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VW has it's target on Toyota

According to Australian Car Advice, VW’s ever vocal CEO Martin Winterkorn has unveiled Strategy 2018, a plan to become the world’s #1 car manufacturer within the next decade. Always one for a bold statement, Winterkorn has started angling VW to set its sights on toppling Toyota.

They want to best the Japanese car giant in sales, productivity AND profitability. Despite the need to increase sales by better than 10% a year in order to catch Toyota, Winterkorn remains firm and a bit tight lipped. “I cannot discuss internal goals. But we want to be in 2010 where Toyota is now.” Just how do they expect to bridge the gap? Aside from relying on “German perfectionism and better design”, VW plans to begin development of 20 new cars and to pay closer attention to the needs of its American consumers. Winterkorn said they added “too many technical items” that Americans had no interest or use for.

It’s never a bad thing to gun for the big kid on the block, but this seems a little too cavalier for VW. There are a lot of stumbling blocks on the way to becoming #1. And guess what - everyone is gunning for Toyota. They just don’t necessarily have a CEO shouting it from the rooftops. For now, we just have to wait. I guess we’ll see for sure in 2018.

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Reunited & it feels so good...

Porsche borrows 10 billion euros to buy VW

Porsche is not going to let up on its acquisition of VW. The Stuttgart maker of neun-ein-eins has tapped into a network of 37 lenders for a $13.7 billion loan to finance its purchase of VW shares. The money will go to pay for outstanding Volkswagen shares, since VW shareholders only offered up less than one-percent of their shares when Porsche offered them below-market-value sale prices. We aren't sure if anyone outside Porsche mandarins (most of them named "Piech") really knows why the company decided it wanted to swallow VW, but it's been theorized that it's in order to prevent hedge funds from taking over and breaking up the VW group. Earlier this year it was reported that of Porsche's 1.14 billion euro fiscal profit in the first fiscal half of '07, more than one billion of it came from VW. In which case it makes sense that Porsche would do whatever possible to keep the siblings together. [Source: Detroit News]

*UPDATE 11/2007

STRIKING down one of Europe's most visible symbols of economic protectionism, the European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday that a German law shielding Volkswagen from a hostile takeover illegally restricts the free flow of capital within Europe. The decision, which was expected, clears the way for Porsche, the sports car maker that already owns 31 per cent of Volkswagen's shares, to take over the company, Europe's largest car manufacturer. "We welcome the decision of the EU court," a spokesman for Porsche, Frank Gaube, said. "This brings us to a position, as Volkswagen's largest shareholder, to fully exercise our voting rights." Porsche said it would discuss raising its stake at a supervisory board meeting on November 12. [The New York Times]

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New Porsche 911 GT2 Officially Revealed with 530 HP

It has been a week of brochure leaks, starting with the Porsche GT2 followed by the Chevy HHR SS and then BMW M3 Coupe over the weekend. Whether it is second phase of their media push or simply damage control, Porsche has released their teaser press materials announcing the GT2 public debut in Frankfurt this September. The European market launch starts in November of this year at a base price €159,100 (Excl. 19% VAT) and then making its North American debut early 2008 with a MSRP of $191,700. Using the same engine as the Turbo model, power is pumped up 50hp to 530hp using bigger turbos and a “flow-optimized turbine housing” which increases boost pressure. Also, a new “expansion-type” intake manifold which cools the air/fuel mixture more than the “standard Turbo” creates more efficient combustion resulting in fuel consumption down by 15% despite the power increase. Another new feature for the first time is a titanium muffler and tailpipes as standard equipment. Also standard are the carbon/ceramic PCCB brakes discs as well as the electronically controlled Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM). Text & Photos edited by Brian Potter Source: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG edited July 16, 2007

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Porsche Panamera Spy Pics!

NorPacvw.com has found the best spy photos yet of Porsche's new four-seater, the Panamera. Think of it as a four-door version of the 928 - a four-seater GT to bridge the gap between the hard-core 911 sports car range and the Cayenne 4x4. We won't see the Panamera in showrooms before 2009, with prices stretching from £54,000-£84,000. ($110k-$160k)Read on for the full lowdown on the most exciting sports saloon to reach the market in years. At one point in the design process, Porsche considered suicide rear-hinged back doors, but it has stuck with four regular saloon doors, as witnessed in these exclusive pictures. It's unclear at this stage whether the spoiler on this prototype will make production; if it does, it's likely to be an automated pop-up item.

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VW’s 2009 Iroc Coupe
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