Mercury-mercruiser 6-6315002tpb Bravo Smartcraft Transom 496 & 496 Ho Engines 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.

Ferrari Enzo replacement (F70) will get V12

Ferrari F70 (New Enzo) to get V12 It seems to be taking forever for Ferrari to bring the replacement for the Enzo to the market. And that has meant endless speculation (guilty as charged) about what exactly the new Enzo will have to offer. As far back as 2009, we spoke to one of Ferrari’s ‘Favoured’ customers who, even then, had received the call from Maranello asking if he would like to be one of the lucky recipients of the new Enzo.

Skoda Octavia Hatch GreenLine arrives offering 88.3mpg – price from £20,150

Skoda Octavia Hatch GreenLine (pictured) promises 88.3mpg Even though official economy figures from car makers are, at best, disingenuous, they still serve, to a degree, and an indicator of a car’s relative economy. So the arrival of the Skoda Octavia Hatch GreenLine in Skoda’s UK showrooms with official economy figures of 88.3 mpg and emissions of just 85g/km, makes it an appealing offering for cost conscious private and fleet buyers. The Octavia Greenline Hatch  looks pretty much the same as any other Octavia, so you won’t be driving a car that shouts ‘I’m a cheapskate’, but you will get extra eco stuff like low rolling resistance tyres on 16″ Velorum alloys to give you the best chance of getting close to the official economy figures.