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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.

Pirelli unveils 2012 edition of 'artistic' calendar

Tiremaker Pirelli has previewed the 2012 edition of its calendar, known for its regular use of unclothed models in artistic poses and the exclusivity of the list of recipients. Photographer Mario Sorrenti chose the island of Corsica as the location to capture his "swoon" images. This is the first time that Sorrenti has shot the calendar, which has used many famous photographers in the past including Annie Leibovitz, Richard Avedon and Bruce Weber.

918 Alert! Porsche's stinging spyder grows closer to becoming reality

The first fully road-going prototype of Porsche's upcoming 202-mph hybrid-powered 918 Spyder has been seen during shakedown runs at the company's R&D center in Germany. Porsche released its own lightly disguised photographs of the cars being tested. The mules are “camouflaged” in livery meant to summon the famous 917 racer.