In 1996, General Motors rolled-out the infamous EV1. The battery-powered car satisfied California zero emissions regulations (its raison d'etre), sat two, could travel 160 miles (or less) on a charge and plugged into a wall outlet. The General leased 1,117 EV1s. By all accounts, the lessees loved the car. GM killed the EV1 in 2003, claiming they couldn't make a profit on the vehicle. The automaker also maintained that they'd sunk $1b in R&D into the project. GM destroyed the vast majority of the returned EV1s and decided to sue California to recoup their development costs (even though the Clinton administration had deferred $500m in costs). Fast forward five years. Where the hell is the EV1? Forget for a minute all the drawbacks (runs off electricity derived from oil and coal, no storage space, insanely heavy) and think about $4.69 a gallon gas (what I paid this morning). Consumers are clamoring for this very car. Speaking frankly, the people least shocked by the Volt's painful birth has to be General Motors. 2010? Good luck. Why not bring back the EV1 now? Not tomorrow, but right now. Why not?

As I've documented endlessly, my attraction to moving hunks of iron, plastic and rubber goes back as far as I do. My father was a pistonhead, my grandfather was a pistonhead and my great-grandfather was a schmate dealer born in Odessa around the time of the American Civil War. I mention this because as a kid I read Lee Iaccoca's autobiography. One of the lessons I took away from it (besides how hard he and Hank Ford II lobbied Nixon against airbags) was that the government bailout of Chrysler was needed because so many American jobs were at stake. Sure, corporate mis-management got the brand in trouble. But it was Uncle Sam's responsibility to not let them fail, according to Lee. Today we learned that Rick Wagoner defended The Big 2.8's inability to foresee how surging gas prices could gut the entire US SUV car industry. Assuming for a moment there is blame to be assigned (and we think there is), who gets it? The CEOs, for their blind devotion to easy body-on-frame profits? The government, for not being proactive and passing tougher CAFE standards years ago which would have forced the industry to think small? Or consumers, for buying so many socially-irresponsible hulking tanks when they simply did not need them? We passing the buck here. Who wants it?

Looks like Farago and I inadvertently kicked open a can of worms yesterday when discussing the new/maybe one day Camaro. Robert maintained that Bob Lutz is an "Idiot" for even suggesting a 4-banger muscle car. For my part I defended Lutz (dirty, i feel so dirty), because I happen to love the engine he's talking about. See, the 2.0-liter turbocharged and intercooled EcoTec I4 puts out a robust 260 horsepower and a rotund 260 lb-ft of torque. And that's currently. Rumor has it that Chevy will be boring the EcoTec out to 2.5-liters, which could easily net the engine 50 more hp, meaning that the base Camaro would have more juice than the 4th gen V8 F-body. Of course, if you need more, get the LS3-powered range topper. Point is, does cylinder count matter? Really?

U.S. automakers aren't the only ones struggling to keep their costs in line. BMW needs to shed 8100 "excess" employees to achieve their planned 500 million Euro cost-savings. Automotive News' [sub] sources vary on how many workers have signed ominously named "termination agreements." BMW claims 5k workers have left the building. Other analysts claim that just over a thousand BMW workers chose to put an "ex" in front of their job description. Further complicating Bimmer's best laid plan to trim expenditure: raw material costs just keep on a rising. We told you a few days ago how the price of steel has doubled. That's going to hit companies like BMW hard, as their cars weigh so damn much. Meanwhile, BMW's lucrative American pie ain't sweet like it once was. The dollar is down, gas prices are ridiculous, and U.S. consumers aren't buying as many cars as they once were. It may not be the ultimate headache, but put it all together and it's got to hurt.

What a doozy. Our coverage of Black Tuesday– which has nothing to do with Senator Obama wrapping up the nomination– has been long, hard and bloody. Farago and I attempted to get a grip on the financial fiasco in yesterday's podcast but made little if any headway. The story, in case you missed it, is this: Detroit is fucked. The only thing more dead than Hummer is Chrysler (it just doesn't want to admit it yet). The Ford F150 got outsold by four different cars. GM's trucks and SUVs aren't doing any better. Sales are down, down, down. Except for Subaru, whose symmetrical AWD cars have seen sales increase for three straight months. Go figure. My question for you is, what happens next? Besides layoffs, buyouts and plant closures. Federal loan guarantees? And then what? What will the American automotive landscape look like in… 2010? Look deep into your crystal balls people. We want the future.

To be honest, I really feel like writing, "ARGH!!!!!!! $4.59 for premium this morning! ARGH!!!!!!!" Especially because less than two months ago I was bitching and moaning about $3.99 per gallon. Might be time to put me on suicide watch come August. Ahem. Like all of you, as I drive I am constantly scanning the road for cars. Not so much to drive better. Rather, I just love cars. In fact, one of the aspects I most enjoy about Los Angeles is the constant non-stop parade of interesting cars. A few weeks ago I saw nine Aston Martins in a day– and only one was a DB7. I also saw three Ferraris, several Bentleys, a Rolls Phantom and Maserati GranTurismo, the latter being more beautiful than you can imagine. Plus, of course, more Porsches than you can shake a pair of Pilotis at. But aside from the exotic metal, LA serves as a starting point for trends. Let me put it this way — when we reported that Toyota had sold 1 million Priora, I wasn't surprised. At all. Nor was I shocked to learn that while Toyota sales are stumbling, Yaris sales are through the bloody roof. Between yesterday and today, I've counted 17 of the beefy looking pods. What have you been seeing?

The new Lithium-Ion Polymer batteries are from Superlattice Power. Supposedly, they will "significantly increase operating voltage range and energy density." Translation: instead of going 120 to 140 miles between charges, electric vehicles will be able to go 200 miles on a single charge. [Ed: just like the Tesla Roadster!] Not only that, but unlike current lithium-ion batteries, the Superlattice variety will be non-toxic and disposable. How'd they do it? According to Motor Authority, a new material gives the new batteries a "wider volt range." We're not entirely sure what that means, but… sounds good! Which brings us to the hard questions. Like, is this the battery breakthrough we've all some of us have been waiting for? Probably not yet, as new technology is rarely cheap. Still, if you're going to spend $40K on a Volt, why not $50K? Oh yeah…

My father was something of a libertarian. We were once talking about illegal drugs and he said, "Why should we stop anyone from eating rat poison or banging their head against a wall?" Fair enough. Yesterday my gal and I were driving around Los Angeles when we passed an electronic billboard reading, "Click it or Ticket." I got to thinking. First of all, why not a message like "Have a nice day" or "LA, We Love It!" Why is the default always some sort of Big Brother warning? Then I began thinking why on earth are the police able to profit from a person's decisions? Personally, I would never drive a car without buckling up. When did that stop being my choice? There's also a certain amount of cynicism in California's mandatory seatbelt law, for if they were really concerned about safety, the State would mandate roll cages, helmets and five-point harnesses, reducing the California's annual 4000+ motoring death rate to almost zero. Or, taken a bit further, if I want to, why can't I purchase a vehicle without 20 airbags, ABS, electronic interference and (gulp) seatbelts? Free market? Or am I just nuts?

This year's trend towards– let's face it folks– inflation continues. Just as our bodies are 75 percent water, the average modern car contains 2400 lbs. of steel; the average SUV is comprised of 3000 lbs. of the stuff. In late 2007, steel was selling for $535 a ton. Today? How's $1,035 per ton grab you? It's grabbing steel execs you know where. No, there. According to Automotive News, tensions are rising as steel makers tear up contracts. They're demanding more money from automakers, who are of course resisting. Regardless, ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, is about to impose a $250 per ton surcharge. That's about 20 to 40 percent over what current contracts stipulate. Long story short, look for the price of your next car to be about $500 higher. Also, this might be a great time to invest in carbon fiber futures.

The Ford Escape was the world's first hybrid SUV. Contrary to popular belief, The Blue Oval's gas – electric trucklette does NOT use Toyota's Synergy Drive. FoMoCo's hybrid cute ute shares some patents with ToMoCo, and that's it. And there's another idea floating around: Ford is artificially restricting supplies to limit their loss-per-vehicle. True dat. Until and unless Ford can find a way to reduce its costs, the automaker has capped production of "the most fuel-efficient SUV on Earth" at 25k special order units per year (so much for Bill Ford's 250k hybrid pledge). Tales of three month waits are not unknown. The question is, what, if anything, are we missing?

Looking through today's headlines, and man is there a lot of doom and gloom. Gas up. Strike here. Jobs cut there. Mexican Fords even further over there. One comment in particular stuck in my mind. Talking about the Dacia Logan review Salokj said, "Renault has done a great job at marketing this car and even some car guys I know tell me 'What's the point of buying anything more, you can't go over 130km/h anymore.'"  And 130km/h is bang on about 80 mph. Fast, but really more freeway cruising speed. Or if you live in Britain, the speed at which cops shoot. Anyhow, it all got me thinking — is driving fun anymore? Traffic, tickets, the price of gas, modern cars are too numb, too fat and much too safe. But still, and maybe I'm just wired different, but despite everything I just listed, every time I climb behind a wheel I simply love it. Doesn't matter the car, doesn't matter the location nor the weather. Strap me in and I love it — on some level at least. Even last night, stuck in traffic with a heavy clutch, was completely enjoyable. To me. What about you?

Everyone's familiar with New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., right? Also known as NUMMI, the plant is a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota. Why would the number one and number one two car makers team up? The old answer was that GM wanted to learn about Japanese "lean" manufacturing techniques and Toyota wanted to use the plant as a beachhead to establish North American production. The new answer? We'll leave it to the historians. That said, ToMoCo is thinking about maybe building their hot selling hybrid at NUMMI. Motor Authority is reporting that as American demand for the Prius remains high, the potential move is making a lot of sense to (some) Toyota suits. Like all of their corporate decisions, Toyota will be thinking long on hard on this one. Not mentioned in the article is that due to the weakness of the dollar, American workers can now be paid in chicken feed, or the equivalent there of. Hey, it's not all bad news. Maybe GM can learn a thing or two about what makes a Prius before the 2010 "launch" of the Chevy Volt.

Just paid $4.37 per gallon this morning for premium. Oy. While patiently waiting for (another) $60 to leave my wallet a lady pulled up in a Smart Roadster. I haven't driven a Smart yet, but from I'm told, it blows. However, it really doesn't weigh very much. A few days ago, a dear friend called me and asked if she and her one-year-old should buy a used Audi. Let me rephrase that: she wanted to buy a used A4. I tried explaining that when new, the A4 sold for three times what a Mazda Protege went for. Today the Mazda is worth more. She wasn't hearing it. I then touched on the fact that she could well be paying $400 a month in bizzaro repair bills, like CV joints and a new electrical system. And the (relatively) poor mileage. "But Jonny, it's so cute! My friend has one– I love it" I finally talked her out of it by mentioning that the auto-dimming rearview mirror will eventually leak mercury all over her infant. That worked. Long story short, she's got about $15k to spend. I told her to get a Honda Fit. "Oh no! My friend says they're death traps." Based on what? Her friend– a TV actor– test drove one and thought it was a death trap. From the test drive. Long story short, even though she wants a clean, high mileage car, she ain't going small. Because of her baby. You?

Reading through the comments in the post about Alfa/Fiat returning to the US I was shocked to see our own William C. Montgomery say the following in regard to the Fiat 500's looks, "…or out-ugly the Aztek." Now, I'm picking on William because I can. But, what?!? Ugly? Fiat? Maybe the Panda, the car the new 500 is based on, but… Huh? Of course, it's not just William. My girlfriend for instance doesn't think very much of the Audi A5, while I think it's the most stunning car I've seen in months. And she knows good looking cars when she sees them (usually), as she's still fawning over the Maserati GranTurismo. Then of course, there's me. Most people look at the R8 and schwing! When I went to see Iron Man they had Tony Stark's R8 parked out front of the theater and the people just loved it. Yet when I look at one, I see a porpoise with thalidomide poisoning. Why? Mid-engine cars (almost) always have odd proportions, and Germans can't do sexy. They just can't. But I'm asking you — what makes a car ugly in your eyes?

I disagree with every review of the Lexus LS600hL ever written. Categorically. To a man, my colleagues misinterpret the most expensive Lexus as a misguided planet-saver that doesn't deliver enough mpg to justify its sky-high price tag. I view the ultimate hybrid as better driving through science. In fact, despite the dorky "hybrid" badges uglifying the LS600hL's flanks, Lexus didn't build this beast to sip fuel. They built it to go toe-to-toe with 12-cylinder Germans.