49 F-1 Ash Tray on 2040-parts.com

Ford confirms Focus RS prices

Ford Focus RS 2009 prices announced When the Ford Focus RS hits UK car showrooms in March, it will cost £24,995, with a 0-60 of under 6 seconds and over 300bhp. The base price include goodies such as 19″ forged alloys, xenon headlights, aircon and a Thatcham cat 1 alarm. For an extra £750 you can have a climate pack which includes auto lights and wipers, and for £1500 you get a clever touch-screen satnav.

UAW: GM, Chrysler may not need additional federal funds

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said today that General Motors and Chrysler LLC may not need additional federal loans beyond the $17.4 billion approved by the White House. "If we can get by without more money, that's what we want to do," Gettelfinger told Automotive News in an interview at Solidarity House in Detroit. He said how well the money holds out will depend on sales volume this year.

Land Rover Defender to be built in Sri Lanka

The Land Rover Defender is to be built outside the UK in a new plant in Sri Lanka to produce Defenders for the region. Land Rover are assisting and training staff at a new assembly plant in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, run by Sathosa Motors PLC in a 50-50 deal with Land Rover distributors SML Frontier Automotive, with $1 million being invested to get the project up and running this year. It seems clear from the level of investment that this is simply an assembly operation using CKD kits from the UK for the Defender, but Sri Lank’s Daily News is reporting that there are plans to invest $500 million in the project.