Harley-Davidson to cut 1,100 jobs

Harley-Davidson is a company that has seen plenty of ups and downs over its 106-year history, having survived the Great Depression after being the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world through the 1920s. We may not quite be in another depression, but our current recession has caused sales, profits and share prices to fall fast and Harley is digging in for the long haul, announcing a plan to cut 1,100 jobs over the next two years. That figure that represents 10% of the company's entire workforce. More than half of those losses will be seen in the company's home state of Wisconsin, with the remainder coming from facilities in York, Pennsylvania, and Kansas City, Missouri. During the course of this restructuring, the Motor Company will also be replacing Jim Ziemer, the company's current chief executive. Sounds like a tough road ahead.

[Source: AP via Google]

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2009 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

Turns out the Alfa Romeo 8C - or the U.S. verson of it, at least - isn't perfect after all. Due to an incorrect torque setting on the front and rear suspension upper and lower ball joint nuts, Maserati is recalling 7,912 vehicles in the U.S. They include the 8Cs that have made it over here (thought to number 88), as well as GranTurismos and Quattroportes from the 2008 model year.

If unchecked, the ball joint nuts will come loose, and that will cause problems ranging from steering wheel vibration to separation of the steering arm. That, unsurprisingly, "could result in a loss of steering capability," which usually leads to a crash.

© Source: autoblog
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2009 Fiat Qubo

Good: Useful small family MPV with sliding side doors, 2,500 litre capacity and option of 6-speed Dualogic automated manual with 1.25 diesel engine
Bad: Ride quality in the back far from brilliant.

The Fiat Fiorino was developed by both Fiat and PSA (Peugeot and Citroen) and aimed to fill a niche below the small van segment with a under 4 meter van.

2009 Fiat Qubo is in essence the passenger version of the light van Fiorino and is branded as an MPV. The small MPV measures just 3.959 meters long, 1.735 meters high and 1.716 meters wide but still offers 650 to 2,500 liters of cargo space.

Power for the five-seater comes from a choice of petrol or diesel engines like the 1.3 liter 75 bhp Multijet or 1.4 liter 73 bhp petrol engine and can be hooked up to a 5-speed manual or a robotized 6-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy is impressive at just 4.5 l per 100 km and certain models emit less than 120 g/km of CO2.

© Source: worldcarfans
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