Volkswagen sold 5.04 million vehicles in the first six months of the year, edging Toyota's 5.02 million. General Motors, once the world's biggest automaker by a long shot, is now firmly entrenched in the No. 3 slot. It has not yet released its official first-half stats.The title of world's largest automaker is largely a symbolic victory. But it does serve as an effective gauge of how global strategies are unfolding.

While overall foodservice customer traffic is at its highest level in six years thanks to breakfast popularity and spending is up, customer counts at QSR burger chain restaurants continue to slip, according to The NPD Group. For the 12 months ended in May 2015, restaurant and foodservice visits were 61.1 billion, compared with 60.6 billion visits during the comparable period ended May 2010. However, customer traffic at QSR burger chain restaurants has declined by 3% over the past five years.

Twitter saw ad sales rise last quarter, leading to better-than-expected revenue, but the interim CEO Jack Dorsey, co-founder of the company, said user growth is still too slow. The San Francisco tech company released Q2 earnings Tuesday, including ad sales that were up 63% year over year for the quarter, hitting $452 million. Overall, revenue reached $502 million.

Microsoft is betting that starting Wednesday, Windows 10 (which CNN tech reviewer David Goldman calls "seriously great") will open a new window on their brand and their core business. The July 29th global launch, which will upgrade one billion devices in 190 countries and 111 languages, is being heralded with local events that highlight the new features of Windows 10 (see below). CEO Satya Nadella, for his part, will be celebrating in Kenya, as he shared on Twitter.

Athletic brand Nike, which first rose to dominance with the ascent of longtime spokesperson Michael Jordan as an NBA superstar in the early 1990s, is maintaining its leading position with consumers. According to a new survey of 1,000 U.S. adults by online deal site FatWallet, a leading 41% of kids are asking for Nike products this back-to-school season.

The Bay Area could be getting another fresh grocery concept. According to a report in the "Silicon Valley Business Journal," Amazon.com is trying to bring a drive-through grocery store to Sunnyvale. Users would select groceries online, then pick them up at the brick-and-mortar location at 777 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road. An agenda item in front of the Sunnyvale zoning department describes the project.

Reebok may have bounced back. Adidas's latest quarter shows an improved performance overall, helped along by a massive injection of marketing budget in the US. But the brand lags behind rivals. Sales for Reebok in Western Europe were up 17% year on year to EUR105 million. By comparison, Nike made $1.3 billion (GBP833m) in Western Europe over the same period across apparel, equipment and footwear.

Restaurant Brands International reported Q2 sales so strong that it invites the question of when its $17 billion Burger King and $6 billion Tim Hortons brands will begin to cannibalize each other. "Strength" was a word repeatedly used by RBI CEO Daniel Schwartz, and with good reason. Burger King's 6.7% increase in global same-store sales was its best showing in nearly 10 years.

In the world of DirecTV, it takes a team of NFL quarterbacks to replace actor Rob Lowe. A campaign for the subscription cable provider saw Lowe play opposite inferior versions of himself intended to represent DirecTV's competition, including awkward, creepy, less attractive, scrawny arms and meathead. The ads ended with the real Lowe offering, "Don't be like this me. Get rid of cable and upgrade to DirecTV."

Procter & Gamble will announce David Taylor as its new CEO following Tuesday's board meeting according to the "Wall Street Journal," while second-time-around CEO A.G. Lafley will remain as chairman during the transition.