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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.

Anxious parents back tougher learner driver rules

PARENTS of young people are anxious about their offspring driving - with nearly three quarters in favour of probationary licences being given to new drivers. In a survey conducted ahead of the Government Green Paper on improving young drivers' safety, 82% of those questioned said the thought of their child driving on British roads made them feel anxious. A total of 60% said that was because of their lack of experience.

Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera teases Geneva concept car

Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera has released a teaser image of its 2012 Disco Volante Concept, which will debut at next month's Geneva motor show. In 1952, the Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring teamed up with Alfa Romeo to create a series of special-bodied cars to trial new technologies as well as being easily adaptable for racing. Perhaps the most famous (and beautiful) was the 1952 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (C52) which was based on the Alfa 1900, with both coupe and Spider convertible bodies produced.