Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

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.

Dealer unleashes limited-edition Viper roadster

Before production of the Viper ended earlier this month, Dodge made sure to send out the current generation of the V10 supercar with numerous limited-editions. Versions such as the 1:33, the Voodoo Viper, the ACR-X and dealer-exclusive models all trickled out of Chrysler's Conner Avenue assembly plant in Detroit. Arguably, the track-only ACR-X is the most extreme iteration, but hidden within the group of dealer-exclusive models is another noteworthy special model: the SRT10 Convertible ACR built specifically for Woodhouse Dodge in Blair, Neb.

Overfinch Range Rover – the Holland & Holland Edition

The Holland & Holland Edition of the Range Rover by Overfinch The truth is that as the Range Rover improves – and the 2010 version is very good – the Overfinch conversions become less relevant. Sure, there’ll always be a market for its good-looking wheels and some of the other cosmetic tweaks – including interior finishings – but the handling and performance package no longer transforms the Range Rover. It just enhances.