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Man arrested for stealing part of Paul Walker Porsche wreck

Humans are odd creatures. Some of us collect things associated with bad events, particularly when it comes to cars. Your author, for example, has the grille of his wrecked 2004 Mini Cooper S hanging on the wall. As a more extreme example, an 18-year-old Californian is in trouble with the LA police, but not for taking an item from his own car accident. Instead, he has been arrested for stealing from the wreck of the Porsche Carrera GT that killed actor Paul Walker and racer Roger Rodas.
And it wasn't a small piece, either. It was the Carrera GT's carbon-fiber roof panel. Making matters worse is word that the theft happened while the tow truck that was hauling the wrecked Porsche was sitting in traffic. According to the LA Sheriff's Department report, "A witness saw a male exit a vehicle that was following the tow truck. The male grabbed a piece of the wrecked Porsche off the tow truck bed." Besides the eyewitnesses, it didn't help that images of the roof panel were later posted on Instagram.
The man, Jameson Witty, was later arrested at his home, where police also found the roof panel. The driver of the car Witty was in when he took the roof panel, meanwhile, is planning on surrendering to the police, according to CNN. It remains unclear if the district attorney's office will charge the two, although if it does, they'll be facing felony grand theft and tampering with evidence.

Porsche will sacrifice profit growth to fund EV development

Porsche is so serious about developing electrified vehicles that it's willing to sacrifice big jumps in profits to fund the investment. After a massive upgrade to the Zuffenhausen plant, the company will build the Mission E EV (above) there in 2020. "Therefore it's clear that we can no longer carry out major leaps on results," the CEO Oliver Blume said about the automaker's financial growth, according to Reuters. Porsche will invest 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) through 2020 to make additional electrified vehicles possible. Around 700 million euros ($765 million) will go into the Zuffenhausen factory to build a new paint shop, assembly plant, and upgrade the engine factory to produce electric motors for hybrids and EVs. The expansion will also bring all Cayman and Boxster assembly under one roof. Outside of Zuffenhausen, the money will improve the research and development center in Weissach and update the sales and marketing department in Ludwigsburg. Blume said Porsche has "many new products in the pipeline," according to Reuters, and he wants as many of those as possible available with some level of electrification. In addition to the Mission E, there are rumors the company might build a 911 plug-in hybrid as soon as 2018. While Blume doesn't forecast big jumps in profits, Porsche should still remain financially successful in the coming years. The automaker doesn't report its 2015 earnings until March 11, but Reuters reports the company's global deliveries topped 200,000 vehicles for the first time ever last year, which could push its operating profit well above 2014's 2.72 billion euros ($3 billion at current rates). Related Video:

Car cocktails and Risky Business Porsches with Brett Berk | Autoblog Podcast #502

On this week's podcast, Mike Austin and David Gluckman are joined by a special guest, Autoblog contributor Brett Berk. The three discuss cars in film and TV as well as Brett's series on car-themed cocktails. There is of course a recap of what they've all been driving lately, and the episode wraps up with Spend My Money buying advice to help you, our dear listeners. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #502 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics and stories we mention 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV - Autoblog's 2017 Technology of the Year Car award winner 2017 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R 2016 Kia Soul EV 2017 Audi A4 sedan The story of the Risky Business Porsche 928 The Taxi Cocktail took us for a ride The myth and mystery of The Bentley Cocktail Used cars! Rundown Intro - 00:00 What we're driving - 01:50 Brett Berk interview - 21:12 Spend My Money - 39:44 Total Duration: 54:02 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Audi Bentley BMW Chevrolet Maserati Mercedes-Benz Porsche kia soul ev Chevrolet Bolt porsche 928 ford shelby mustang gt350r cocktails