1980 Kawasaki Ke100 Swing Arm on 2040-parts.com

Audi R8

Audi has unveiled the new R8 supercar, closely based on the Le Mans concept that was shown three years ago in Frankfurt. The two-seat car uses a shortened version of the Lamborghini Gallardo platform, and is powered by a 4.2-liter V8 using FSI technology first introduced by the A2. Like the now-obsolete small car the R8 is also constructed of an aluminum space-frame, keeping weight down to 1360kg.

Telematics box aids attempted murderer conviction

A ‘BLACK BOX’ telematics device fitted to a hire car has played a significant role in the conviction of an attempted murderer. The device had been previously installed into a car hired by Daniel Paita, 32; a car he was driving on the day he carried out an attack on a man in Glasgow. Paita had claimed he was nowhere near the area, but anti-motoring fraud experts at Asset Protection Unit Ltd (APU) were able to ascertain the car’s true whereabouts via a tracking device within the telematics unit.

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.