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Matthias Muller officially named VW Group CEO

While the vast number of rumors made it seem like a foregone conclusion, Porsche boss Matthias Muller has officially been named Volkswagen Group CEO to replace the recently resigned Martin Winterkorn. His contract runs through the end of February 2020, and until a replacement is found, Muller also gets to hang onto his old job as chairman of Porsche. At the same time, the VW Group Supervisory Board is announcing a massive structural reorganization across the entire company, with the new management model in place by the beginning of 2016. Contrary to previous rumors, Michael Horn remains as President and CEO of VW Group of America. The board wants a greater emphasis on brands and regions going forward, and the scale of this shift can be seen in the US. On November 1, VW Group business in the US, Mexico, and Canada is being combined under the leadership of current Skoda chairman Winfried Vahland. However contrary to previous rumors, Michael Horn remains as President and CEO of VW Group of America. Other brands are also seeing some significant changes mechanically. Porsche, Bentley, and Bugatti now fall under the Group's "sportscar and mid-engine toolkit." This means that the brands will start sharing standardized technical parts. A Chief Technical Officer across all of the company's brands will also start working toward future innovations. The new brand-centric view means the end of a group-wide production department. "Going forward, the brands and regions will also have greater independence with regard to production. So it follows that they should also hold the responsibility for these activities," Berthold Huber, interim Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said in the announcement. In a statement with the press release about his promotion, Muller promised to turn the company around after such an international crisis. He said: "My most urgent task is to win back trust for the Volkswagen Group – by leaving no stone unturned and with maximum transparency, as well as drawing the right conclusions from the current situation. Under my leadership, Volkswagen will do everything it can to develop and implement the most stringent compliance and governance standards in our industry." Matthias Muller appointed CEO of the Volkswagen Group Muller remains Chairman of Porsche AG until a successor has been found Matthias Muller (62) has been appointed CEO of Volkswagen AG with immediate effect.

Porsche slathers Martini livery on 911, Panamera, Macan and Cayenne

This is how we imagine the conversation went in Porsche's Stuttgart headquarters: "Martini livery. Martini livery all the things." Okay, so maybe not, but that hasn't stopped Porsche from showing off images of its entire lineup bearing the iconic racing livery.
While we aren't sure about the questionably yellow 911 and lime green Macan, the navy blue Cayenne and the white Panamera both look pretty spectacular as they lap about the streets of Sochi, Russia.
As for why the liveried sports cars and crossovers were at the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics, we aren't totally sure. Porsche's Facebook page, where the images first popped up, was really light on details. Whatever the reason, we fully support Porsche doing more with Martini livery. Take a look at the full gallery to see what we mean.

Porsche 911 Targa leaks out ahead of Detroit debut

With the doors of Cobo Center opening for the 2014 Detroit Auto Show this morning, Porsche is set to reveal its new 911 Targa in a matter of hours. But before it gets the chance, the first batch of images have already leaked out, courtesy of Chinese car site autohome.com.cn.
As expected, the new Targa appears to ditch the complex sliding glass roof panels that adorned recent versions of the semi-convertible 911 in favor of a more back-to-basics approach. An entirely removable roof panel opens up the sky, backed by a metallic B-pillar hoop in front of a large curved-glass rear window.
We'll have to wait just a little longer for the full scope of images and all the official details, but we're expecting the new Targa to carry most of the same technical specifications as the 991 on which it's based. Watch this space for more.