, Herr Professor Doctor Doctor Herr Martin Winterkorn, but he isn't ruling out a trip outside of Wolfsburg. Winterkorn has already given the reins of the VW brand to former BMW board member Herbert Diess, while Andreas Renschler, a former Daimler board member, is heading up VW's truck group. Now, Winterkorn has made some statements to a German weekly that indicate the most important thing about his successor isn't necessarily his (or her, though no women appear to be on the short-list) previous employer, Motoring.com.au is reporting, so much as his qualities as a leader and an engineering background. "A Volkswagen boss has to have a big affinity to our products. He needs to be close to customers and he needs to have a relationship with dealers," Winterkorn told Stern. "Like always, it depends on the personality and it also helps if the candidate is an engineer." Motoring throws out a couple of potential candidates from within, including Porsche boss Mathias Muller, Audi Chairman Rupert Stadler and engineering guru Ulrich Hackenberg, in addition to both Diess and Renschler. And while each candidate has a lot of potential, the only thing that's guaranteed right now is what Winterkorn has already said: "The decision about who will succeed me is not an easy one for the supervisory board."

2016 BMW 7 Series slims down, techs up

BMW is finally pulling the wraps off its sixth-generation 7 Series. The flagship boasts a ton of improvements for 2016, including a smattering of onboard tech and weight reduction of 190 pounds. The 7 Series uses a new internal structure called Carbon Core. Derived from the i sub-brand, Carbon Core uses a mix of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic and ultra-high-tensile steel for the 7's major structural components. It's largely responsible for the 190-pound weight reduction, along with the aluminum doors and trunk lid. The weight savings has allowed BMW to maintain a fifty-fifty weight distribution. That new structure underpins the largest sedan BMW has ever produced. At 206.6 inches in total, the long-wheelbase-only 7 Series is over an inch longer than its predecessor. Its 124.6-inch wheelbase and 74.9-inch width, though, remain unchanged. Even with such a modest increase in size, BMW is claiming best-in-class rear legroom, at 44.4 inches – a tenth of an inch more than the current 7. Unlike the old car, though, this new 7 Series gets with the times in terms of chauffeur equipment. The front passenger seat can be slid forward and folded, allowing a lucky rear passenger to take advantage of the new pop-out footrest and optional 42.5-degree seat incline, available as part of the Rear Executive Lounge Seating Package. iDrive now adds a number of 3D sensors that respond to pre-programed hand motions. The 7 Series will debut here in the United States with two engines, both of which should be familiar to BMW consumers. There's a 320-horsepower, 3.0-liter, turbocharged six-cylinder in the nose of the 740i, and a 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 with 445 hp on tap in the 750i xDrive. 60 miles per hour arrives in a relaxed 5.4 seconds for the 740i and 4.3 seconds in the V8 model. Once again, ZF provides the eight-speed automatic transmission used with both engines. Joining the 740i and 750i is the new 740e xDrive. The plug-in-hybrid sedan is motivated by a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder and an electric motor, and is capable of 23 miles per charge and speeds of up to 75 miles per hour in pure electric mode. Tthere's no shortage of tech on the latest 7 Series. While we're familiar with some items, like active grille shutters and BMW's Air Breather system, it's items like the gesture-control-equipped iDrive 5.0 that pique our interest. Alongside the new and standard touchscreen, iDrive now adds a number of 3D sensors that respond to pre-programed hand motions.

BMW-Toyota sports car heading towards Tokyo debut

Earlier this year, BMW and Toyota confirmed a four-part joint venture mostly focusing on increasing improving vehicle efficiency using fuel cells, lightweight materials and better battery technology. Also tucked into the announcement was a "feasibility study" for a shared platform to underpin a future midsize "sports vehicle."
In terms of the latter, it seems that things have stepped up from the feasibility stage to the conceptual stage, as Motor Trend reports we could see a pair of new sports car concepts debut later this year in at the Tokyo Motor Show. There isn't much information about the new program, but the article suggests the sports cars could be all-wheel drive hybrids, with electric motors powering the front wheels and a gas engine powering the rear wheels. While a partnership between Toyota and BMW might not lend itself to a catchy portmanteau like "Toyobaru," here's hoping it will bear fruit that is as exciting as the ones produced by the Toyota/Subaru tie up.