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2014 Volkswagen XL1 [w/video]

World's Most Efficient Car Impresses, Not Without Compromises
Among our many duties at the recent Geneva Motor Show, we were offered a pretty exclusive drive in the new Volkswagen XL1 hyper-efficient plug-in diesel hybrid. There is so much that is interesting about a car like this reaching production from a major automaker that it's tough to know where to begin.
First off, you should know that - at least for this generation - there is absolutely no chance in Albuquerque that this "1-liter vehicle" (i.e. a vehicle that can burn just one liter of fuel to travel 100 kilometers, or 62.1 miles) will ever make it into the hands of North American customers. We, too, were having trouble imagining an XL1 in typical American traffic, surrounded by comparatively massive pickups and SUVs. The driving experience had us recalling a couple of weeks in 1999 when we drove the then-revolutionary Honda Insight hybrid on US roads. We keenly remember the feeling of being very small and vulnerable, even as we felt proudly green in our 61-mpg Tochigi pod. Thing is, the Volkswagen is smaller still, and nearly as light despite its more complex drivetrain and safety features.

Former Porsche execs acquitted of stock manipulation charges

A German court acquitted former Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and former CFO Holger Harter of stock manipulation charges, according to Bloomberg. Prosecutors alleged the men hid plans to takeover Volkswagen while publicly denying their intentions to investors. The presiding judge didn't find any merit to those claims, though. "There is nothing to the allegations, absolutely nothing," Judge Frank Maurer said, according to Bloomberg. "There was no secret plan to take over VW." Rather than Porsche taking over VW, the exact opposite eventually happened, and both execs stepped down. Investigators first indicted Wiedeking and Harter for alleged stock manipulation in late 2012. A court in Stuttgart dismissed the case in 2014 because of a lack of evidence, but an appeals court later overruled that decision. The current trial finally began in October 2015. If convicted, Wiedeking faced up to 30 months in prison, and Harter could have received up to 27 months, Bloomberg reported. Prosecutors also wanted one million euro ($1.1 million) fines from them and 807 million euros ($910 million) from Porsche. The acquittal might not be the end of this long-running case, though. In Germany, prosecutors have the right to appeal a ruling, and the lawyer hasn't made a final decision yet. If the court thinks there's a reason, the former execs could be back in front of a judge at some point in the future.

Volkswagen poised to enter F1 with Red Bull

The Volkswagen Group could finally be preparing to enter Formula One, and enter it in a big way. That is, at least, if the latest reports prove accurate. And given the source, we're taking notice. The word around the paddock this weekend in Singapore has it that VW is entering into a partnership with Red Bull Racing that would see the German auto giant not only supply the team with engines, but buy the team altogether. The move would come as a welcome development for Red Bull, which took four consecutive world championships between 2010 and 2013, but has fallen off pace over the past couple of seasons due in large part to the under-performance of its Renault engines. The deal, which according to the report is currently being finalized, would see VW develop an all-new engine for Red Bull (and potentially for Toro Rosso and other customer teams), but the new power unit wouldn't be ready before 2018. In the interim, Red Bull would break off its current deal with Renault a year early and switch to another customer engine arrangement, with Ferrari currently rumored to be the favorite. The energy drink company that currently owns the team, in turn, would revert to a (prominent) sponsorship role - similar, it bears noting, to the role it plays with VW's World Rally Championship team. The termination of the relationship with Red Bull could spell the end of Renault's current F1 program, unless the French manufacturer carries through with plans to reacquire its stake in the Lotus team that was once its own. The VW deal would also ostensibly put to rest the mooted arrangement that would have seen Red Bull switch from Infiniti sponsorship and Renault engines to a similar deal with Aston Martin and Mercedes. What isn't clear at this moment is which brand Volkswagen would choose to promote with the new F1 program. Audi is speculated to be the favorite, which would likely spell the end of its Le Mans prototype endurance racing program – leaving that realm to Porsche after a solid decade and a half of dominance. The board in Stuttgart could, however, opt to hand the opportunity to one of its other brands, including Bugatti, Bentley, Lamborghini, Seat, Skoda, or the Volkswagen brand itself. The news comes from not only from the BBC, but from its analyst Eddie Jordan – a man who knows a thing or two about running an F1 team... and selling one. Jordan ran his eponymous grand prix team from 1991 through 2005.