00 01 02 03 04 Focus R. Right Passenger Rh Front Seat Grey Cloth on 2040-parts.com

Crunch watch Dec 09: the auto industry in crisis

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 Wednesday 30 December 2009• Saab's PR chief told AN that GM is extending the deadline for a sale to 7 January – and the Trollhattan factory will resume limited manufacturing in early January to build the new 9-5 and some 9-3 cabrios (Automotive News, subscription required)• Last night Bloomberg reported a Saab board member claiming that the 31 December deadline for a Saab sale or closure 'is not holy'. If GM receives a bid that is 'sufficiently interesting', it'll extend the deadline, said the Saab suit (Automotive News, subscription required)• GM is offering massive discounts on Pontiac and Saturn cars, as it seeks to get rid of the remaining stock from these terminated brands.

Tomorrow's world: Ford's downsized 1.0-litre Ecoboost

Direct injection petrol and diesel, hybridisation, downsizing, turbocharging, twin-charging the list of efficiency-boosting, fuel saving features being offered in new cars is becoming so long, buying a new one is like revising for exams. Is there room for another? Apparently so, but since there’s no official name for it yet we’ll call it ‘super-downsizing’ or in other words, using a very small engine in a not so small car.

Audi Q3 price and specifications revealed for the UK

Audi Q3 starts bat £24,560 Audi’s baby Q – the Audi Q3 – has been a long time coming, but with UK orders opening up next month (June 2011) Audi has revealed prices and specs for the Q3 in the UK. Starting point will be £24,560 for the 2.0 litre TDI SE (the boring-looking Audis no one buys) with manual ‘box, rising to £31,360 for the 2.0 litre TFSI Quattro S Line with 7-Speed S-Tronic ‘box. Four engines will be available at launch – well, two engines each with two different power outputs.