Victor Muller on Saab escapade: 'Painful'

Reports say that the Swedish government wants to question former Saab chairman Victor Muller as part of an inquiry into suspected tax offenses at Saab. Muller defended payments he received from the automaker in a recent interview with me and talked about how he has moved on from painful memories of Saab. The Dutch entrepreneur rejected criticisms that his 600,000 euro ($773,000) annual pay package at Saab was too large.

Porsche uses phone-formatted bar codes to connect with customers

Porsche is harnessing the power of smartphones, using Microsoft Tag bar codes to provide dealership customers with unique information about the cars they're looking at. Buyers can scan the square stickers with a properly equipped phone, and the application will take them to dedicated microsites where they can see stats, videos and pictures of the car, along with audio clips of a flat-six engine revving up. Through the microsite, buyers can provide contact info for a follow-up call from Porsche salespeople.

BMW i8 Concept Spyder

BMW has released images and information about its i8 Concept Spyder, which follows on from the i3 and i8 concepts. This open-top two-seater car features upwards-swiveling doors that pivot forwards around the A-pillars, a transparent glass panel at the rear and is based around the LifeDrive architecture, which fusing independent units together using a lightweight modular construction. A two-section roof is planned for less favorable conditions.