Read in a news paper today that hedge fund traders lost 13 billion in 48 hours by short selling VAG shares. They did this believing the VAG share price would plummet. Little did they know that Porsche was secretly buying up all the availible VAG stock on the markets, forcing the share price up!

Porsche now owns 74% of VAG

I can't imagine why Porsche would want to own the majority in VAG, other than profits et cetera.

I wouldn't have thought Porsche was even big enough to buy such a share.

Polo GT3 on the way then?

so its safe to say that Porsche owns vw then?

Porsche and Volkswagen have a long history. The families who run Porsche and Volkswagen are all inter-related. Porsche is the most profitable car maker in the world at the moment. Whilst many car manufacturers are losing money each year, Porsche are squeezing huge profits out of their relatively small model line up.

Controlling Volkswagen will have a number of advantages for Porsche...shared technology...shared resources...might even help them when it comes to reducing their average emissions of vehicles sold (there is going to be laws on this in future apparently...cheap diesel VW's could offset Lamborghini, Porsche and Bugatti perhaps)

There was a big article in Car magazine a few months ago telling you all about Porsche, their history and their possible future. It was really interesting.

Example of some facts: http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/354/C11441/

Porsche has been the majority stake holder in VAG for some time now. I think the last time Porsche made a big surge in VAG was to fend off the Japanese motor companies from taking massive stakes. Again, it looks like Porsche was bailing out VAG this time round.

Thats the risk of shorting though, you never know what can be happening behind the scenes to mess up your plans.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7693219.stm

the German government even changed their anti-monopoly laws so that porsche could buy such a large stake in VAG, mainly so that it'd stay largely German owned. Porsche have been buying up VAG shares for quite some time now.

Newspaper today? This happened weeks ago.

Damn, I should have invested in VAG instead of putting my savings in a bloody Icesave account. Serves those traders right though. Greedy fuckers.

there's loads of shared parts on the ranges and there has been for years!!!! only a good thing in my opinion!!!

Something tells me the next Beetle won't be a return to a fat engine at the right end though.

Damn, I should have invested in VAG instead of putting my savings in a bloody Icesave account.

:lol: owned like a bitch

Serves those traders right though. Greedy fuckers.

Its not greed, thats their job

So I take it there'll be a Porsche Polo GT3 or G40 on its way then....

I can maybe see vw makeing this RGTI polo after all

Best hope they arent planning WW3.

maybe they are? polo with 5.7 L DOHC V10; 450 kW (612 bhp) @ 8000 rpm engine and LMG on the roof?

Porsche bosses are seriously quids in after that little hedge fund fiasco. No-one likes hedge fund traders anyway. Good riddence.

the German government even changed their anti-monopoly laws so that porsche could buy such a large stake in VAG, mainly so that it'd stay largely German owned. Porsche have been buying up VAG shares for quite some time now.

Yeah i remember that VAG were trying desperatly to stop Porsche from becoming the majority shareholder i believe because of VW's policy of being a people's company.

VAG was briefly the ricest company in the world the other week as a result of the hedge funds. Bet the bosses now get a nice tasty christmas bonus. Fair play to them for not being affected by the recession.

I don't know why people are talking about new very high performance VWs being made on here. I'd have thought the opposite would happen, now porsche have a controlling stake surely they'll make sure VW don't start making cars that will get near to competing with porsche products?

I don't know why people are talking about new very high performance VWs being made on here. I'd have thought the opposite would happen, now porsche have a controlling stake surely they'll make sure VW don't start making cars that will get near to competing with porsche products?

Yeah I agree. This happened with the RS2 when Porsche teamed up with Audi in the mid 90's. Only happened on the provisio that Audi would only build an Avant version, hence not stepping onto Porsche territory.

its been in the making a long time, noone notice the recent marketing hint of the caddy carrera ?

Hopefully we wont get porsches bone idle designes on the boards at VW then, imagine a long stream of polos and golfs only changing mark by different indicators and streamlined mirrors?

*Porsche stopped designing cars in the late 80' early 90's IMO*

Edited 3 November, 200817 yr by Biggspuds

Hopefully we wont get porsches bone idle designes on the boards at VW then, imagine a long stream of polos and golfs only changing mark by different indicators and streamlined mirrors?

*Porsche stopped designing cars in the late 80' early 90's IMO*

The 911 is an evolutionary model, not a revolutionary model...that's the whole point. The apparently small changes that happen with each new model move it a long and ensure it stays a top the sports car pile. It would appear on the face of it that the 2nd generation 997 is identical to the model it replaces, but new engines, direct injection, PDK gear boxes and a number of other changes make for marked improvements.

As for there being a mix between Porsche and VW, people are just letting their imaginations get away from them. Things will continue as they are today with each brand satisfying their unique market sector. Skoda > Seat > Volkswagen > Audi > Porsche > Lamborghini > Bugatti. Technology transfer has already helped both the R8 and Gallardo become fantastic cars.

There is quite a good article on happenings here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/business/23porsche.html

Porsche are the titties! <----fact

Although the 911/Boxster and nice the Cayman is a little bit half-arsed looking and the upcoming Panamera is potentially going to look ugly as sin. I like the Cayenne only for the fact that it paid for the development of great cars like the the GT3 RS.

Edited 3 November, 200817 yr by Tav

Tav- understand your emissions argument, although it doesn't quite work like that. Also there seems to be a small element missing from your equation... Bentley