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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.

BMW to reveal Zagato concept at Pebble Beach

This weekend at Pebble Beach, Monterey and the Legends of the Autobahn, BMW will show off a handful of cars, the most intriguing of which is this Zagato concept. Basically looking like a swoopy version of the Z4, the Zagato concept will hold court next to the 2013 BMW 7-series, the Alpina B7 and more products from the M division, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Three vintage race cars will be out touring during the Motorsports Reunion, including the 1986 BMW-March GTP, the 1980 BMW M1 Procar and a 1975 BMW 3.5 CSL, the last of which will be piloted by BMW North America President and CEO Ludwig Willisch.

Ferrari online auction to benefit victims of Italian earthquakes

The series of earthquakes that struck northern Italy this month did much more than temporarily halt supercar production. It resulted in the deaths of at least 24 people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage. Ferrari, whose hometown of Maranello is situated in the quake-stricken region, will conduct an online auction and contribute proceeds to the families of earthquake victims.