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Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Audi

Audi's former head of R&D, Wolfgang Durheimer

According to Car and Driver, citing a report in Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, Audi has fired Wolfgang Dürheimer, the brand’s head of research and development.

Dürheimer had originally signed on as Audi’s R&D boss in September 2012. Prior to that, he had served as the head for both Bentley and Bugatti, and was formerly the development chief at Porsche (where he is credited with helping get the original Cayenne into production, a move that ushered a new era of profitability for the company). Dürheimer moved to Audi following a management shakeup within the Volkswagen Group in mid-2012.

During his time at Bentley, Dürheimer spearheaded the brand’s efforts to launch an SUV. But at Audi, he reportedly quickly put a stop to costly projects such as the R8 E-Tron and the rotary range-extender engine for the A1 E-Tron. Furthermore, Car and Driver reports that Dürheimer shuffled the reporting structure within the brand’s design department, and that VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn had apparently disagreed with him several times on the styling direction for the brand.

Also of note, Der Spiegel posits that Winterkorn strongly disapproved of Dürheimer’s conservative E-mobility strategy, and that there was further tension between the two gentlemen on a personal level that could have led to this dismissal.

Dürheimer’s future within the Volkswagen Group is unclear at this time, and his position at Audi will currently be filled by the Group’s R&D chief, Ulrich Hackenberg.

Audi fires head of R&D, Wolfgang Dürheimer originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jun 2013 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Safety, Videos, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

Toyota Camry

Ralph Nader challenges Toyota’s R&D spending claim – Click above to watch commercial after the jump

Ralph Nader isn’t finished. The man whose fame has long outlasted the first car he took to task is now gnawing at Toyota over claims the company makes in its print advertising: “That’s why we’re spending a million dollars an hour on research and development.” In a letter Nader wrote to the U.S. sales chief Toyota, Jim Lentz, he states that an $8.7 billion investment in R&D is “astonishing,” and he’d like to know precisely how that amount is spent.

The larger issue, however, might be Nader coming so late to the game. After all, Toyota released a commercial in June in which the narrator says, “At Toyota, we care about your safety. That’s why we’re investing one million dollars every hour to improve our technology and your safety.” Everyone, including the New York Times, wanted to know how Toyota could be spending a million an hour on safety.

A Toyota rep responded to the NYT by saying “The $1,000,000 an hour claim represents all Toyota R&D spending globally, much of that allocated to new quality and safety technologies.” True, that doesn’t exactly answer Nader’s question since he moves the discussion from spending on safety to spending on R&D, but the claim relies on how Toyota defines R&D. Even though Nader says the term “has a specific meaning,” it’s amorphous enough that we’re sure Toyota can defend it… if that’s even necessary. Lentz says he’ll respond to Nader directly.

[Source: USA Today]

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Ralph Nader calls out Toyota on R&D spending originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 17 Oct 2010 14:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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