Following a series of deadly safety scandals and, now, Volkswagen's attempt to cheat on federal emissions standards, regulators will be a less tolerant of industry claims, especially when it comes to self-certified testing, warned the nation's automotive chief. "We're questioning everything now," said Mark Rosekind, director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It is the biggest scandal in years in the auto business as VW admitted cheating diesel vehicle emissions tests in the United States. And now South Korea, which said it would conduct its own investigation. And Europe, too, with a French minister calling for an investigation in the EU. Shares fell to a new three-year low and there's an $18 billion fine hanging over the automaker's head. There may be pink slip hanging over CEO Martin Winterkorn's head. The full board meets this week on whether to extend his contract.

McDonald's is rolling out new items, but what they are doing, or not doing suggests they have an identity crisis, say some analysts. "On one hand, McDonald's is talking about menu simplification, while on the other hand they are talking about customization, expanding the line of Quarter Pounders and adding breakfast all day," said Richard Adams, a franchisee consultant. They are "trying to be all things to all people. That's been their problem for the last five or six years." Examples at the jump.

A coalition of consumer, health and environmental groups this week said the restaurant industry is not doing enough to reduce the use of antibiotics in meat production despite consumer demand and major public health concerns. The groups, including The Natural Resources Defense Council, "Consumer Reports" publisher Consumers Union want industry to get more aggressive in reducing the use of antibiotics to promote growth in meat and poultry.

McDonald's nixed Burger King's offer to create a McWhopper in the name of promoting peace. But executives at the company said they are leading a "multimillion-dollar" advertising campaign to promote the United Nations World Food Programme and benefit refugees of conflicts in the Middle East. For its part, Burger King teamed with Denny's, Krystal Giraffas, and Wayback Burgers to give out 1,500 mashup burgers at an Atlanta pop-up restaurant on Monday.

With 55 million Hispanics in the U.S., constituting more than half the U.S. population growth from 2000-10, marketers are focusing hard on the demographic. Companies are hiring celebrities, such as Sofia Vergara and Eva Longoria, to endorse their products. Some are offering products and services specifically for Hispanics, and are creating Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to reach Hispanic customers.

The Rugby World Cup is here, and The Drum has some ideas. They didn't think them up themselves, but challenged marketing agencies to develop the stunts for brands not connected to the tournament, which would help them gain unofficial exposure from the event. For England's National Health Service, for instance, how about a tongue-in-cheek campaign encouraging organ donation to the NHS by rival Australian players (rugby being the injury generating sport that it is.) More ideas at the jump.

After the EPA took the unusual action of issuing a motor vehicle recall for nearly 500,000 Volkswagen and Audi sedans that used software to circumvent emissions tests, Consumer Reports has suspended its rating for two of the cars involved in the recall. These were vehicles, the diesel versions of Jetta and Passat, that had gotten CR's imprimatur as "Recommended."

Shoe manufacturer Crocs Inc. has promoted Terence Reilly from VP global marketing to CMO, a role that has been empty since the Niwot, Colo.-based company's former CMO Andy Sackmann left in July 2014. Reilly will oversee Crocs' marketing, including the company's brand, advertising, consumer and social media campaigns. He will continue to lead the global marketing team in Niwot.

Women are Procter & Gamble's biggest customer group, but when will the the company have a woman CEO? Not quite yet: the next chief officer will be David Taylor. Analysts say it will happen, though, notes Valerie Newell, chairman and managing director of Riverpoint Capital Management. "There are some very bright women with huge jobs at P&G that are just a step away from being CEO," she said.