Volkswagen Eos 2008 Turbo Convertible on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Porsche board members facing another ˆ1.8B lawsuit over VW takeover bid

Back in 2008, Porsche got the bright idea that it could take over Volkswagen in the midst of the worst economic slump since the Great Depression. Ignoring that this was a catastrophic move for the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer that that eventually resulted in it nearly going bankrupt and eventually being taken over by the same company it sought to control, the aftermath has left Porsche Chairman Wolfgang Porsche and board member Ferdinand Piëch in the crosshairs of seven hedge funds that lost out during the takeover and are now seeking €1.8 billion - $2.43 billion US - in damages from the two execs, according to the BBC.
See, investors bet on Volkswagen's share price going down, partially because Porsche said it wasn't going to attempt a takeover. But Porsche was attempting to take over VW, having bought up nearly 75-percent of VW's publicly traded shares. When word broke that Porsche owned nearly three-quarters of VW (which indicated an imminent takeover attempt), rather than go down like the hedge funds bet it would, VW's share price skyrocketed to over 1,000 euros per share, according to Reuters.
Naturally, when you bet that a company's share price is going to drop and it in turn (temporarily) becomes the world's most valuable company, you lose a lot of money, unless you're able to buy up shares before prices jump too much. This led to a squeeze on the stock, which the hedge funds accuse Porsche and Piëch (who are both members of the Porsche family and supervisory board) of organizing.

Elon Musk says VW scandal proves limits of fossil fuel cars

Tesla Motors chief Elon Musk didn't appear to mince words when commenting on Volkswagen's diesel-emissions scandal when making comments at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy conference in Berlin this week, according to Bloomberg News. Musk called the news of scandal "obviously bad." He also used the opportunity to note that he thought the German automotive industry may be lacking when it came to getting its powertrains to cut emissions. Pretty tough talk in Berlin. Musk did note that, when it came to clean electricity generation, Germany was ahead of many countries. But he also used the occasion to note that global industries could do a better job addressing "the chemical constituency" of the world's air and oceans. Musk also spoke to the Belgian press about the VW scandal this week. Asked if people might lose their faith in green technology, Musk said that what the scandal shows is that "we've reached the limit of what's possible with diesel and gasoline. And so, the time, I think, has come to move to a new generation of technology." You can see his comments in the video above, starting at 1:12. Musk made these comments as the automotive industry reacts to news that Volkswagen tried to game the system by manipulating its diesel-powered vehicles to meet worldwide emissions regulations. VW has set aside $7.3 billion to address the issue, and has estimated that at least 11 million vehicles may have been programmed to cheat emissions mandates. As a result of the scandal, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn has stepped down and Porsche chief executive officer Matthias Muller has taken over. For those keeping track, VW sold almost 51,000 diesel vehicles in the US through the first eight months of the year. That is about eight percent less than a year earlier but is probably about three times the number of Tesla Model S electric vehicles Musk sold in the US (we say probably because Tesla discloses neither monthly nor country-specific sales). So, while this may not be a case of diesel envy, Musk did have a pretty wide-open shot to tweak VW and its reliance on diesel technology. News Source: Bloomberg News, EV AnnexImage Credit: AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu Government/Legal Green Tesla Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles Electric vw diesel scandal

A fix is finally coming for some diesel Volkswagens in America

According to Automotive News, the EPA has approved a fix for select Volkswagen and Audi 2.0-liter diesel vehicles. The fix applies to 2015 VW Beetles, Golfs, Golf SportWagens, Jettas, Passats, and Audi A3s. Unfortunately for a majority of people saddled with cheating VWs, Automotive News reports that only about 70,000 vehicles will get this fix. The remainder of the 475,000 affected cars don't have an approved fix yet. The fix first involves a software update. Later, a particulate filter and additional catalysts will be installed with a further software update. According to Automotive News, the hardware portion will be available next year. Despite the small number of vehicles approved, this may give VW owners some hope that they'll be able to make their cars emissions compliant. Volkswagen also recently got approval for a fix of nine million cars in Europe, and the company may be close to a fix for diesel V6 models. However, for owners of 2.0-liter models uninterested in waiting for a fix, they can still participate in the buyback. Volkswagen would prefer that repurchased cars aren't stripped of parts beforehand, though. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI: Review View 42 Photos News Source: Automotive NewsImage Credit: Seyth Miersma Green Audi Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal