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Lamborghini's first US Winter Accademia should be snow freaking cool

Though they are equipped almost exclusively with all-wheel drive, a Lamborghini might not be our first choice to drive in the snow. Not for practical reasons, anyway. But the idea sure does sound like fun – and probably more than a little bit educational, too. That's why Lamborghini established the Winter Accademia. Similar to the warm-weather Lamborghini Accademia we recently undertook at Laguna Seca, the Lamborghini Winter Accademia is a factory-organized advanced driving course, only this one takes place in the snow. The program was previously held only in Livogno, Italy, but the Bolognese automaker is now bringing it to the United States. Lamborghini will hold its Winter Accademia program during two sessions in early February at Snowmass in Aspen, Colorado (the same resort town where Ferrari held its winter driving program for the FF). During those sessions, pupils will have the chance to drive the Aventador and Huracan in the snow under the tutelage of factory instructors who will teach them techniques like emergency braking, drifting and lapping a makeshift roadcourse in the snow. Which sounds not only like a whole lot of fun, but like good skills to anyone who doesn't want to put their high-performance sports car in the garage for the entirety of the winter season. LAMBORGHINI ANNOUNCES FIRST-EVER NORTH AMERICAN WINTER ACCADEMIA FOR 2015 High Performance, Dynamic Ice and Snow Driving Coupled with Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity in Aspen/Snowmass HERNDON, Va., December 9, 2014 – Lamborghini Squadra Corse is gearing-up for its first-ever North American-based winter driving school. The 2015 Winter Accademia at Aspen/Snowmass will provide driving enthusiasts and brand aficionados an opportunity to push exclusive Lamborghini cars and themselves to the limit. For those who crave the opportunity, the Lamborghini Winter Accademia program, which takes place February 5-7 and 6-8, 2015 in Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado, will allow enthusiasts to experience the all-wheel-drive supremacy of the Aventador LP 700-4 as well as the Huracan LP 610-4 on ice and snow. Under the guidance of passionate, professional Lamborghini instructors, participants will not only handle critical winter-driving conditions, but learn techniques exclusive to the Lamborghini Winter Accademia Program.

Tourist in Dubai nets more than $47,000 in speeding fines in four hours

Before I went to Dubai last fall, I imagined a sea of supercars running rampant with few repercussions. I couldn't have been more wrong (at least when it comes to the repercussions bit). Speed cameras in Dubai are no joke. The drivers, though occasionally erratic, steadfastly follow speed limits. And the penalties for breaking the law in the United Arab Emirates are quite severe. Apparently, a 25-year-old British tourist was expecting more freedom when he racked up more than $47,000 in fines in a rented Lamborghini Huracan in fewer than four hours. The list of fines is impressive in its own way. All the infractions occurred between 2:31 a.m. and 6:26 a.m. on July 31, the day after he rented the car. He was caught driving between 78 and 143 mph on two stretches of road — 32 times on Sheikh Zayed Road and once on Garn Al Sabkha Road. That's nearly twice the legal limit in some areas. Several of the fines were fewer than two minutes apart. Once, he managed to rack up two fines in under a minute. Rather than waiting for a ticket in the mail, the fines were immediately sent to the registered owner, in this case Saeed Ali Rent a Car. The tourist paid just over $1,600 to rent the Lamborghini for two days. He left his passport with the rental agency as a guarantee. The tourist listed his address as a hotel. Because there's a disagreement over who pays the fees, according to The National, he's still in possession of the car, and the rental agency has his passport. The rental company doesn't want to take the car back because it knows it will be stuck with the bill to get it out of impound. The impound fees totaled more than $27,000, more than the cost of the speeding fines themselves. The rental company filed a motion for a travel ban, but it was denied. It has since contacted the British embassy, letting the embassy know that the passport is in their possession in case the tourist claims it's lost. One way or the other, someone is going to have to pay. Related Video:

Volkswagen posts quarterly profit despite drop in sales

Volkswagen returned to profit in the third quarter as surging Chinese demand for luxury cars helped offset a 1.1% drop in vehicle deliveries due to the pandemic, sending its shares as much as 3% higher on Thursday. The German automaker's return to the black comes amid spiking coronavirus cases in Europe that led governments in France and Germany to order their countries back into strict national lockdowns on Wednesday. "The coronavirus remains a central problem," Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said in a conference call with reporters. "This situation now is anything but relaxed." But Witter said the group expected the economic recovery to continue and did "not anticipate any nationwide lockdowns in larger markets." Witter said the takeover of U.S. truck maker Navistar International by Volkswagen's trucking unit Traton was an important acquisition, but the "current economic climate will not make this easy." Volkswagen reiterated it expects to post a profit for the full year, saying its business "recovered noticeably" in the third quarter as sales in China of premium vehicles, including Audi and Porsche sports cars, rose 3%. The quarterly performance was also aided by a series of cost-cutting measures launched earlier this year. Volkswagen said its net liquidity rose to 24.8 billion euros from 18.7 billion at the end of the second quarter. Excluding one-time items, third-quarter operating profit was 3.2 billion euros ($3.8 billion), down from 4.8 billion euros a year earlier, but up from a second quarter loss of 1.7 billion. In a note to clients, Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois described the results as a "solid performance with strong cash, but relatively muted in the context of the (auto) sector recovery." Last week, German rival Daimler reported a record 24% jump in Chinese demand for its Mercedes-Benz cars, boosting its margins in the third quarter. Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot manufacturer PSA Group both also posted solid results this week. Witter said Volkswagen could not say for sure whether it would meet EU CO2 emissions targets this year, adding "it will be a tough race." At 1030 GMT, Volkswagen shares were up 2.9% at 129.20 euros. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Audi Bentley Bugatti Lamborghini Porsche Volkswagen