October 10, 2015 — Volkswagen dealers screwed; Consumer Reports tests VW cars; Former rockstar dealer pleads guilty; Musk slams Apple; Land Rover driving Tata Motors stock; Criminal employees; Changing car ownership; Civic tries to regain its crown; FCA misfires on tier-two.

The TBR Weekly Top 10 is our list of what we believe are the week’s must-read stories from various sources on the web. We look for stories that are thought-provoking, informative and provide different perspectives. Let us know what you think…

1. How Dealers are Screwed by the VW Debacle — From Wired.com. “Massive fraud,” says one dealer. The last few years, VW dealers have spent millions of dollars upgrading facilities as the automaker pushed an promoted its strategy for 800,000 U.S. sales by 2018. Yeah, that ain’t going to happen…
2. Tests Show Decline in Performance of VW Diesels — From ConsumerReports.org. Short commentary with longer video explaining Consumer Reports testing of Volkswagen vehicles with the infamous “cheating” software. It reinforces the difficult position VW is in as it tries to fix the problem.
3. Former Dealer Superstar Pleads Guilty — From MyNewsLA.com. Remember “Jun” Reodica Jr.? He owned Grand Wilshire Group of Cos. in the 1980’s, which consisted of numerous dealerships in California, including the country’s third largest dealership, Grand Chevrolet. After hiding in Australia for 20 years, he’s been caught and is likely heading to the slammer.
4. Dealer Employee Steals Nearly $300k — From the Missoulian.com. This time, its Lithia Motors that gets stung by a dishonest employee.
5. Early Signals in Changes in Car Ownership — From LinkedIn Pulse. Kevin Root, former president of DrivingSales, provides an in-depth look at how a changing mindset regarding mobility could affect car buying patterns in the future.
6. VW Owners Capitalize on the Scandal — From Fortune.com. A new website set up by angry Volkswagen owners is selling magnetic bumper stickers shaming the automaker.
7. Elon Musk Slams Apple — From Fortune.com. Tesla’s founder Elon Musk laughs at Apple’s attempts to hire engineers away from his company.
8. Is FCA’s Two-Tier Fix Going to be Enough? — From Forbes.com. Fiat Chrysler and the UAW blundered badly in its first attempt of a new contract. But its second try may not be good enough either.
9. Land Rover Drives TaTa Motors Stock — From Bloomberg.com. Record Land Rover sales in the U.S. is proving to be boon for TaTa Motors share price. Now if they can only get Jaguar headed in the right direction…
10. Can Civic Regain its Crown? — From WardsAuto.com. Honda Civic sales are down this year, while Toryota’s Corolla takes over the lead in the small car segment.