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Former Porsche CEO Wiedeking indicted over VW takeover bid

Do you recall the failed efforts by Porsche to take over Volkswagen? According to a Bloomberg report, former Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking (above) and ex-CFO Holger Haerter have finally been charged with market manipulation over the exercising of options as part of the German sportscar manufacturer's ill-fated attempt to take over the much larger VW. That failed bid eventually resulted in the reverse coming true - VW swallowing Porsche.
The charges leveled by Stuttgart prosecutors come after a three-year investigation centered around allegations that Porsche execs made a concerted effort to increase the company's share in VW to 75 percent in preparation for a hostile takeover. Porsche had previously told its investors on at least five occasions that it had no intention to buy VW.
Portions of the investigation have subsided, according to prosecutors, citing an inability to prove certain improprieties with a "necessary degree of certainty." The number of charges is down to 5 from a previous 14 counts regarding "information-based market manipulation."

Winterkorn kept diesel scandal secret, letter claims

Former Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn allegedly kept quiet for two weeks about emissions defeat devices in the company's models. US officials eventually made the automaker's deception public on September 18th. "In the conversation on 03.09.2015 with the regulator CARB (California Air Resources Board), the defeat device was admitted," an employee told Winterkorn on September 4, according to Reuters citing Germany's Bild am Sonntag. Based on this information, Winterkorn had plenty of time to admit the problem. Evidence like this letter continues to suggest top figures knew about the emissions problem. In addition, a separate Bild am Sonntag report recently claimed that an employee emailed Winterkorn in May 2014 to tell him US regulators could discover the cheating. In the lower echelons of the company, the deception was allegedly an open secret among engineers as early as 2006, and people kept quiet even after workers tried to admit what was happening. This culture of secrecy seems to go even deeper than just the diesel emissions scandal. For example, engineers admitted that they cheated on CO2 tests to meet the company's strict standards. According to Green Car Reports, these problems also affected the US. In 2004, an Audi worker in America allegedly discovered an issue with the exhaust gas temperature sensor in some vehicles, but a German executive said not to admit the problem to US regulators. It's not clear whether any high level employees tried to fix the diesel emissions issue or if they simply kept the problem hidden. The company's internal report, which is due in the latter half of April, might address that concern. So far, the VW Group has said only a small group of people caused the scandal. However, these many allegations to the contrary make that claim difficult to believe. Related Video:

Porsche tops JD Power APEAL study for 12th time

JD Power's 2016 Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout (APEAL) study hasn't changed much this time around with Porsche coming in at No.1 for the 12th consecutive year, while BMW was close behind in second. Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz tied for third with Land Rover, Lexus, and Lincoln tied for No.5. The APEAL Study, according to JD Power, measures owners' level of excitement and emotional attachment across 77 parameters. Brands and cars are rated on a 1,000-point scale. The study found that new cars with modern safety features including low speed collision avoidance and blind spot monitoring have higher APEAL scores than vehicles without the features. The overall industry score increased from 798 to 801, which JD Power claims was helped by the launch of a variety of new vehicles. This year, 22 out of 30 new or redesigned cars received a higher score than the vehicle's respective segment average. Porsche is once again at the top of the list as the automaker's score increased by three points to 877. BMW outscored Jaguar to take second place with a score of 859, while the British automaker dropped three points from last year with 852 points. Volkswagen overtook Mini to become the top-ranked non-premium brand with 809 points, while the latter automaker trailed behind by one point. At the end of the scale, Smart came in at the very bottom for the second year in a row with a score of 745 points, which represents an increase of 62 points over last year. Fiat's score increased by six points to 755, but still confined the automaker to second-to-worst place for a consecutive year. Mitsubishi's score increased to 770, up from 755, to become the fourth-worst brand, while Jeep fell to third-worst with a decrease in seven points to 756. General Motors received six segment-level awards, followed by Hyundai with five, and BMW and VW earning four apiece. Surprise segment victories include the Chevrolet Camaro, which outscored the Dodge Challenger, and the Lexus RC which ranked above the BMW 4 and 3 Series. For more information on how the automakers ranked, check out the official release on the 2016 APEAL Study below or visit JD Power's website to analyze the graphs. Related Video: Porsche Ranks Highest in APEAL for 12th Consecutive Year; General Motors Receives Six Segment-Level Awards, Hyundai Motor Company Receives Five DETROIT: 27 July 2016 — Popular driver-assist technologies help make vehicles considerably more appealing to their owners, according to the J.D.