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Crunch watch Jan 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard, Ben Pulman and Gareth Evans Motor Industry 30 January 2009 12:39 Friday 30 January 2009• Honda is about to close the Swindon factory for four months when Friday's shifts are finished; the shutdown will affect 2500 of the 3700 staff, who will receive full pay for two months and then 60% pay for the next eight weeks (BBC News)• Porsche has announced a sharp drop in sales and likely profits. It forecasts a 27% drop in 911, Boxster, Cayman and Cayenne sales to around 34,000 units in the six months to the end of January 2009 (Financial Times, subscription required)• Ford wants Washington to do more to stimulate car sales, after posting a record loss of nearly $14.6 billion earlier this week (Detroit News)• Honda's quarterly profit has crashed by 90% – forcing the Japanese car maker to halve its annual profit target (Detroit Free Press)Thursday 29 January 2009• Ford of Europe is a bright spot in the Blue Oval's quarterly results today, making $1.06 billion pre-tax profit in 2008 (up from $997m in 2007). It's the first profit of more than $1bn since 1989 (Automotive News Europe, subscription required)• Volvo suffered a 'disastrous 2008' with a pre-tax loss of $1.46bn.

Aston Martin DBS from 'The Persuaders!' heads to auction

James Bond wasn't the only British fictional character associated with cars from Newport Pagnell, even though the MI6 agent did drive Aston Martins in a number of films. But James Bond films weren't the only medium in which Aston Martin cars appeared. If you watched the opening of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, you might have noticed one TV series not referenced in the opening show: "The Persuaders!" starring Roger Moore (a Bond actor himself) along with Tony Curtis.

Ross Roberts: 1938-2014

Ross Roberts, a former Ford Division general manager who helped turn trucks into everyday vehicles--not to mention a really good guy with a large personality and bigger laugh--died Jan. 28. He was 75.