Our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.

Have you ever wondered why the photography accompanying every new Porsche launch appears to be so fake" That’s because it is. Porsche made an executive decision several years ago to send out CGIs (computer-generated images) with every new vehicle launch instead of photos of the actual cars.
Porsche is not the only culprit here, and perhaps does a better job than some others; have you seen the three-wheeled Opel Insignia (the sister model of the Buick Regal) launched in 2013" (The picture is still downloadable on Opel’s press site.)
Yes, those CGIs are usually accurate to the last detail?but they lack the specific flair of the real thing. CGIs should go away once and for all. Put them in sales brochures if you must, add three computer-generated suns in the sky and a computer-generated unicorn in the foreground. But in press photography that aims to depict reality, they have zero legitimacy. We make our own photos as soon as it’s possible, but the press-release imagery is often all that’s available to accompany news stories about a car’s availability, pricing and, sometimes even the first-drive reports.
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