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Former chairman Piech opposing his nieces' VW board nominations

Someone needs to option the rights to the Ferdinand Piech story for an HBO series, because it perfectly mixes the corporate intrigue of Mad Men with the family drama of The Sopranos. Plus there are some cool cars. In the latest episode, Piech isn't happy with Volkswagen's appointment of two of his nieces – Julia Kuhn-Piech and Dr. Louise Kiesling – to replace he and his wife on the automaker's supervisory board. The recently ousted chairman could try to stop them. According to German publication Bild, Piech thinks his two relatives lack the necessary automotive experience to serve on the board. Therefore, he suggests one-time Ford Premier Automotive Group boss Wolfgang Reitzle and former Siemens manager Brigitte Ederer to take the seats. However, a VW spokesperson told Automotive News Europe that there were no objections to the women's appointment, except for this story from Germany. Piech's nieces are already officially appointed to the VW supervisory board, and it's approved by the Braunschweig Local Court in Germany. His only real option to challenge them would be to file a lawsuit, according to Automotive News Europe. While the new appointees don't have their uncle's decades of history in the auto industry, they do have business experience. Dr. Kiesling has a degree in vehicle design from the Royal College of Art in London and is the managing director of an Austrian textile maker. Kuhn-Piech works in real estate sits on the supervisory board of German truck maker Man.

Audi, Fiat squabbling over numbers and letters

There have been rumors and speculation and prognostications about a Nissan Juke- and Mini Cooper-fighting Audi Q2 since 2012. There have been the same for a performance-oriented Q4 since 2011, perhaps previewed by the TT Offroad concept shown last year at the Beijing Motor Show. Turns out that those two alphanumeric combos are the only ones missing from the series Q1 to Q9 in Audi's trademark stable, and the Ingolstadt company wants to get them to make its badge sequence and crossover lineup complete. But Fiat owns them, and rumor is, CEO Sergio Marchionne appears to have no interest in selling them. Fiat has used the Q2 and Q4 like trim badges, identifying whether a company product has two-wheel or all-wheel drive. They did it with the Alfa Romeo 159 sedan, and they do it now on the Maserati Quattroporte S and Ghibli S Q4 sedans. Car magazine says Marchionne "may not be categorically opposed to selling the rights," but he absolutely won't do it to any fiefdom in the Volkswagen empire, which would leave Audi a jilted suitor. Why is Sergio being so serious? VW Group CEO Ferdinand Piech first starting waving torches on the bridge between the two companies when he said Alfa Romeo could sell four times as many cars if Volkswagen owned it, then burned the bridge when it continued to publicize its desire to buy Alfa Romeo. VW followed that up by throwing salt on the land around the destroyed bridge with its aggressive pricing in Europe during the worst of the car sales slump there, which Marchionne said was causing a "bloodbath." VW's final flourish was to set the river itself on fire, when a press officer said Marchionne wasn't qualified to head the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) and VW would quit the organization if he did take the top spot. That is why, putting it optimistically, Audi looks to have a grim chance of getting the Q2 and Q4 marques from the Italian. So long as he is in power, at least: Marchionne said he's walking away from the job in 2018. Audi might have a better chance bending the knee to, and generously rewarding, his successor. Featured Gallery Audi TT Offroad Concept: Beijing 2014 View 16 Photos News Source: CarImage Credit: Live images copyright 2015 Chris Paukert / AOL Government/Legal Audi Fiat Volkswagen Crossover Luxury Sergio Marchionne trademark volkswagen group

Translogic 168: CES 2015 Roundup

Translogic and the yearly CES glorious gadget geekout go together like digital peanut butter and high-def jelly. At this year's show, surrounded by an egg-shaped Mercedes-Benz concept and the re-introduction of, of all things, the Sony Walkman, we had some fun. Between talking with Volkswagen about its new gesture-control tech and flying some video drones, we squeezed in some time to shred on ZBoard's new electric skateboard. The future is now. Follow Translogic on Twitter and Facebook. Click here to subscribe to Translogic in iTunes. Click here to learn more about our host, Jonathon Buckley.