Nankang Nsii 255-30-20 on 2040-parts.com

Honda cutting production in Swindon again – 500 jobs at risk

Honda is cutting another 500 jobs in Swindon It’s only a year since Honda announced 800 job cuts at Swindon (which eventually was 550) and now they’re about to cut a further 500 as weak demand – particularly in Europe – sees the Swindon plant producing just half the cars it could. The plan is to cut shifts from 3 to 2 a day, which will result in the loss of 340 permanent jobs and 160 temporary ones, and production will be centred on just one production line to increase efficiency and flexibility. The Swindon Plant – which builds the Civic, Civic Tourer, CR-V and Jazz (and the Civic Type-R from next year) – has been hard hit by the slump in European sales in the last five years and, despite still strong UK sales, production levels of 120,000 cars a year – just half of the Swindon capacity – are not enough to sustain the current staffing levels.

Nissan Extrem: It’s a Micra Urban Crossover

The Nissan Extrem Concept has been revealed in Brazil as an urban crossover based on the Micra platform. The Extrem is, say Nissan, an ‘Urban Rally Car’ designed to be a tough street fighter and penned by Nissan Design in San Diego specifically for the Brazilian market. Based on the underpinnings of the Micra, the Extrem is 3850mm long and 1760mm wide and is, although it’s hard to judge in the photos, a chunk smaller than the Nissan’s current smallest crossover, the Juke.

SRT Viper logo redesigned for 2013

STR – Street and Racing Technology, Chrysler Groups' new, standalone performance brand – has unveiled the new logo for its 2013 Viper as it continues to tease the new version of its now iconic model. Designed by Chrysler designer Vince Galante, STR says that the logo, christened ‘Stryker', conveys the "sinister look and evil grin of the original, while giving it a more playful appearance." Galante also says the lines of Stryker are indicative of those that will feature on the 2013 STR Viper. Stryker will be the third design to grace the Viper series, following Sneaky Pete and Fangs and was selected from a number of suggestions at the 2010 Viper Owners Invitational.