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Crunch watch Apr 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard and Ben Pulman Motor Industry 30 April 2009 17:21 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  Thursday 30 April 2009• It's official: president Barack Obama confirms this afternoon Chrysler will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it strikes a patnership with Fiat (Automotive News, subscription required)• 'Over the past month, seemingly insurmountable obstacles have been overcome,' says Obama. 'Chrysler and Fiat have formed a partnership that has a strong chance of success' • Chrysler is filing for bankruptcy protection under Section 363(b) of Chapter 11 bankruptcy code – expected to last for 30-60 days (Detroit News)• Treasury to pay Chrysler $4.5 billion 'in exit financing'• Chrysler tipped to get new board of directors.

Saab is Dead – Spyker pulls out

The Grim Reaper arrives for Saab Saab has been in intensive care for what seems like forever. Last profitable around the time the dinosaurs died out it has been kept alive in recent years with funds from US car giant GM. But GM’s problems lead to the forced sale of Saab, and for a while it looked like Dr Koenigsegg had a cure for the ailing Swede.

Ford Explorer (2011) launches +video

The 2011 Ford Explorer Because it’s unlikely we will get the 2011 Ford Explorer on this side of the Pond, we haven’t covered its interminable tease in any real detail. Yes, we reported on the 2011 Explorer getting Ford’s new Curve Control, an electronanny designed to cure understeer, but we didn’t report every silly photo Ford released. But not being thorough on reporting a really boring and drawn out tease is one thing, but we can’t ignore the launch of a new version of a vehicle that until quite recently was selling almost 500k a year.