We've made no bones about the fact that we genuinely like Spyker Cars re-founder Victor Muller. He's a friendly, humble guy who comes across as a no-shitter in a sea of egotists and pipe-dreamers, even if he himself is a dreamer. But he's a dreamer in the best possible way. He got the company off the ground and before he announced that he's stepping down as CEO on May 21st to focus on design and branding, he managed to spearhead a number of projects, getting a pack of attention-grabbing exotics off the ground on the back of a brand nobody'd thought of in years, had cars run at events like Le Mans and Sebring, and last year, acquired a Formula 1 team. Not bad for a seven-year run. What's more the company's even turning a profit. We're not sure what the internal goings-on are at Spyker so we have no real comment to offer, other than that we wish Victor the best in his new endeavor. Spyker F1 head Michiel Mol will hold the CEO spot in the interim while the search for a new CEO takes place. Press release after the jump.

After seven and a half years at the helm of Spyker since its foundation in 2000, Victor Muller has
requested the Supervisory Board to agree to him reducing his general management tasks as CEO and
to focus on design and branding exclusively. Michiel Mol, until now Director of Formula One Racing
within the Management Board, will assume the role of interim CEO in addition thereto.
Victor Muller explains his decision:

"It has been such a privilege to lead the (re)creation of Spyker since Maarten de Bruijn and I founded the company on January 1, 2000. No one could have anticipated then the exceptional growth that would materialize in the years to come. With 450 employees worldwide, the company has now entered a phase where different management skills are required than those that were instrumental to create the company and build the brand until this point. Michiel Mol has those skills and I am proud to hand over the reins to such a competent and energetic partner. It allows me to do what I am best at: brand building."

He continues: "With the acquisition of the Formula One Team in September 2006, I also gained a business partner experienced in successfully building up large companies. At that point Michiel and I
started discussions on the possibilities for my succession. After more than seven years of very hard
work I felt it was time for me to lift the throttle a bit."

Michiel Mol adds: "Whilst Victor's decision to stand down from the role of CEO has come sooner than
expected the team that he built remains. I see my key role going forward as continuing to strengthen
and expand that team with the most capable motor industry talent available. In time, one of those
recruitments will need to be for the role of CEO as I return my focus and energies to the building of
the Spyker Formula One Team. Until that point I am highly committed to take on the responsibilities
of leading the company."

Hessel Lindenbergh, President of the Supervisory Board says: "On behalf of the Board, I would like to
thank Victor for his efforts in building the Spyker brand to where it is today. We respect his difficult
decision to stand down after more than seven years from the role of CEO but are fortunate to have
within our ranks a capable replacement in Michiel. He will take on the responsibilities of the position
until we appoint an experienced automotive leader with the talent and vision to take Spyker Cars to
the next level". – Davey G. Johnson

Sweet Peet fires a few shots across Wendelin's bow in this week's tirade, calling the Cayenne an abject failure and current Porsche management a bunch of bumbling bureaucrats who've essentially pissed away Porsche's legacy. We're not so sure about that. Cayenne sales certainly have reached the saturation point; everyone who wants one has one. But the His Sweetness continually talks about Wiedeking's faithlessness to Dr. Porsche's legacy. Lest we forget, ol' Ferdinand designed

Either Fortune's Alex Taylor has an axe to grind into the cutting equivalent of a Henckels with somebody at FoMoCo, or the Blue Oval is as screwed as a garage band that just signed with Warner Brothers without reading the fine print. Taylor is rather merciless in his assessment of the Spawn of Henry, and it definitely comes through that he's not impressed with new honcho Alan Mulally.

We're wait-and-see on the flyboy, but we agree with Taylor that Detroit corporate culture has to die across the board. We've seen it at Ford, we've seen it at GM, and we've seen it at Chrysler Group. And while it may be an obvious statement, Taylor's take is a bang-on crib sheet for a pop quiz on why the American auto industry is choking on its own fumes. Detroit is dead. Long live Detroit! – Davey G. Johnson

It's one of those evenings. Really. Everything's played. Most of the large majority of a plethora of things by and large suck. Which means we're reduced to ranting. Sure, we could toe the Gawker line and bitch that Si can rim us and Jobs' cotomer sevis is roughly at-or-below third-world levels. And then we realize the reality of a Si Newhouse analingus session and decide that we'll stick to bitching about how Apple's hardware has reached a pinnacle of suckdom, and that we have more Mac knowledge in the rather icky fluid from a singular poppe