2011 Land Rover Range Rover Sport 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.

Volvo XC60 R-Design revealed

Volvo has released details of an R-Design version of the XC60 Still, more power isn’t everyone’s cup of tea – particularly at the moment – but many buyers like a bit of ‘butchness’ in their cars. And to be completely fair to Volvo, although they haven’t messed with the oily bits for more oomph, they have played with the suspension for more feel. Volvo say the XC60 has improved steering (thanks to ‘Direct Steering Gear’), stiffer damping and a more robust chassis.

Who's teaching the teens?

“Here's how you prove you're qualified to teach driving in Colorado: Fill a glass container with ice. Breathe on the glass. If condensation forms, you're in.” So said Ronn Langford, founder and CEO of MasterDrive (online at www.masterdrive.com), a driving school based in Colorado Springs, Colo., that also operates in California's Orange County.