C223 2014 2015 14 15 Ducati Panigale 899 Engine Motor Runs Excellent 2,140 Miles 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.

$4 gasoline fuels surge in March sales

It feels counterintuitive. Expensive gasoline not only helped propel new-vehicle sales in the first quarter. It was a key factor in the surge.

Volvo V60 Polestar costs £49,775 – just 175 coming to the UK

Just 175 Volvo V60 Polestars (pictured) coming to the UK We did expect, when the Volvo V60 Polestar was made official in November last year, that it would be a regular production model. But instead it’s going to be a limited edition special. That probably makes sense with Volvo busy updating their entire range, but it does mean there will be just 750 cars built, of which 175 are earmarked for the UK – the biggest allocation of any market.