on 2040-parts.com

Henry III, Act I: Henry Ford's great-great grandson will soon enter the stage

Why do we think 29-year-old Henry Ford III will make a great auto executive? Not because he is the great-great grandson of Henry Ford, direct descendant of the founder, and next in line for the throne if Ford Motor Co. was a monarchy.

Saab 9-5: New model leaked

Saab's flagship sedan, the 9-5, is finally getting a dramatic re-do, and pictures are out on the Web in advance of its expected reveal at the Frankfurt motor show. It's a handsome effort, with an upright windshield, prominent grille and sleek headlight casings. Look for all-wheel drive and a range of engine selections.

Honda cutting production in Swindon again – 500 jobs at risk

Honda is cutting another 500 jobs in Swindon It’s only a year since Honda announced 800 job cuts at Swindon (which eventually was 550) and now they’re about to cut a further 500 as weak demand – particularly in Europe – sees the Swindon plant producing just half the cars it could. The plan is to cut shifts from 3 to 2 a day, which will result in the loss of 340 permanent jobs and 160 temporary ones, and production will be centred on just one production line to increase efficiency and flexibility. The Swindon Plant – which builds the Civic, Civic Tourer, CR-V and Jazz (and the Civic Type-R from next year) – has been hard hit by the slump in European sales in the last five years and, despite still strong UK sales, production levels of 120,000 cars a year – just half of the Swindon capacity – are not enough to sustain the current staffing levels.