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Porsche offering 250-hp 718 Cayman, Boxster in China

Porsche is studying a new approach in the lucrative Chinese market – less power. Automotive News Europe reports that the famed German manufacturer will sell less powerful versions of the 718 Cayman and Boxster in the People's Republic. In fact, the new cars are already on Porsche's Chinese consumer page. The hope, 718 chief Jan Roth told Automotive News Europe, is to replicate the success Porsche's sister company Audi has had with the TT. "A lot of the TTs that Audi sells in China, the smaller displacement 1.8-liter versions with rear-wheel instead of all-wheel-drive, are priced below that, Mercedes too," Roth said. We're guessing the comments about rear-wheel drive and a 1.8-liter engine are either typos or something was lost in translation, because Audi's Chinese website only lists a 2.0-liter engine, and most gearheads know the TT rides on a front-drive platform. Audi's success is largely down to price – 542,800 yuan ($81,549, at today's rates) for a base TT. Roth called 600,000 yuan "a magical threshold for customers in China." To hit that price point, Porsche is dropping the 718's 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder – offered North America and Europe with 300 horsepower in base form – to 250 ponies. The Cayman starts at 588,000 yuan ($88,340) while the Boxster is 598,000 yuan ($89,842). The 350-hp Cayman S will carry on unchanged. According to ANE, Roth said Porsche's Chinese strategy could drive 718 sales up to 4,500 units a year by 2017, nearly double the 2,500 Boxsters and Caymans sold in 2015. Could a similar lower-tiered strategy work in the US? We'll need to put on our speculation hats. In the US, the base car is about 81 percent of the price of the 350-horsepower S model. If Porsche were to offer the same discount for the hypothetical, 250-hp 718s, it could set the starting prices at $43,659 for the Cayman and $45,360 for the Boxster. That lines up neatly with the $43,500 TT Coupe, but this theoretical 250-hp Boxster would fall about $1,640 less than Audi's soft top. We shouldn't forget Porsche's expansive options catalog – we doubt there'd be a lot of sub-$50,000 718s on dealer lots. But still, slashing over $10,000 off the price of a $54,000 car is a big ask – Porsche would almost have to de-content such a lower-tier model. But – and this is a Kim K-sized but – moving the 718 downmarket would open the brand to a new range of consumers. Not only would these new cars be the cheapest sportscars from Porsche money could buy.

South Korea to file criminal charges against VW exec

South Korea has tossed out Volkswagen's recall plans and is preparing to level criminal charges over its handling of the diesel emissions catastrophe, The Wall Street Journal reports. "Recall plans the company submitted to us earlier this month were insufficient and lacked key information, and thus are unacceptable," the South Korean Ministry of Environment said in a statement obtained by the WSJ. A ministry official hinted at the possibility of criminal charges earlier this month if VW's recall plan wasn't satisfactory, the Yonhap News Agency reports, and now it looks like it will actually follow through. According to the WSJ, South Korea has already ordered VW to recall 125,000 vehicles and slapped the automaker with a $12.3 million fine – one of the many countries to do so – but if it follows through with criminal charges against the company or its employees, it'd be among the earliest to so. Other countries, including the United States, are still exploring the possibility of criminal charges. Charges would likely come against both Audi Volkswagen Korea and its managing director, Johannes Thammer. It's not clear what the actual charge would be, but the WSJ claims Thammer could be facing up to five years in prison and a fine of 30 million won (around $24,700 at today's rates). For its part, VW officials in South Korea maintains that it is "doing its utmost to resolve the emissions issue" and that it plans to "offer further explanation" to authorities regarding its proposal for an emissions and fuel mileage fix in that country.

2019 Infiniti QX50 vs. compact luxury SUV rivals: How they compare

With apologies to the EX35, or whatever it was eventually renamed, Infiniti has been without a proper, competitive entry in the compact luxury SUV segment. You know, the segment that's growing faster in sales and entries than any other? To say the 2019 Infiniti QX50 is long awaited would therefore be an understatement. At first glance and drive, the new QX50 would indeed seem to be wildly more competitive than its predecessor, which come to think of it, was eventually called the QX50 as well. This one is based on an all-new front-wheel-drive platform, and although it lacks the inherent verve of the old, rear-drive- and 370Z-based one, the resulting increase in cabin space should be a welcome tradeoff. In fact, as you'll see below, the QX50 has gone from one of the smallest compact SUVs to the most spacious. How does it stack up in every other way? Say, against the segment's four best-selling entries last year: the 2018 Lexus NX 300, 2018 Acura RDX, 2018 Audi Q5 and 2018 BMW X3. On paper at least, really well as it turns out. Let's go to the spreadsheet! Discover and compare other luxury crossovers with our Car Finder and Compare tools. Comparing engines, drivetrains and transmissions With the exception of the Acura, all of the contenders come with 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engines. As you can see, the Infiniti is the heavyweight amongst the four-bangers, boasting the most horsepower and torque. The Acura V6 nips it by 11 hp, but the QX50 is still the overall torque champ. Plus, as we documented in the QX50 first drive, the Infiniti's new VC-Turbo engine is also the most technologically advanced. The Lexus is the wimp of the group and is also the second-heaviest, which isn't exactly the ideal scenario. The Infiniti is the only one in the group to feature a continuously variable transmission. That's not going to generate much applause around here. The BMW tops the gear count with eight, while the Audi is the only entry with a dual-clutch automated manual. The Acura and Lexus have only six gears, but they're good transmissions and it's not like their fuel economy is off the pace. The Audi and BMW come standard with all-wheel drive, while the others offer a choice of front- or all-wheel drive. Comparing cargo and interior space The new front-wheel-drive platform is paying dividends inside for the 2019 QX50, as it now boasts the most maximum cargo space at 65.1 cubic feet.