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Daimler names Bernd Pischetsrieder to supervisory board

Some executives in the automotive industry stay with one company for their entire careers, while others bounce from one to the other, often leaving their indelible mark on each automaker at which they serve. Bob Lutz is certainly an example of the latter. So is Lee Iacocca, having presided over Ford and later charing the Chrysler board. Carlos Tavares was chief operating officer of Renault before being nominated as chief executive at PSA Peugeot Citroën. But as far as the Germans go, nobody's jumped from the leadership of one automaker to the next quite like Bernd Pischetsrieder - especially now that he's been named to the supervisory board of Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler.
An engineer by training, Pischetsrieder started his career at BMW in 1973, eventually rising to the office of CEO after twenty years. There he remained until 1999, only to be dismissed after orchestrating BMW's takeover of the Rover Group (of which only the Mini brand remains in the company's portfolio, the other brands having been sold off after his dismissal).
The next year he was named chairman of Volkswagen's Seat brand, and rose to the chairmanship of the entire Volkswagen Group two years later. Despite a largely successful four-year tenure (that gave birth, incidentally, to the Bugatti Veyron), disagreements with supervisory board chairman Ferdinand Piëch saw him leave the helm at VW AG, focusing his attention on the Scania truck division. He's since been touted as a potential chief executive for Opel and for Continental, but neither potential was apparently realized.

Audi, BMW, Daimler buy Nokia's Here digital mapping business

The fight for control of Nokia's Here digital mapping service appears to have drawn to a close as a consortium of German automakers has announced a deal to jointly acquire the business from the Finnish telecom giant. As anticipated, ownership in Here will now be taken over jointly by Audi, BMW, and Daimler, beating out reported rivals bids from the likes of Apple and Uber. Here is one of the largest and most advanced digital mapping and location systems. It started out in Chicago in 1986 as Navteq before Nokia acquired it in 2007, and is now slated to change ownership again. The cloud-based service maintains high-definition digital maps for nearly 200 countries and supports over 50 languages, gathering data from users to update the data continuously. Rather than transition the service into their own proprietary technology, however, the automakers insist that it will remain open "to all customers from the automotive industry and other sectors." Ownership will be shared equally between the three companies, with "none of them seek[ing] to acquire a majority interest" in Here. For another, Here's management is promised to remain independent, and "the consortium will not interfere into operational business." Though the purchase price has not been disclosed, it is rumored to be worth in the neighborhood of $2.7 billion. Assuming it passes regulatory approval, the acquisition is slated to be completed in the first quarter of next year. The German automakers anticipate implementing the service to provide connected vehicles with accurate, up-to-date information on road and other conditions. Examples it outlines include warning other drivers of icy conditions based on outside temperature and ABS activation. It could also warn drivers of impending traffic jams, or even guide traffic through green lights in an urban environment. In the future, the highly detailed maps are envisioned to enable fully automated driving as well. Related Video: AUDI AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG agree with Nokia Corporation on joint acquisition of HERE digital mapping business Ingolstadt, Munich, Stuttgart, Aug 03, 2015 - Acquisition will secure and strengthen HERE as an independent company serving customers from all industries - Real-time maps and location based services will be the basis for the mobility of tomorrow - Transaction expected to close in first quarter 2016 Ingolstadt, Munich, Stuttgart – August 3rd, 2015.

2016 Italian Grand Prix race recap

The Italian Grand Prix at Monza is called the Temple of Power. Furthermore, the winning driver in Italy started on pole in 13 of the last 16 years, and only one driver in that time has won the Italian GP from behind the front row of the grid: Rubens Barrichello in 2002 and 2009. By this point in the current Formula 1 season (era?) we know what it means when a track emphasizes both power and pole position: Mercedes-AMG Petronas. The Silver Arrows locked out the front row with Lewis Hamilton on pole. A poor start prevented the Briton from capitalizing on the advantage, so teammate Nico Rosberg and four other drivers swept by him before the end of the second turn. Mercedes would later say a clutch issue caused Hamilton's botched start, but that didn't help the man who'd just fallen to sixth place. Rosberg got about two laps of television coverage on his way to an unbothered victory ahead of Hamilton. Ferrari made Hamilton's second-place finish easier by sticking to a two-stop strategy; both Mercedes drivers pitted once. We aren't sure why Ferrari didn't at least attempt a one-stopper once Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen had been gifted second and third on track. A pit stop took about 23 seconds from entry to exit and Vettel finished third, six seconds behind Hamilton. Raikkonen finished fourth, another seven seconds behind Vettel. Perhaps the Scuderia's tire usage wouldn't allow longer stints, but we'll never know. Daniel Ricciardo wielded his Red Bull like a scalpel to make an impeccable pass on Valtteri Bottas in the Williams and take fifth place. Ricciardo, trailing another Italian province behind, somehow closed the gap on Bottas in just the braking zone of Turn 1, pulling alongside near the apex without locking a wheel on entry nor running wide on exit. Bottas claimed sixth ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez in the Force India, Felipe Massa in the second Williams, and Nico Hulkenberg in the second Force India sealing the top ten. Monza did spring a few on-track surprises. Esteban Gutierrez drove Haas F1 into Q3 for the first time this season, the Mexican setting the sixth-best time in Q2. Manor Racing planned for Monza all season, Pascal Wehrlein repaying the effort by qualifying 13th. Fernando Alonso pitted his McLaren on Lap 50 of the 53-lap race for a set of super soft Pirellis, then set the fastest lap. It's Honda's first fastest lap since 1992. The biggest moments happened off the track.