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Former Porsche boss Wiedeking won't face criminal charges over VW bid

Hedge fund managers have been suing Porsche for years now, alleging that the car company lied about its intentions during its failed attempt to take over Volkswagen, a gambit that caused them billion in losses. Over the same period, authorities in Stuttgart built a criminal case against former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking (above, left) and Chief Financial Officer Holger Härter (right), filing charges in December 2012. When those fund plaintiffs lost their most recent court case, one of the dimming lights in the dark and receding tunnel was that the criminal investigation might unearth more evidence about Porsche's actions that could help the plaintiffs in pending litigation.
Bloomberg reports that another light has gone out, though, with a Stuttgart court dismissing the market manipulation case before going to trial because, as a court spokesperson said, "there wasn't enough evidence backing up the charges." When prosecutors get the files back from the court, they have a week to decide to refile, but unless they've been sandbagging evidence that could bolster the case, the only lights at the end of the tunnel will be those welcoming Wiedeking and Härter back to the world of legally unencumbered men.

Porsche 911 goes up in flames at New York Auto Show

It was a bad day for the 2016 DUB Show Tour after a Porsche 911 Turbo associated with the tour caught fire ahead of its 2016 New York Auto Show dates. And yes, the entire fiasco was caught on video. It's not clear how the fire started, but reports from the scene and video footage show smoke pouring off the 911. Worryingly, the fire seems to have been inside the Jacob Javits Convention Center, after New York's NBC affiliate reported smoke "spewing" throughout the sprawling facility. Workers can be heard shouting to get away from the burning 993 while at least one brave soul attacked the flaming sports car with a fire extinguisher. Despite the seriousness of the video, an aftershot – shown above – from the guy behind the video, Instagram user Zuumy, shows that there doesn't seem to be that much damage on the surface. The car just looks very, very dusty and dirty. According to WNBC, the New York Fire Department hasn't received any incident reports about the fire. And while it's part of the show, there's no reference to a 993 911 on the DUB Show Tour's Instagram or official page. Bummer, we know. You can check out the video of the blaze below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Winterkorn will leave remaining VW posts by end of the month

After stepping down as chief executive of the Volkswagen Group last month, Martin Winterkorn still retains a few key positions within and related to the German automaker. According to the latest reports, he's set to resign from those positions as well in the coming days. Aside from his former position as chairman of VW's executive board, Winterkorn has also served (and continues to serve at present) as chairman of the supervisory boards of Audi, truck manufacturer Scania (which is owned by VW), and the group's Truck & Bus division (of which Scania is part alongside Man). He's also the chief executive of Volkswagen's largest stakeholder Porsche SE, having taken up the position after the Porsche/Piech family enterprise acquired its majority stake in the group that also subsumed the sports car manufacturer. In what could prove a strong indicator of things to come, and according to the report from Reuters, Winterkorn was not present at a recent meeting of Audi's board. In his place, the meeting was presided over by deputy chairman Berthold Huber. The former labor leader also served as interim chairman of the VW board after Ferdinand Piech's departure but before CFO Hans Dieter Potsch was named to the post. The companies in question have yet to make any announcements regarding Winterkorn's remaining positions, or confirm the reports regarding his future. However parties close to the automaker and its owners reportedly expect the resignations from those positions to come as well before the end of the month, if not before the week is out. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: JOERG KOCH/AFP/Getty Green Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Porsche Volkswagen Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal martin winterkorn Scania truck and bus gmbh