Apple loses Mac engineering chief, former Mercedes R&D exec Johann Jungwirth to Volkswagen
Johann Jungwirth, who headed Mac Systems Engineering at Apple and was named in some reports as a player on the company's Project Titan electric car team, has left Cupertino for a new job at Volkswagen.
Jungwirth will assume control of Volkswagen's digital strategy, the company announced on Tuesday. He will report directly to Volkswagen CEO Matthias M?ller.
"With the new function and the appointment of Jungwirth, Volkswagen is strongly reinforcing its position in digitalization, which is a very important future field for the automotive industry," Volkswagen said in a release.
While at Apple, Jungwirth oversaw Mac engineering, managed research and development efforts, and advised the special projects group. He was named as a member of the Project Titan electric car team in a February report, having previously served as a research and development executive at Mercedes.
It's not clear exactly what Jungwirth's brief will include at Volkswagen, but it's likely to focus on occupant-facing electronics. He primarily specialized in smartphone integration and user experiences while with Mercedes.
Jungwirth will assume control of Volkswagen's digital strategy, the company announced on Tuesday. He will report directly to Volkswagen CEO Matthias M?ller.
"With the new function and the appointment of Jungwirth, Volkswagen is strongly reinforcing its position in digitalization, which is a very important future field for the automotive industry," Volkswagen said in a release.
While at Apple, Jungwirth oversaw Mac engineering, managed research and development efforts, and advised the special projects group. He was named as a member of the Project Titan electric car team in a February report, having previously served as a research and development executive at Mercedes.
It's not clear exactly what Jungwirth's brief will include at Volkswagen, but it's likely to focus on occupant-facing electronics. He primarily specialized in smartphone integration and user experiences while with Mercedes.
Comments
[Insert VW pun here]
Wow talk about bad timing, with VW now offering to bribe their owners so they don't get sued for rigging the EPA tests. (Shades of samsung... (engineering software to recognize benchmark tests being run and engineering them to cheat on them, so your products appear better then they actually are, so you can deceive customers. What does that say about a company and how they regard their customers?))
Very strange timing. Someone's got to be really weird -- or was pushed -- to jump ship into a company that seriously runs the risk of having to declare bankruptcy in the next year or two.
It's also a little strange that it appears he spent less than a year at Apple.
I can guess a couple of reasons, of which one or more could be true, or non could be true. VW made him an offer he couldn't refuse. He wasn't a good fit at Apple. His mission at Apple has been accomplished. He wants a new challenge. Maybe he gets to move to Germany and wants to live there.
Your guess is as good as mine. Does seem strange though no doubt about it.
There are so many reasons people make moves like this, both professional and/or personal, that speculating is pointless and just silly.
Very strange timing. Someone's got to be really weird -- or was pushed -- to jump ship into a company that seriously runs the risk of having to declare bankruptcy in the next year or two.
Not a chance. In a year or two this will all be behind them. Fines paid, stock price beaten and recovering.
Wow talk about bad timing, with VW now offering to bribe their owners so they don't get sued for rigging the EPA tests. (Shades of samsung... (engineering software to recognize benchmark tests being run and engineering them to cheat on them, so your products appear better then they actually are, so you can deceive customers. What does that say about a company and how they regard their customers?))
Not true. They did their customers a favor by improving gas mileage. Most customers do NOT want to have these repaired. The governments are going to have a hard time getting them fixed prior to a vehicle's sale or a repair that must be done at a VW dealership. Even then, I'm not sure if they can do the repair without customer approval since it's not a safety recall. In reality, the government agencies just see the dollar signs from the fines they want to levy.
And the stock is down over 2% this morning because Credit Suisse sent out a research note saying Apple was cutting iPhone production orders by 10% due to weak 6S demand. I know Apple doesn't comment on stuff like this but we all know how the media will pounce on any possible negative Apple news. And if this is BS or CS has bad information I wish there was a way Apple could refute the rumor without directly responding to it.
The closest we ever got to an Apple response was when Tim Cook talked about China sales after manipulators spread rumors about an iPhone sales collapse in China. And then he was chastised for it with speculation he could be charged with an SEC violation. It would appear that analysts have no restrictions on what they can report since they shroud things in the “opinion” safe-house.
Not true. They did their customers a favor by improving gas mileage. Most customers do NOT want to have these repaired. The governments are going to have a hard time getting them fixed prior to a vehicle's sale or a repair that must be done at a VW dealership. Even then, I'm not sure if they can do the repair without customer approval since it's not a safety recall. In reality, the government agencies just see the dollar signs from the fines they want to levy.
Not correct, you need to do some research, the "stealth programming" VW engineered would recognize the EPA test cycle and then go in to a hyper economy mode (at the huge detriment of performance) this made it look like (on the EPA cycle) the the car was much more economical than it actually was. This "cheating" (by recognizing that it's on the EPA cycle and adjusting parameters) is specifically forbidden (obviously)
This "programming" will never be active under normal driving circumstances so no repairs or re-flash of programming is really necessary. (elimination the "special programming" used to cheat the EPA tests, would do nothing during normal driving)
VW cheated and intentionally mislead their customers. They fabricated that their cars (diesels specifically) were actually much more economical than they actually are. I'm sorry it wasn't a mistake or an oversight, it was a hack specifically engineered to give false reading on the EPA test cycle (and nowhere else) and therefore false MPG specs to their customers. That my friend is reprehensible and shows a distinct lack of respect to your customers (just like samsung when they did it to rig benchmarks with their phones so they "appeared" faster than they actually were)
Um, what? The software cuts engine performance and fuel economy so it can meet emissions tests. The "fix" will make the car act like a diesel car should, boring and inefficient.
Not a chance. In a year or two this will all be behind them. Fines paid, stock price beaten and recovering.
If it were just cost of fines and fixes, I'd agree with you.
But class action suits are forming huge numbers. They may end up with having to bear the cost of loss in secondary market values for 11+ million diesel vehicles. Say that's $10,000/vehicle. Do the math: it's a judgment that will exceed its entire market cap by a multiple.
More insidiously for VW, they'll never know how many customers will never walk in the door of a VW, Audi, and Porsche for the foreseeable future (I've had a VW and an Audi in my family, and we'll never go back to this company again), how many good employees will leave (or won't be recruited), how many top-tier suppliers will not do business with them because of bankruptcy fears, how regulators all over the globe will scrutinize them with renewed vigor, the cost of shutting down or retooling the most significant-growth asset in their line-up (diesel), etc.
Wishful thinking on you part.
Um, what? The software cuts engine performance and fuel economy so it can meet emissions tests. The "fix" will make the car act like a diesel car should, boring and inefficient.
I read that it both reduced emissions and boosted MPG (to the severe detriment of performance)
And yes those parameters, if engaged all the time, would make the diesel perform very sluggishly.
Certainly an odd career choice to leave one of the world's most admired companies--and the most successful company in history--for a new employer now synonymous with scandal and deception on a global scale, where your best hope for the foreseeable future is to avoid bankruptcy. I'd say it was about money, but Apple compensates its top execs VERY well. Hmmmm....
And the stock is down over 2% this morning because Credit Suisse sent out a research note saying Apple was cutting iPhone production orders by 10% due to weak 6S demand. I know Apple doesn't comment on stuff like this but we all know how the media will pounce on any possible negative Apple news. And if this is BS or CS has bad information I wish there was a way Apple could refute the rumor without directly responding to it.
For those interested here is the link...
http://www.thestreet.com/story/13359192/1/here-s-why-apple-aapl-stock-is-lower-today.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO
From the article here is a quote from the horse’s mouth...
"Even so, any stock weakness creates "an attractive entry point."
If that is not an open and blatant admission of stock manipulation I don’t know what is.
Certainly an odd career choice to leave one of the world's most admired companies--and the most successful company in history--for a new employer now synonymous with scandal and deception on a global scale, where your best hope for the foreseeable future is to avoid bankruptcy. I'd say it was about money, but Apple compensates its top execs VERY well. Hmmmm....
That's what I meant by "bad timing" in my original post. Im sure his move was signed & sealed -before- the cheating was revealed. I doubt he would have gone to VW had he known about it.
As for all the people (and analysts) claiming "the damage is done" it's now a buying opportunity!! I think that is nonsense, the repercussions of their dishonesty will be severe and long lasting (particularly because they were intentional and calculated) Just look at Audi it took them nearly a decade to recover.
The most recent thing that I have heard is that Volkswagen also cheated on the test for its gasoline-powered cars.
Not correct, you need to do some research, the "stealth programming" VW engineered would recognize the EPA test cycle and then go in to a hyper economy mode (at the huge detriment of performance) this made it look like (on the EPA cycle) the the car was much more economical than it actually was. This "cheating" (by recognizing that it's on the EPA cycle and adjusting parameters) is specifically forbidden (obviously)
This "programming" will never be active under normal driving circumstances so no repairs or re-flash of programming is really necessary. (elimination the "special programming" used to cheat the EPA tests, would do nothing during normal driving)
VW cheated and intentionally mislead their customers. They fabricated that their cars (diesels specifically) were actually much more economical than they actually are. I'm sorry it wasn't a mistake or an oversight, it was a hack specifically engineered to give false reading on the EPA test cycle (and nowhere else) and therefore false MPG specs to their customers. That my friend is reprehensible and shows a distinct lack of respect to your customers (just like samsung when they did it to rig benchmarks with their phones so they "appeared" faster than they actually were)
Not correct. The "cheats" did not put the car in hyper-economical mode and make false MPG ratings. The "cheats" made sure the environmental mitigation systems (emissions control) were running correctly and at full blast during EPA testing, but then reduced or turned "off" during normal operation, which actually improves gas mileage for the normal customer.
I own two of these vehicles with the 2.0 TDI engine (2013 Jetta Sportwagen) and they currently get really good gas mileage in normal use. The fear is that by turning the emissions control systems on to meet the EPA imposed limits, the gas mileage and performance will go down. (And the stupid thing is that even the higher emissions of NOx is not that high on an absolute scale, just against the new standards that were put into place. When compared to older gas and diesel cars and "light" trucks from 10 years ago, of which many are on they road, I believe the levels are comparable).
The cheats that they are in trouble for in the USA have nothing to do with MPG.
Now, there are new reports that in Europe they did some other things in reporting apparent CO2 and liter/100km (equivalent to MPG) levels to the government, but this has nothing to do with the engine cheats, and has to do with things like over-inflating tires, mixing diesel fuel with motor oil to reduce viscosity, while running the tests that were used to establish CO2 and liter/100km fuel usage etc.
I read that it both reduced emissions and boosted MPG (to the severe detriment of performance)
And yes those parameters, if engaged all the time, would make the diesel perform very sluggishly.
No, the MPG ratings were not artificially boosted by the cheating. They (the ratings) are set in different tests. The actual MPG is higher with the "cheats" enabled, as is the performance, to the detriment of emissions.
The new mitigation procedures that are expected to have to be installed will lower actual MPG (may not affect rated MPG as that is done and determined separately from emissions testing) and lower performance.
The most recent thing that I have heard is that Volkswagen also cheated on the test for its gasoline-powered cars.
This is a different set of tests and is not in the car programming itself. In Europe, they have to report the CO2 emissions of the car as well as the equivalent of MPG (fuel usage of x liters/100km) and that those tests were manipulated by using cars with over inflated tires (very significantly overinflated), diesel fuel added to the motor oil to reduce viscosity (internal friction) which reduces engine load and fuel usage, etc. The tests were manipulated but not through the use of defeat devices or other in-car engineered issues. It means that the figures reported to the government (and hence to the customer through advertising) for CO2 emissions and fuel usage are suspect.
This is totally separate from the TDI "scandal" and the "defeat devices" programmed into the cars.