Reuters is reporting that today, Porsche has politely asked the European Commission if it can take over Volkswagen. The short filing by Reuters goes on to state that the Commission has until July 2nd to either give the green light or look into the matter further. Naturally, we'd expect the E.C. to take its time on the matter. Porsche's ultimate plan appears to involve taking over Volkswagen without being forced to buy all of its shares. A 47-year-old German law currently prevents a Volkswagen takeover, but the European Union is reportedly considering a repeal that would open the door for Porsche to make its move. [Source: Reuters]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
leigh keiruff @ Jun 1st 2007 7:54PM
Obviously, the matter here is about tradition. This would be a complicated issue since VW is one of the symbols of German heritage. However, being in the new millenium, VW should also consider open itself to change for the sake of technological advancement while safeguarding it's identity. But, it is easier said than done. Despite all of this, I am still excited if and when there comes a conglomeration of two automotive giants of the European archipelago.
http://vwpartsblog.vdubpartsdirect.com/
Beantown @ Jun 1st 2007 8:39PM
Erm, Porsche is also German. As a matter of fact, the first ever VW was created by a guy by the name of Ferdinand Porsche. Ferdinand and his son, Ferry, started up Porsche largely borrowing from Ferdinands earlier designs (of the VW bug, not the Tiger tanks). So in a sense, the cycle has come full circle.
nagmashot @ Jun 2nd 2007 1:32AM
Porsche has nothing to do with Tiger tanks (the production model) he went into competition for the Tiger deal against the Henschel Tiger and he lost it. What the Allied gave some nightmares was the Henschel Tiger.
The only weapon designed by Porsche that ever made it to the front was the useless overweight tankdestroyer Elefant..only 90 made, the half of them were lost within two days.. the rest went back to factory and saw only very limited use the rest of the war.
Andrew @ Jun 1st 2007 10:57PM
#1, Archipelago? Europe is not a group of islands, Leigh.
revn06 @ Jun 2nd 2007 7:00AM
Technically there were 2 original tiger tanks..at least in prototype. The tiger h and the tiger p. Yes the Tiger H, built by Henschel, won the contract with a turret by Krupp that was originally designed for the Tiger P, but Porsche also had designed their own version of the Tiger tank...which later was retrofitted etc and became the Elephant.
nagmashot @ Jun 2nd 2007 8:20AM
http://www.achtungpanzer.com/images/tigerp_5.jpg
the Porsche chassie with the Krupp turret... only 5 prototype build.
http://www.achtungpanzer.com/images/tiger_col1.jpg
The allied nightmare the Henschel Tiger 1355 produced
Thechnical there were only two different Prototypes the "Porsche Tiger" never went into production and only one of the 5 Prototypes saw combat action for testing.
The "Porsche Tiger" never recived a Sd.Kfz. number.
ambush @ Jun 3rd 2007 1:27AM
We can't forget how similar the 1st gen 911 and the beetle are.
hitbyastick @ Jun 3rd 2007 8:41PM
Leigh Keiruff-
Europe is a continent, not an archipelago. Go back to school and study a globe.
Furthermore- I think a takeover of VW by Porsche wouldn't be such a good thing. Audi would surely be marginalized in the sports car market. Lambo would be marginalized, Bugatti would be marginalized, etc because they don't want anyone to someday eclipse their mighty 911, and they would like to further harrow the fields for their upcoming Panamera. Also, they would like the Cayenne to be the people's first choice in an overpriced Euro SUV, NOT the Touareg or Q7.
Audi will be compromised if they succeed, because Audi is the German carmaker making the most impressive progress.
You got to get a big picture view of things, not a tiny 'I sell VW parts online' view of things.
Dave @ Jun 4th 2007 12:30PM
Why the heck would Porsche marginalize profitable brands. Did you forget that these manufacturers make money for them as well by Porsche owning stake in the company? They wouldn't need to worry about their halo 911 getting hurt in sales as long as they keep up the good work. Maybe you should take some of your own advice and get a big picture view of things, not a tiny 'I sell VW parts online' view of things.
Oh yeah and you guys need to cool it on the whole archipelago BS. She proably was using a figure of speech on the grouping of auto brands in Europe and not Europe itself. If you didn't get this then that says something else.
Thats my 2 cents.
wushu @ Jun 3rd 2007 8:58PM
The evil Porsche AG empire keeps expanding. Porsche knows the current underpowered overpriced incarnation of the Cayman S can't compete with the 6 cylinder version of the Audi R8 without infringing on the 911, so it buys Volvo in order to kill the Audi R6. There ought to be some German law protecting free competition and free trade to prevent this sort of monopolistic anti-consumer behavior.