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Crunch watch Mar 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Ben Pulman and Tim Pollard Motor Industry 31 March 2009 13:48 Tuesday 31 March 2009• Porsche said that its earnings before tax rose to €7.3 billion in the six months to the end of January – including a €6.8bn windfall from its VW share options (Financial Times)• Fritz Henderson, GM's president and chief operating officer, will step up to replace Rick Wagoner, who was ousted on Sunday as CEO of General Motors (Financial Times)• President Obama is essentially CEO-in-chief of GM – despite not owning a single cent of stock, says Detroit News commentator (Detroit News)• German chancellor Angela Merkel gives assurances that any would-be investors in GM's European arm will be given state support. Opel is asking for €3.3 billion in aid – and up to 25,000 jobs in Germany depend on it, with up to 300,000 jobs across Europe including Saab and Vauxhall (BBC News)Monday 30 March 2009• General Motors' chief executive Rick Wagoner has been ordered to resign by US president Barack Obama with immediate effect. It's part of Obama's administration's critique of GM and Chrysler's turnaround plans – he's understood to be unhappy with the plans submitted (BBC News)• New GM non-executive chairman Kent Kresa has admitted that at the company's next general meeting it will have 'a majority of new directors' (General Motors)• Chrysler will receive US government aid for the next 30 days, but the Obama administration has said that if the company cannot secure a tie-up with the Fiat Group within that time period it will not receive any more money from the taxpayers and could go into liquidation.

BMW M5 celebrates 30th birthday, promises a surprise

The BMW M5 has been with us for 30 years. That's right: The E28 premiered in the fall of 1984 as a 1985 model after its debut at the Amsterdam Motor Show. Even though its performance figures have aged somewhat (in the best way possible), it's important to remember that it was the fastest production sedan in the world when it premiered.

Startech unveils tuned Range Rover Sport

German tuner Startech has just unveiled their tuning program for the 2014 Range Rover Sport and picked the 2013 Essen Motor Show -- Europe's equivalent of SEMA -- as the debut venue. Startech has been in the Land Rover and Jaguar tuning business for over a decade, though their products are not that well known this side of the Atlantic. But the growing variety and popularity of Range Rover vehicles on this side of the pond just might change that.