Humminbird Lcr 3004 1724796 Techsonic Ind As Is... 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.

BMW offers new M Performance accessories for M5 and M6

Tuners Alpina and AC Schnitzer aren't the only ones offering just about everything in carbon fiber for BMWs these days, and BMW has introduced performance accessories for their M5 and M6 cars, including the M6 Gran Coupe, Convertible, and Coupe. On the performance front, car owners will be able to purchase and retrofit an exhaust system developed by BMW's M division and engineering company Akrapovič -- one made entirely of titanium. This new exhaust system will be available for the M5, and all versions of the M6 and will result in a weight savings of approximately 22 pounds.

Skoda Superb Combi – Frankfurt Catchup

The Skoda Superb Combi launched at Frankfurt The Skoda Superb Combi. The Skoda Superb Albert Hall would be a better name. This thing is vast, but conspires to look cohesive rather than barn like – no mean feat.