Volkswagen has hired former BMW manager Hinrich Woebcken to head its North American operations.

The company highlights Woebcken’s experience with procurement, production and sales. His 30-year career included stints at machinery specialists KraussMaffei and engineering firm Dürr, before moving to BMW Group and eventually serving as driving dynamics division manager.

Facing persistent criticism for its handling of the TDI emissions scandal, VW has been under pressure to bring in outside leaders rather than merely shuffling existing executives.

The company in September appointed Skoda chairman Winfried Vahland to head its North America operations, however the 25-year group veteran quit after just three weeks. VW’s US chief executive, Michael Horn, has retained his position despite the emissions problems first emerging as a conflict with US regulators.

“The USA is and will remain a key core market for the Volkswagen brand,” the automaker said in a statement related to Woebcken’s appointment. “That is why the North American Region must be steered in the interest of our customers and dealers there.”

Tesla Motors is taking one of its former suppliers to court over the botched design of the “falcon wing” rear doors used on the company’s Model X crossover.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Northern California on Tuesday, claims that Germany-based Hoerbiger Automotive Comfort Systems LLC failed to design a hydraulic lift system for the Model X’s falcon wing doors that could meet Tesla’s engineering standards. According to the suit, Hoerbiger’s lift system leaked oil and often over-heated.

Tesla claims that the faulty doors forced the company to delay the introduction of the Model X. Tesla is also suing to help cover the costs of rushing a functioning version of the falcon wing door into production.

“Tesla incurred millions of dollars in damages, including, but not limited to costs of re-tooling the entire vehicle in order to support a different engineering solution,” Tesla said, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The suit further states that Hoerbiger is seeking additional money from Tesla relating to the door design. Tesla says it has already paid Hoerbiger $3 million and doesn’t owe the supplier anything else for its work.

General Motors has detailed the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado Realtree Edition, a camouflage-clad package inspired by outdoor adventures.

The production edition has been toned down from the Bone Collector concept on display at SEMA last year. Both share camo graphics on an otherwise black color scheme.

Starting with a Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71 crew cab, the Realtree variant adds logo embroidery on the front headrests. Additional Realtree logos are placed throughout the interior.

Aside from the faux sticks and leaves, the pickup features blackout trim with dark bow ties, off-road assist steps and black 20-inch wheels with all-terrain tires. The package is also outfitted with Rancho monotube shocks, hill decent control, an underbody shield and an auto-locking rear differential.

Pricing will likely be announced closer to the pickup’s spring arrival in showrooms across the US.

Hyundai’s new Genesis division and performance-focused ‘N’ division are reportedly preparing a rival to the BMW M4 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe.

The sporty mystery model is expected to be a two-door variant of the upcoming G70 sedan, sharing a rear-wheel-drive layout and likely powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.3-liter V6 powerplant.

The Korean automaker last year hired former BMW M chief engineer Albert Biermann to help fulfill its performance ambitions. Speaking to Car and Driver, the executive suggests the G70 will be a “whole new animal” with plenty of power.

‘N’ engineers are first focusing on a high-performance adaptation of the Euro-spec i30. The hatchback is expected to get a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with around 300 ponies and 295 lb-ft of torque, delivered to all four wheels via a WRC-inspired all-wheel-drive system.

The company is also likely considering an N-tuned G80, adding performance and handling upgrades to the Hyundai Genesis sedan’s successor.

Plans for additional performance-focused Genesis models will presumably hinge on initial market reception for the luxury brand, starting with the G90 sedan. The company will initially sell its Genesis lineup through its existing Hyundai dealer network, though standalone stores will eventually be established in certain markets.

General Motors and Honda are reportedly planning to jointly manufacture hydrogen fuel-cell technology.

The move does not come as a surprise, as the automakers have been collaborating on FCV development for several years. The companies are aiming to introduce an all-new hydrogen fuel cell system by the end of the decade. Engineers are focused on making the technology both smaller and cheaper than current alternatives.

“By cutting costs with General Motors, we hope to increase our FCV production capacity to help achieve the government’s goal,” an unnamed Honda official said in a Asahi Shimbun report spotted by Autoblog.

Several automaker alliances are currently pushing forward with the controversial technology, despite signs of trouble in the US market. All will be attempting to bring prices down to a level competitive with traditionally powertrains.

Honda and GM have not yet officially confirmed the manufacturing partnership or disclosed a potential location for their factory. The Japanese government is said to be considering strategies that will help the technology go mainstream by 2025. It is unclear if manufacturing incentives will be part of the plan.

The factory will likely be limited to fuel-cell components, rather than serving an assembly plant for vehicles. Honda and GM are not expected to share the same level of deep collaboration on the vehicle chassis and bodies.

Koenigsegg has reportedly sold out of the Agera RS, months ahead of its arrival in the US market.

The company will only build 25 units, spread across all global markets. Every one has been called for in just 10 months since the RS’ debut at the Geneva Motor Show early last year, as noted by WorldCarFans.

Four examples had rolled off the assembly line by late November, with another six passing through the workshop. The seventh car, chassis #128, will be headed to a US buyer.

The RS is a street-legal track-focused Agera variant, shedding up to 88 pounds compared to the Agera R and S. A 5.0-liter V8 provides a massive 1,160 horsepower, while cornering forces can reach 1.75 G.

For US buyers who missed out on the RS, the company plans to bring its even crazier Regera to the market. Pairing a direct-drive twin-turbo V8 with electric motors brings output up to more than 1,500 ponies and 1,475 lb-ft of torque, enabling the coupe to hit 249 mph in just 20 seconds — half the time required to get a Bugatti Veyron up to the same speed.

Chassis #128 will arrive on US shores by the middle of the year. The company plans to deliver all 25 examples by next year.

Ford has tapped racing driver Ben Collins to demonstrate the Focus RS‘ drive modes, including the rubber-devouring drift setting.

The high-performance hatchback offers several modes: Normal, Sport, Track and Drift. Each brings different adjustments for the dampers, steering, engine, exhaust, stability control and all-wheel-drive system.

The track setting maximizes engine response and offers the tightest steering and suspension settings, however the drift mode backs off on the dampers and steering settings to provide a better feel when kicking the tail out. The all-wheel-drive system can put up to 70 percent of the torque to the rear wheels.

Ford has previously described the ‘drift’ mode as an advancement in stability control management, allowing the driver to go well outside the traditional ESC limits but still benefit from electronic intervention. The system attempts to determine if the driver still has the vehicle under control while sliding sideways, rather than stepping in and curtailing the fun as soon as tires begin to squeal. The approach theoretically allows drivers to push the limits without completely disabling stability control.

Ford recently began building the first Focus RS hatchbacks at its factory in Germany. US buyers will get a chance to try out the drive modes later this spring.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its 2016 “Most Wanted” list of transportation safety improvements, advocating for more widespread use of accident avoidance technology, improved occupant safety, and programs that would increase awareness of fatigued and impaired driving.

The NTSB’s annual list covers all facets of U.S. transportation. This year, automobile traffic safety improvements accounted for four of the ten wish list items.

Collision avoidance technology
This category bridges the gap between operator safety and in-vehicle technology, with a focus on the role of driver inattention in fatal crashes.

NTSB wants more widespread adoption of driver-assisting safety features–adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning/lane keeping assist, automated braking, etc.–especially in commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses.

Occupant protection
While preventing accidents is the first priority, NTSB is also targeting improvements in seat belts, child restraints and the vehicle cab or unibody.

In automobiles, proper use (or use, period) of restraint systems is the primary weak spot. NTSB says reductions in fatalities and injuries could be seen if additional states made failure to use a seatbelt a primary offense, and/or made seat belt use mandatory in all seating positions.

Driver fatigue and substance impairment
These are separate wish list items for NTSB, but they both target drivers who are’t in top form behind the wheel.

The issues of driver fatigue and substance impairment are already the subject of significant regulation across all forms of commercial transportation, but the general driving public doesn’t take them nearly as seriously. The use of legally prescribed medications with impairing side effects is a problem in both arenas, and NTSB says the primary means of resolving both issues in all arenas is increased education and training.

Photo courtesy of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

BMW is reportedly planning to enable the 2016 7-Series‘ Parking Assistant Plus feature for the US market.

Currently only available overseas, the remote parking system allows the driver to exit the vehicle before it is put into a tight parking space. Without any human driver on board, the sedan can automatically navigate itself into and out of garages or parking slots.

US safety regulations require the brake pedal to be depressed before a vehicle can be shifted out of ‘park.’ BMW interpreted the law as an explicit ban on self-parking systems that operate without a human driver on board.

Amid the new ‘collaborative’ safety initiatives between major automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency is said to have acknowledged that the spirit of the law relates to brake application rather than physically moving the pedal, according to an Automobile report. Officials are consequently planning to approve an exemption to permit BMW’s Parking Assistant Plus feature in the US market.

There is still no word on exemptions for laser headlight systems, used in several Audi and BMW vehicles in other markets. Despite the potential safety implications of next-generation headlight technology, the NHTSA has been studying the matter for at least eight years without explicitly granting approval for more advanced forms of laser and LED-array headlights.

The NHTSA has promised to fast-track its rule-making process for autonomous technology. Initial reports suggested exemptions would be limited to prototype vehicles, though the BMW parking provision hints at a broader willingness to remove legal barriers from sensible technologies in production vehicles.