The Green Jobs Czar may be gone—asshole—but the taxpayer-supported environmental boondoggles continue unabated. Here’s one for pistonheads patrons, via physorg.com. The website somehow forgets to mention a $100,000 federal grant to the smiling man above. Or the fact that 5 billion panels times $6,900 is . . . a lot of money. Even for Uncle Sam. Hang on; does that include installation?

The 12- x 12-foot panels, which each cost $6,900, are designed to be embedded into roads. When shined upon, each panel generates an estimated 7.6 kilowatt hours of power each day. If this electricity could be pumped into the grid, the company predicts that a four-lane, one-mile stretch of road with panels could generate enough power for 500 homes. Although it would be expensive, covering the entire US interstate highway system with the panels could theoretically fulfill the country’s total energy needs. The company estimates that this would take 5 billion panels, but could “produce three times more power than we’ve ever used as a nation – almost enough to power the entire world.”

“If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend.” Doug Larson, author of Don’t Shoot the Decoys: Original Stories of Waterfowling Obsession.

Following on from Honda’s loss of Facebook over the Crosstour—or loss of Crosstour over the Facebook— here’s another story where the web pulls the rug from under auto industry types seeking to hide the truth. We’ve been saying it forever (in Internet terms): the collector car market has collapsed. Well, duh. But the mainstream media and specialist press has both been happy to perpetuate the myth perpetuated by the auction houses that their business has been defying gravity. See? Cars are selling for phenomenal prices! Meanwhile, Hagerty’s CARS THAT MATTER (must do, given the shift lock situation) is telling readers to pay attention to the men behind the curtain.

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The National Motorists Association (NMA) released its list of the top seven locations to avoid over the Labor Day holiday. This year, the drivers’ rights group highlighted areas where heightened use of automated ticketing machines threaten those who are just passing through.

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China is expected to manufacture a record 12 million vehicles in 2009, said Chen Bin, director of the department of industry under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) via Gasgoo. This is a lowball estimate.

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Beholders have beheld the new Honda Crosstour and found it not beautiful. Ugly, in fact. Ten years ago, this condem-nation wouldn’t have been a problem for the vehicle’s manufacturer. At worst, a few aesthetically-offended members of the automotive press would have nibbled the hand that feeds, gently alluding to the vehicle’s “challenging” exterior. Otherwise, the illusion that the Honda Crosstour isn’t a Gorgon-on-wheels would have been maintained—at least until “disappointing” sales proved the point. Those days are gone. These days, Honda’s decision to green light an ugly automobile has unleashed a major PR debacle. Welcome to the Internet, fellas. I did warn you.

Last week, our man Thor translated a Q & A with Peter Horbury in Automotorsport.se. Ford’s former global design director was recently demoted to his roots: head of Volvo design. Sadly, Automotorsport failed to discuss Horbury’s career reversal. Equally unfortunate: I had to inform Mr. Johnsen that we can’t lift entire articles. (Automotorsport.se denied our request to republish the piece.) We can, of course, publish excerpts. And Horbury is, like all car designers, a veritable fount of designer-speak. Or not. You’ll see what I mean. Meanwhile, here’s the warm-up for the money shot: “Horbury always missed the sea and the forests surrounding Gothenburg. ‘I like the Bohuslän nature with its clean lines, exactly as I believe car design should be.’ He pauses, thinking. But soon enough he makes a metaphor between U.S. and European design, and how Yanks often exaggerates certain design elements while the European design tradition is more stylish, simpler. . .”

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Thanks to TTAC contributor Stu Sidoti for the photographs.

Doubts over the accuracy of the speed camera equipment led to the dismissal of a Washington, DC photo radar ticket last month. On May 7, a 34-year-old engineer from Alexandria, Virginia had been driving on Interstate 295/395 near 9th Street on a sunny morning when a mobile speed camera operated by American Traffic Solutions snapped a photo of the engineer’s car. The camera claimed that the Audi was traveling at 51 MPH, 11 MPH over the District’s 40 MPH interstate speed limit.
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[Click here and then click on HQ under the viewing window to see the scene in hi-res]

Victor Muller stands about six foot four, with dashing gray hair and glasses. He exudes the energy of a kid after five bags of Pop Rocks. Why shouldn’t he? Muller’s the co-founder of Spyker, one of the sexiest car companies to hit the scene since Lamborghini launched the Miura. Never mind that many collectors consider Spyker’s first gen cars beautifully crafted automobiles with all the chassis rigidity of a tin can. Spyker is the very definition of a boutique automaker, including the fact that they haven’t show a profit for nine years. If you want old school supercar exclusivity, Muller’s your man.

Oversimplification and furious, anti-Audi-like scorn notwithstanding, automotive paint protection and women’s cosmetic products are one in the same. But wanting your skin/sheetmetal looking good isn’t a crime, so let’s examine two of Turtle Wax’s premium offerings: the ICE clay bar and wax kit, and the Black Box treatment system. Because I hate reading product reviews that regurgitate the manufacturer’s instructions, I’ll assume you can read a box. More to the point, here’s why you should.

Swedespeed.com has posted pictures of the facelifted Volvo C30. Volvo’s concentrated most of their re-design firepower on the Swede’s front end; the lights and air intakes differ most notably from the previous iteration. According to automotorsport.se, remaining Volvo dealers and customers are hoping that the Ford subdivision (still) will install the newly developed 1.6-litre turbocharged direct injected petrol into the C.