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Autoblog Minute: VW Q3 financial woes, 2015 Tokyo Motor Show

Consumer Reports pulls its Tesla recommendation, the U.S. Copyright Office offers a ruling affecting car owners, VW gets hit hard with third-quarter losses, and lots of exciting news from Tokyo. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Consumer Reports pulls its Tesla recommendation, the U.S. copyright office offers a ruling that affects car owners and gear heads, VW gets hit hard with third-quarter losses, and lots of exciting news from Tokyo. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. After a week away testing vehicles for Autoblog's Tech of the Year award, we're back in the office to recap the week in automotive news. [00:00:30] One of the things you might have missed was Consumer Reports pulling its recommendation of Tesla's Model S sedan. The blemish for Tesla comes after a tally of reviews from customer surveys. The most common problem areas for the Model S as cited by survey takers included: the drivetrain, power equipment, charging equipment, body and sunroof squeaks, rattles, and leaks. So lots of stuff. Though they could not ignore a score of "worse-than-average", Consumer Reports still [00:01:00] highlighted the fact that the Model S was "the best performing car" they've ever tested. Telsa CEO Elon Musk took to social media to defend his sedans saying: "Consumer Reports reliability survey includes a lot of early production cars. Already addressed in new cars." And, "Tesla gets top rating of any company in service. Most important, CR says 97% of owners expect their next car to be a Tesla (the acid test)." In Financial news, Volkswagen took a hit and reported an operating loss of [00:01:30] $3.84 billion. This is the first such loss for VW in 15 years. Toyota reclaimed the crown as the world's largest automaker as well. It's important that it's not all doom and gloom for VW though in Q3. Sales revenues were up and the company's automotive division boasts $30 billion dollars in liquid assets. It's a sizable war chest that will no doubt come in handy, as the company has yet to feel the full brunt of the diesel emissions scandal. Good news for gear heads. The US copyright office [00:02:00] ruled in favor of mechanics and car owners by granting an exception to existing copyright law. The law was originally meant to prevent software pirating and bootlegging of Hollywood movies.

Porsche 718 Cayman gets new turbocharged engines

When Porsche revealed the new 718 Boxster, it appeared a matter of time before the Cayman would receive the same treatment. That time has come. The Cayman is like the 718 Boxster, but with a fixed roof, and both models are now aligned under the same number plate. The biggest change over the outgoing Cayman is the arrival of turbocharged power. In place of the 2.7- and 3.4-liter atmospheric boxer sixes in the previous model, the new 718 Cayman offers a choice of turbo fours: a 2.0-liter unit in the base model good for 300 horsepower, and a 2.5 in the S version with 350 hp on tap – just like in the latest Boxster. Smaller, both the new turbo engines bring increases of 25 hp over the naturally aspirated engines they replace. Torque goes up along with it – by 67 pound-feet in the base model to 280, and by 37 lb-ft in the Cayman S to 309. The extra muscle translates to a 0-to-60 time as low as 4.5 seconds for the 718 Cayman, or 4.0 flat for the 718 Cayman S, with top speeds clocked at 170 and 177 miles per hour, respectively. Of course, there's more to the new 718 coupe than what can be found under the engine bay. Porsche has retuned the suspension, tightened the steering rack, widened the rear wheels, and enlarged the brakes. It's all wrapped in new bodywork and operated from a refreshed interior. US deliveries are set to commence in November, with prices starting at $54,950 (including the destination fee) for the base model and $67,350 for the S model. Those are just starting points, with key options like the Sport Chrono pack, torque vectoring, and active suspension promising to inflate those figures as rapidly as the new Cayman will cover ground. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Poised for precision: The new 2017 Porsche 718 Cayman Mid-engine sports coupe with new turbocharged flat-four cylinder engines and enhanced suspension Atlanta, Georgia. Today Porsche announces the new 718 Cayman models. Following the debut of the new 718 Boxster, the new 718 Cayman complements the roadster in the mid-engine model line-up. This third generation of the mid-engine sports coupe has a more striking and athletic appearance, and for the first time, the coupe is priced below the roadster. The new turbocharged flat-four cylinder engines from the 718 Boxster power the 718 Cayman, making the power output identical for both models.

Ferdinand Piech (1937-2019): The man who made VW global

Towering among his peers, a giant of the auto industry died Sunday night in Rosenheim/Upper Bavaria, Germany. Ferdinand Piech, a grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who conceived the original Volkswagen in the 1930s, was the most polarizing automotive executive of our times. And one who brought automotive technology further than anyone else. Ferdinand Porsche had a son, Ferdinand (called "Ferry"), and a daughter, Louise, who married the Viennese lawyer Anton Piech. They gave birth to Ferdinand Piech, and his proximity to two Alfa Romeo sports cars — Porsche had done some work for the Italians — and the "Berlin-Rome-Berlin" race car, developed by Porsche himself, gave birth to Piech's interest in cars. After his teachers in Salzburg told his mother he was "too stupid" to attend school there, Piech, who was open about his dyslexia, was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland. He subsequently moved on to Porsche, where he fixed issues with the 904 race car and did major work on the 911. But his greatest project was the Le Mans-winning 917 race car, developed at breathtaking financial cost. It annihilated the competition, but the family had had enough: Amid growing tension among the four cousins working at Porsche and Piech's uncle Ferry, the family decided to pull every family member, except for Ferry, out of their management positions. Piech started his own consultancy business, where he designed the famous five-cylinder diesel for Mercedes-Benz, but quickly moved on to Audi, first as an engineer and then as CEO, where he set out to transform the dull brand into a technology leader. Piech killed the Wankel engine and hammered out a number of ambitious and sophisticated technologies. Among them: The five-cylinder gasoline engine; Quattro all-wheel drive and Audi's fantastic rally successes; and turbocharging, developed with Fritz Indra, whom Piech recruited from Alpina. The Audi 100/200/5000 became the world's fastest production sedan, thanks to their superior aerodynamics. Piech also launched zinc-coated bodies for longevity — and gave diesel technology a decisive boost with the advent of the fast and ultra-efficient TDI engines. Less known: Piech also decided to put larger gas tanks into cars. Customers loved it. Piech's first-generation Audi V8 was met with derision by competitors; it was too obviously based on the 200/5000.