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Volkswagen hits back, weighs making a bid for Porsche

Volkswagen is considering an audacious reverse-takeover bid for its majority shareholder, Porsche, in a twist in the drawn-out struggle for control between the two German carmakers. The Volkswagen Group's supervisory board is said to be weighing the possibility of purchasing Porsche AG, in a move that would relieve its holding company, Porsche SE, of massive debt that industry analysts suggest the company may not be able to fund should the world's financial crisis drag on well into 2010--a scenario put forward this week by the International Monetary Fund. The secret plan emerged as shareholders were set to convene at Volkswagen's annual meeting on Thursday, and it comes after Porsche revealed that it is carrying some 9 billion euros ($11.73 billion) in debt, most of it owing to interest on loans taken out to purchase its 50.8 percent stake in VW.

Video: Porsche GT2 RS attacks GingerMan Raceway

You saw our walk-around and overview of the 2011 Porsche GT2 RS earlier this week. As promised, here's the VBox footage of Autoweek editors blasting around GingerMan Raceway in southwest Michigan doing what the Porsche does best. So far we've brought you track-day action featuring the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and the Porsche GT2 RS--what's missing?

Driving the Chevy Volt isn't special, and that's good

We've had our first taste of the drive system under development for General Motors' pioneering Chevrolet Volt, piloting a test mule based on the Chevrolet Cruze at the company's Warren (Mich.) Technical Center, and it left us hungering for more. Yes, it's an electric car, but mostly, it's a car--one you could imagine driving every day without feeling as if you were engaged in a lab experiment. Frank Weber, vehicle line executive for the Volt, gets his nose out of joint if you call the drive system a hybrid.