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.

Chrysler drops Electric Cars

The Lotus-based Dodge Circuit Electric Car - will not be made Over the last year or two Chrysler has banged on about their plans to release a raft of electric cars. In fact, they even used their electric car plans as part of the pitch for bailout funds from the US Government. They said they were developing three electric cars and they would be on sale by 2010.

Pagani Huayra Roadster planned

Pagani reveals there will be a Huayra Roadster by 2014 We had so many stories on the Pagani Huayra through January and February we began to wonder if there were any angles left to cover. From the first teases on the Huayra from Pagani to our world-exclusive reveal of the first official photo of the Huayra, we covered every base there was to cover before the launch. But Huayra stories have disappeared from the headlines as we wait for Pagani to actually make a car or two for customers and some real-world shots.