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News watch July 2012: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Tuesday 31 July 2012•Porsche SE recorded a first half profit of €1.15bn, in comparison with €149m for the same period in 2011. The enormous jump has come not from directly selling cars, but from the group's investments in Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH and Volkswagen AG (Porsche SE)•Reuters suggests Germany's car market is in recession, but few outside the industry would know it, thanks to a controversial sales practice that inflates official statistics and paints a flattering picture of demand.

Karmann-Ghia launches contest for Brazilian design students

Karmann-Ghia has launched a competition for Brazilian students to design a modern interpretation of its classic Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia Coupé. Students will be competing for a top prize of R$100,000 (US$49,750) with the possibility that the winning design will be developed into a prototype. The student awarded second place will earn themselves R$60,000 (US$29,800) while the third placed entry is worth R$14,884 (US$7,350).

2015 Volkswagen Passat: OFFICIAL

The new 2015 Volkswagen Passat revealed VW previewed the 2015 Passat back in May with a set of design sketches and the promise of a sleeker design, less weight and better economy with more room for passengers – and now it’s here. The 2015 Volkswagen Passat is the eighth generation of a car that VW always hoped would wipe the floor with the Ford Mondeo and steal sales from the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class, but which has never quite hit the sort of home run the VW Golf has. But VW has tried hard with the 2015 Passat and delivered a car that looks Audi-slick and more upmarket, so perhaps the eight generation Passat will be the Passat to finally dominate the segment?