Oldsmobile 442 "the Perfect 10" License Plate 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.

De Tomaso assets being brokered

The De Tomaso brand and factory are up for grabs It’s true to say that the De Tomaso brand, probably the most significant of the unused Italian Supercar Marques, has been hawked round the world for years. But this document puts up some real detail, and pictures of the sad decline of a once successful (particularly in the U.S.) supercar maker. De Tomaso was, for a time, a great blend of Italian style and American muscle, but it lost its way badly many years ago and, despite a few attempts to resurrect it, De Tomaso has been off the scene for a long time now.

Video lets you experience the 2013 Range Rover reveal event

The recent public unveiling of the 2013 Range Rover confirmed what earlier reports suggested: The newest version of the SUV has emerged lighter and more efficient than its predecessors, but hasn't sacrificed the performance or luxury that built the brand's reputation. The Range Rover's all-aluminum unibody structure has a lot to do with this. Aluminum helps cut the weight of the vehicle's body by 39 percent.