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

Crunch watch Dec 08: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard and Simon Stiel Motor Industry 31 December 2008 14:05 Wednesday 31 December 2008• GMAC, GM's finance arm, said it would immediately revise its criteria for providing loans, after the US government bail-out of the General's credit arm. It will now supply credit for anyone with a score of 621 or more on the Fico scale, the scale used to assess Amercian customers' creditworthiness (Financial Times)• The news means that 80% of US consumers would now qualify for a loan from GMAC – which should improve sales in the depressed US market (Detroit News)• Chrysler is being lambasted for taking out full-page adverts in the American national press thanking the nation for supporting its auto industry. But critics point out this is a fresh waste of bail-out resources, as pages in the Wall Street Journal – one of the titles in which the ad ran – reportedly cost up to $264,000.

Ross Roberts: 1938-2014

Ross Roberts, a former Ford Division general manager who helped turn trucks into everyday vehicles--not to mention a really good guy with a large personality and bigger laugh--died Jan. 28. He was 75.

KoenigSaab coming soon?

Koenigsegg are in the running to take over Saab Saab were given Swedish Government protection recently (similar to Chapter 11) to try and find a suitor or funding to operate independently. Of course they can’t do that completely, at least not in the short term, as they are so tied in to GM’s platforms on their current and soon to be released cars. But Saab has a strong – if quirky – history and, with the right backing, could stand alone as a niche maker of aesthetically individual cars.