The first and the latest Porsche 911 models, all without diesel engines.
Wolfgang Hatz, 57, the suspended top technical executive at Porsche, is gone in the latest, but by no means last, fallout from the ongoing diesel cheating scandal. The Supervisory Board at Dr. Ing h.c F. Porsche AG appointed Dr Michael Steiner, 51, to the Executive Board as his successor at its meeting today. Steiner is taking over the research and development division immediately.
Hatz has held this position since February 2011. He leaves the sports car manufacturer, allegedly “at his own request.” Steiner held leading positions in the Porsche Development Center in Weissach for 14 years, most recently as Vice President Complete Vehicle Engineering/Quality Management.
At the beginning of the diesel issue in the Volkswagen Group in late September last year, Hatz went on “temporary leave as a precaution,” Porsche said in a statement this morning. “Since then, he has been involved in the investigation, though enquiries have shown no evidence of any co-responsibility by Hatz so far. Nevertheless, he has decided to leave Porsche AG due to the ongoing internal investigations and his resulting prolonged leave of absence.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
