Crunch watch August 09: the auto industry

By Tim Pollard, Alex Michaelides, Ben Pulman and Freddie Fulton Motor Industry 31 August 2009 10:00 Welcome to CAR's news aggregator as we round up the seismic change in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour  Monday 31 August 2009• Bank holiday today in UK; staff on a well earned break from Crunchwatch!Friday 28 August 2009• Toyota will stop producing vehicles at the New United Moor Manufacturing plant in California next March. Company officials and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the decision, which comes in the wake of factory partner GM’s announced that it would abandon the venture back in June (Detroit News)• Tengzhong may finalise its deal to buy Hummer from GM next week, well placed sources told AN (Automotive News, subscription required)• German economics minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg says it is 'hardly realistic' for GM to keep hold of its European outfit Opel and Vauxhall (Automotive News Europe, subscription required)• Ford's US cop car favourite, the Crown Victoria, is going to cease production in 2011 (Detroit News)Thursday 27 August 2009• Nissan and Chrysler have abandoned plans to build cars for each other in the wake of Chrysler’s alliance with Fiat.

Mazda Shinari Concept – RX-9?

The Mazda Shinari Concept – pointing the way to the Mazda RX-9? We’ve only just had the news that the Mazda RX-8 has bitten the dust, victim of the upcoming Euro 5 emissions regulations. One less Mazda until we see the rebirth of the RX-7 and a halo model in the Mazda RX-9 in the next year or two.

Skip Barber Racing School rolls back prices

Skip Barber Racing School is turning back the clock to 2001, when gasoline cost less than $2 a gallon and a three-day racing school cost just $3,000. All 12 locations will move to the new pricing scheme temporarily, to give more drivers a chance to get behind the wheel and do some performance driving. Skip Barber has been teaching people to race for more than 30 years.