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VW pulls Lamborghini and Bentley from the Paris Motor Show

It's been slightly more than a year since the news that Volkswagen had intentionally cheated on diesel emissions testing broke. Since then, the company's reputation and image have suffered and it has struggled to regain its footing and composure. The automaker is shelling out billions in fines, so cost cutting is inevitable. Today, Reuters reports that Volkswagen subsidiaries Lamborghini and Bentley won't bring their elaborate displays to the Paris Motor Show next week. Auto shows can cost automakers millions of dollars, especially for supercar and luxury car brands that constantly try to compete and one-up with each other. Much of the money and fanfare goes to catering the media, and if an automaker has nothing new to reveal it can be difficult to justify the expense. The company told Reuters that it plans to attend smaller events that focus more on potential buyers. The Volkswagen group as a whole has shifted it's focus, both when it comes to products and auto shows like Paris. Next week, the automaker will be focusing on electric vehicles and electromobility. The company plans to reveal a new EV with 373 miles of range, eclipsing both the Tesla Model 3 and Chevy Bolt. Volkswagen has plans for 30 new electric vehicles by 2025. Lamborghini and Bentley aren't the only major automakers skipping Paris. Ford, Volvo, and Aston Martin have all decided to save money and focus their efforts elsewhere. Related Video:

Weekly Recap: Takeaways from the Frankfurt Motor Show

We obsessively covered the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, and naturally, we selected our favorites from this fall's biggest automotive event. Now that the dust has settled, we're looking ahead to what it all means. Here are three takeaways from the floor in Frankfurt. The Germans are serious about electric vehicles: It's a bit cliche to say BMW, Mercedes, and Audi have downplayed electrics in favor of other technologies, like diesels. For a time that may have been true, but those three companies, along with Porsche and Volkswagen, are emerging as leaders in EV development. That was on display in Frankfurt, when all of them revealed either all-electric or plug-in hybrid models. Gas prices are relatively low in the United States, but clearly the Germans are thinking long-term and globally. Everyone is serious about SUVs: You gotta have one, even if you're Bentley or Jaguar. It's 2015 and it's what consumers want. As Jaguar design director Ian Callum put it, "Not to be in the sector would be a little naive for the sake of purity." It's not just the flashy exotic luxury makers. Nissan showed the Gripz concept, which is rakish, radical, and meant to blend traits of SUVs and sports cars into a vehicle that really crosses over. Look for more, especially in the luxury sector, as Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin ramp up their own SUV efforts. There's no ceiling to the luxury market: Speaking of high-end cars, companies are continuing to invest in extravagant wares beyond just SUVs. Even during the recession, ultra-luxury makers remained relevant, and now they're back at full stride. In Frankfurt, that was illustrated by yet another S-Class model, the cabriolet, which will come in S550 and S63 AMG variants in the United States. Ferrari also showed off the 488 Spider, and Lamborghini opened up the Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder. Meanwhile, Bugatti's Vision Grand Turismo concept reminded enthusiasts that it's plotting life after the Veyron. European auto shows always draw the glitziest reveals from luxury makers, and this year didn't disappoint. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Honda Civic redesigned with snazzier style, turbo power The 10th-generation of the Honda Civic debuted this week at events in Los Angeles and Detroit ahead of its launch in the United States this fall as a 2016 model. Honda fortified the Civic with LED lights, an available turbo engine, and a more tech-laden cabin.

Lamborghini: We did not cheat on Nurburgring record

"Why would we [cheat]? We have all the data, all the GPS data. It's verified. It's already verified." – Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali Lamborghini is doubling-down on the legitimacy of the Huracan Performante's production-car record at the Nurburgring. The Italian supercar maker should have been on a high when it launched its Huracan Performante at the Geneva Motor Show, but it was instead forced to defend the 6:52.01 lap time on the Nurburgring's Nordschleife circuit in the wake of criticism. Skeptics suggested the footage had been sped up from a rate of 24 frames per second to 25, arguing the 'authentic' lap time would have been closer to 7:08. James Glickenhaus, the owner of ultra-low volume supercar maker Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, even called for the circuit to hold a special day to verify production car lap times. View 12 Photos "Why would we [cheat]?" Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali asked incredulously. "We have all the data, all the GPS data. It's verified. It's already verified. "The simulation we did before we did the lap was already better than the previous time [set by Porsche's hybrid supercar, the 918 Spyder]. "What we saw was the great potential of active aerodynamics. The Nurburgring is a lot of partial throttle and long corners. The SV [Aventador] was for sure faster on the straight, but the lap [by the Performante] was all recorded." A Lamborghini spokesman suggested the entire controversy was rooted in "one blogger's business model [of] paying for clicks." Audi Sport development head, Stephan Reil, also weighed in during last week's Audi RS3 launch, insisting Lamborghini would have had no reason to cheat at anything and that its active aerodynamics would have more than made up for any power shortfalls. Audi is a sister brand of Lamborghini under the ownership of Volkswagen Group. "We also know that architecture well [the Huracan shares its architecture with Reil's R8]. We know what it's capable of," Reil said. "The Performante 'Ring time is absolutely credible. Active aero makes a huge difference. "We did a TT production racer for the 'Ring with about 380 horsepower and gave it maximum wing. It was so slow down the straight that everybody passed it, but the overall lap time was very, very fast. Much faster than without the aero downforce.