Puma's New Running Shoes Offer Hope For a Brand Desperate to Win
In January, Puma SE launched a grassroots marketing campaign to turbocharge its return to the sport of running. The 77-year-old German shoemaker put out a call on social media for people signed up to compete in this spring's Boston and London marathons, with the only requirement being a record of finishing marathons in about three hours or less. It picked 100 participants in each race and supplied them with its ' Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 ' sneakers, which at that point were still a tightly held corporate secret.
With thousands of runners headed to Boston for the annual marathon on Monday, Puma is banking on its army of amateur ambassadors finishing just behind the professionals. That would serve as a splashy debut for the new $300 shoe, which the company is using to regain ground in a sport it long ago helped popularize.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Motor 1
10 minutes ago
- Motor 1
VW's New EV Platform Still Supports Combustion Engines
It's been a little over four years since Volkswagen announced SSP, its all-encompassing electric vehicle architecture. The Scalable Systems Platform was originally expected to be ready by now, but it has been delayed until later this decade. Multiple reports from German media attributed the setback to VW's software division, Cariad. However, the automotive conglomerate is now ready to discuss SSP, and there's a surprise. Although SSP is primarily an electric platform, it will also support combustion engines. VW Group plans to introduce range extenders, with internal combustion engines functioning solely as generators to charge the battery. Like the BMW i3, Mazda's rotary MX-30 , and the upcoming Ramcharger, these engines won't have a mechanical link to the wheels. Nissan's e-Power technology follows a similar principle: the gasoline engine powers the battery, not the drivetrain. Photo by: Volkswagen Volkswagen had already indicated its interest in range extenders. Its newly established Scout brand will launch a pickup and an SUV equipped with naturally aspirated ICE generators . In China, the recently unveiled ID. Era concept previews a three-row SUV developed with SAIC, also featuring a gasoline-powered generator. SSP is a major initiative for VW. It will serve as the foundation for models across all its brands and will eventually replace all existing electric platforms. A teaser image shows five different body styles, ranging from a city hatchback to a large SUV. Automotive News reports that there will be eight derivatives in total, covering every segment of the market. Next-generation EVs based on SSP are expected to begin rolling out in 2026, likely debuting in China before arriving in Europe a year later. We may not see this technology in Europe, where VW CEO Thomas Schäfer believes plug-in hybrids are the more viable option. He told Autocar that range extenders are expensive to engineer, while today's plug-in hybrids already offer decent electric range and fast charging. According to Schäfer, offering both solutions wouldn't be economically feasible. Photo by: Volkswagen One of the most significant models to use the SSP platform will be the ninth-generation, electric-only Golf. It's scheduled to arrive near the end of the decade and will coexist with the combustion-engine Mk8 for several years. VW may keep the current Golf on sale until the mid-2030s . The electric Golf will be built in Wolfsburg, while production of the ICE model will move to the Puebla plant in Mexico in 2027. With SSP's key specifications now finalized, VW Group CEO Oliver Blume stated: 'We aim to be the global technology driver for the automotive industry. SSP will play a crucial role in this. We've reached an important milestone in developing our electric future platform. Now it's full steam ahead to implementation.' Catch Up With VW: Volkswagen Is Making Less Money Because It's Selling More EVs Volkswagen Could Give Ford More Reskinned Cars Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Source: Volkswagen Group Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
New York Times
33 minutes ago
- New York Times
Brighton targeting Leicester's Jelle ten Rouwelaar as new goalkeeping coach
Brighton & Hove Albion are targeting Jelle ten Rouwelaar as their new goalkeeping coach, with the Dutchman's future in doubt at Leicester City. Head coach Fabian Hurzeler is keen to reunite Ten Rouwelaar with Brighton's first-choice goalkeeper and fellow countryman Bart Verbruggen. The pair have worked together previously at NAC Breda in the Netherlands and Belgian club Anderlecht. Advertisement Ten Rouwelaar arrived at Leicester with head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy in November. The Dutchmen were part of the backroom team at Manchester United under former manager Erik ten Hag. Their futures are up in the air following Leicester's relegation from the Premier League. Hurzeler began an overhaul of his backroom staff at the Amex Stadium this week with the departures of goalkeeping coaches Marco Knoop and Jack Stern. Knoop arrived last summer with Hurzeler from German club St Pauli. Stern, a boyhood Brighton supporter, joined the club in 2022, working under Hurzeler and former head coaches Roberto De Zerbi and Graham Potter. Knoop was also defensive set piece coach. Brighton are hiring a set piece specialist this summer as well as a new goalkeeping coach after finishing eighth in the Premier League in Hurzeler's first season. ()
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
VW's troubled Cariad software unit has turned the corner, CEO Peter Bosch says
BERLIN — Volkswagen Group's troubled software division, Cariad, has put its problems behind it, CEO Peter Bosch told Automotive News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche. Bosch said the unit has entered a new phase of delivery and focus, marked by a string of key software launches and a break from past missteps. 'When you take on a task that everyone knows is difficult, you don't do it expecting constant applause,' Bosch said. 'But we delivered. The cars are here, costs have been significantly reduced, and we have broken new technological ground.' Cariad was launched in 2020 with ambitions to become the 'second SAP,' a multinational German software company, but it soon became a symbol of delay and dysfunction within VW Group. VW Group CEO Oliver Blume moved Bosch from his job as production chief at Bentley to Cariad, tasking him with fixing the division that was hit by overspending and delays in developing advanced software. Cariad's problems delayed the launches of Porsche's full-electric Macan and the Audi Q6 E-tron. A new software platform intended to enable Level 4 autonomous driving was pushed back to the end of the decade. Sign up for the Automotive News Europe Segment Analysis newsletter, a monthly in-depth look at a segment of the car market, including sales and market share data When Bosch arrived in summer 2023 from Bentley, Cariad's reputation was in tatters. Since then, Bosch, a former Oliver Wyman consultant, has led a broad reorganization. He realigned development processes with the group's brand structure, slashed costs and pushed for tighter control of code. His actions include ending over-reliance on external system suppliers. Bosch said the traditional outsourcing model does not work for modern automotive software. 'In software, with its fast development cycles, we have to work directly on the code,' he said. 'Our employees know, write, understand, and change the code — even via over-the-air updates.' VW's long-term goal is a fully software-defined vehicle architecture with centralized computing and proprietary code. 'We now do a lot ourselves, faster and more cost-effectively,' Bosch said. 'We must master the code.' Cariad contributed software to 14 models released in 2024. Bosch said that in April, nine of the 10 top-selling electric vehicles in Germany were VW Group models equipped with Cariad software. The company has overhauled its workforce structure, introduced agile delivery units and reduced management layers. Artificial intelligence tools were deployed throughout development, and insourcing has replaced expensive outsourcing in many areas. But Bosch is careful not to frame the turnaround as complete. 'Our current architectures are competitive, but they are still based on a supplier model,' he said. For the development of highly automated driving systems, Cariad is working with supplier Robert Bosch as a development partner. It is also working with VW Group's joint venture partner, EV startup Rivian, and VW's Carizon joint venture in China with Horizon Robotics. Also in China, Cariad is developing the Volkswagen China Technology Co. with domestic automaker Xpeng. 'Here, we have acquired a software license from Xpeng for the Chinese architecture, or CEA for short, but are now responsible for the code ourselves — with more than 10 million lines so far,' Bosch said. More than 500 Cariad employees in China are writing code tailored to local driving conditions and regulatory expectations. 'They know the culture and requirements inside out,' Bosch said. In North America and Europe, while some Cariad engineers have transferred to the joint venture with Rivian, Bosch said it's mainly staffed by Rivian personnel. 'The joint venture was founded by Rivian and the Volkswagen Group, not by Rivian and Cariad,' he said. Cariad now focuses on crossfunctional technologies such as cloud infrastructure, advanced driver-assist systems and infotainment, which Bosch said makes more sense for innovation and cost control. 'We are now significantly cheaper per vehicle in the cloud than the competition,' he said. The localization push extends beyond software: In China, development, design and production must all be local to meet consumer expectations and regulatory demands. 'The one-size-fits-all approach no longer works,' Bosch said. In Shanghai, for example, Cariad's advanced driver-assist system stack was tuned to maintain proximity to other vehicles in ways tailored to dense urban traffic. Despite those adaptations, Cariad remains focused on software sovereignty. 'It is important to us that we write the code ourselves and retain technological control,' Bosch said. As VW Group pursues modern, centralized architectures, Bosch said he envisions shorter development cycles and greater flexibility. 'This allows many systems to be networked more efficiently,' he said. 'We can bring functions into the car even faster, including some we don't even know about when we start development.' Cariad's evolution is occurring as legacy automakers, VW Group included, struggle with declining profits and sales, the threat of tariffs from the U.S., and Chinese automakers that continue to eat into market share in Europe and in China. In March, VW announced 1,600 Cariad workers would be laid off this year. Bosch said transformation requires restructuring and while roles such as creating specifications may be eliminated, more coders will be needed to replace them. Bosch said Cariad's central task is to ensure the software success of the entire company by creating economically viable solutions that benefit the group. Cariad's benchmark is the big picture — contributing to the software expertise and innovative strength of VW Group. 'We have financial goals — and we achieved them last year,' he said. 'The more vehicles on the road with Cariad software, the more revenue we generate.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
