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

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.

Audi R8 GT Spyder gets early unveiling at 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans

The new Audi R8 GT Spyder got an early unveiling outside the Audi Racing Pavillion at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans on Friday evening. The 552-hp V10 drop-top rocket uses carbon-fiber panels and a lightened interior to lower weight compared with the standard R8 5.2 FSI quattro Spyder. Audi claims 62 mph arrives in just 3.8 seconds, and the car tops out at 197 mph.

Nearly a half of male drivers admit to sleeping at the wheel

Nearly half of male drivers admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel, a survey has found. Road safety charity Brake and insurance company Direct Line found that 31% of all drivers admit to ‘head-nodding’ at the wheel – meaning they’ve fallen asleep while driving a car for between two and 30 seconds. The best cars you can sleep in On Bing: see pictures of tired drivers 45% of male drivers admit to head-nodding, compared to 22% of female drivers.