AMG Boss Volker Mornhinweg Moves to Mercedes-Benz’s Van Division
After overseeing the development of AMG’s new twin-turbocharged V-8, along with spearheading the wild SLS AMG sports coupe, AMG boss Volker Mornhinweg has a new task at hand: developing commercial vans.
Although gearheads may perceive this as a lateral move (at best), it is yet another a corporate advancement for Mornhinweg, who first joined Daimler as an apprentice in 1980, and was ultimately appointed head of AMG in 2005. After all, the last man to occupy his new position — Wolfgang Bernhard — was appointed to Daimler’s board of directors in February.
Replacing Mornhinweg at AMG is Ola Kaellenius, who currently serves as the plant manager at Mercedes-Benz’s factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He’s no stranger to high-performance. Prior to this gig, he was head of Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines, LTD — the subsidiary charged with building supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 engines for the famed SLR McLaren.
Daimler has yet to appoint a successor to Kaellenius’ Tuscaloosa throne.
2009 Los Angeles Auto Show
If the North American auto show season has an official kickoff party, the Los Angeles Auto Show is it. In addition to world debuts of the 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe, 2011 Toyota Sienna and VW Up! Lite Concept, the 2009 LA Auto Show again played host to the Green Car of the Year announcement, which went to a diesel car for the second year in a row. The LA Auto Show is also a first chance to see and touch the cars unveiled around the world in the eight months since the New York Auto Show, which this year included jaw-droppers like the 2011 Lexus LFA and 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
