The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on Friday announced the creation of a new office whose primary goal will be to lobby state governments to convert their freeways into toll roads. While some congressional leaders expressed hope that the change represented by FHWA’s new Office of Innovative Program Delivery would be reversed by the next administration, there is reason to believe that the incoming administration will continue supporting public private partnership (PPP) initiatives. For now, the toll road promotion office sits at the top of FHWA’s organizational chart to emphasize its primary place within the federal transportation department.

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Ever since it lost its new hotness, TTAC has been reporting that the Chinese car market has lost its new hotness. TTAC also gave its readers a heads-up that China won’t save U.S. carmakers’ butts, as the Middle Kingdom had done in the past, when skyrocketing sales in China buttressed anorexic auto sales elsewhere on the planet (i.e. North America). Yesterday, that bit of news finally reached The Wall Street Journal [sub]. “China’s Car Market Loses Luster for Foreign Firms,” alliterates the WSJ, surprising everybody except TTAC’s B&B.  “Growth in China’s once-roaring auto market has slowed to a near-crawl, casting doubt on the country’s status as industry savior,” writes Patricia Jiayi Ho. Previously, Patricia penned articles titled “Ex-Tuskeege Airman Moore dies at age 82,” or “Badminton club to open in Arcadia,” so she’s clearly qualified to report on expiring markets, and the back-and-forth of the world economy. Patricia’s prose continues: “Foreign giants like General Motors and Ford Motor Co. have increasingly been looking to emerging markets like China and India to provide a much needed fillip to declining sales at home.” And look they did…

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Less than 24 hours after Senator Barack Obama won the race for the U.S. presidency, Bloomberg reports that Motown’s mauled mavens will step-up their campaign to suckle on the milk of federal tax money. “GM, the biggest U.S. automaker, must get government aid because ‘time is very short,’ said Roger Altman, the former Treasury official advising the company in its merger talks with Chrysler LLC. ‘The consequences of a collapse by GM or all three could be very severe.'” (As opposed to slightly severe.) Step 1: change the terms of the Department of Energy’s $25b worth of no to low-interest loans. Retooling? Fuck that shit. “The industry’s agenda for the new president will be topped by intensified calls for an immediate disbursement of $25 billion in low-interest loans signed into law by President George W. Bush Sept. 30. While the money is supposed to be for the development of fuel-efficient vehicles, automakers argue it should be freed up to meet current capital needs.” Step 2: get a slice of the already-approved banking bailout bucks. “Sympathetic lawmakers also have been calling for auto lenders, if not the manufacturers themselves, to get some of the $700 billion bailout fund set aside for financial institutions.” Do you really have the stomach for this stuff? Read on…

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Initially, GM CEO Rick Wagoner’s sale of 51 percent of The General’s captive finance unit to Cerberus Financial (Chrysler’s new owners) seemed like a well-timed stroke of luck. Anyone paying close attention (i.e. reading this site) would have realized that Red Ink Rick was simply throwing GM’s furniture into the cash conflagration consuming the company; GMAC was just about all that was left worth burning. But GM had used GMAC as the engine for its car sales. When GMAC’s ResCap’s (Residential Capital) sub-division found itself (to be polite) deeply mired in the subprime mess, the lender couldn’t– can’t– lend squat, either on the house OR the automotive front. Not too put too fine a point on it, GM’s getting screwed from both ends. Bloomberg reports that GMAC’s taken a $2.52b hit in Q3, which brings us to $4.6b for the year. “Total net revenue declined 43 percent to $1.72 billion. The Residential Capital home-loan unit lost $1.9 billion during the quarter, while GMAC’s auto finance unit lost $294 million.” Even GMAC admits– in that “give us a bailout” kinda way– that it’s towel-throwing-in time. “Substantial doubt exists regarding ResCap’s ability to continue as a going concern,” GMAC said in today’s statement.If ResCap dies, GMAC dies. If GMAC dies, well, we’re almost there already. GM’s 45 percent sales drop in October reflects the loss of low credit score in-house financing. Hear that sound? It’s Uncle Sam’s wallet creaking open…

There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that giant fuel-swilling dinosaurs are as American as fake boobs. So it stands to reason that giant, fuel-swilling dinosaurs powered by federally-subsidized, mileage-reducing, corn-based fuels must be more American still. The only thing such a vehicle needs to achieve an apotheosis of American automotive excess is a 10k pound curb weight and enough armor to make Saturday night joyrides through Fallujah as drama-free as the invasion of Grenada. This bold vision of an America with unlimited energy and enemies was made real today, when Conquest Vehicles unveiled their Knight XV luxury armored SUV. And where else would this happen, but in Las Vegas, at the annual SEMA show? The $300k Knight XV is built on a Ford Super Duty platform, powered by a 6.8-liter Ford V-10, making 400 to 500hp depending on how many oil wells you own. This beast is DOT certified (certifiable?), fully armored. It boasts night vision camera systems and a 2000w audio system (Ride of the Valkyries, anyone?). Oh right, and it’s “environmentally friendly.” As in flex-fuel capable. Because nothing says you care like a corn-juice-powered luxury armored car.

This week is SEMA week, and I’m not there. Which is just fine with me. (In case you’re lucky and don’t know what SEMA is, it’s the tuner car show. Click over to Jalopnik to see how silly it all is). Why don’t I care about SEMA? Because I’m not interested in new 42 inch rims that cost as much as Nicaragua. I also don’t care about new bodykits for Ferraris, just because someone with plastic molds decided that they know better than Pininfarina. And I’m really, seriously not interested in washed up rappers’ pimped out family station wagons. I just find the whole event mind-numbingly boring. I’d rather chew cardboard. This isn’t to say I think car mods are all unworthy. If you run your car on veggie oil, like Chuck Goolsbee and other TTAC commenters, that’s a fantastic mod. Or the guys that converted a BMW 750i to a manual transmission: very cool. And nothing wrong with a Porsche 914 with a WRX engine (Porsche purists dissent, but it’s a worthy debate). So mods are good. But as far as I’m concerned, SEMA is just a snore.

The first Japanese manufacturer that dared to enter the luxury segment and stand against the US-EU traditional players now dares to follow them in blasphemy. I guess we’ve all seen by now the photos of the heavily camouflaged Acura Sports CUV. A particular good thing about the spyshot business is that it eases the shock of the official release. Remember the launch of the BMW X6? I don’t even want to image how that might have felt if it was a total surprise. So, Acura is developing a Japanese X6 in their effort to… I wonder what that effort might be? Keep up with the trend? Go where the money are? Speaking of money I’ve seen a lot of X6es lately in the street. Which puzzles me deeply (and makes my eyes ache), but proves that this, well car (I guess) is a money maker. Now really, back to the topic. I’ve rendered this new model from Acura taking the proportions I’ve seen in spy photos and adding to those the details that can be guessed under the camouflage. Count here the sloped cabin, bulged wheel arches, door handles, mirrors. The rest is recreated using what we see in a regular Acura dealership, lots of edges and angles, a fancy grille featuring at least three different materials and a touch of SUV in the side skirts and front bumper. To make the thing look aggressive I added those evil LED eyes. Speaking of aggressive and eyes, an important component of this recipe is the eye-offending X6ish silhouette that gives that special touch to the car. To be seen soon parked next to the closest X6.

I know: we’ve been down this road before. But hey, GM provides us with these neat-o-keen videos for bupkis, and TTAC’s added thousands of new readers since the Best and Brightest last weighed-in on the topic. [NB: That’s one Hell of a condescending, snarky intro there GM.] There’s still a lot debate on the ideal frequency of oil changes given make, model, driving style, height, weight and blood group. And there’s still info out there predicting catastrophic consequences should you fail to change your oil religiously (votive candles optional). Personally, I change my oil whenever those damn idiot lights go off– even though I’m sure I don’t need to change my oil that often. My OCD won’t let me drive with warning lamps lit, and I’m not about to do the reset deal, ’cause then I’ll forget and… peace of mind. You?

Goldman Sachs is preparing the public for horrific news: a possible loss in the fourth quarter. At least that’s what Merrill Lynch analyst Guy Moszkowski told Reuters. Since Goldman Sachs went public, they’ve never had a loss. Merrill’s Guy fingered the usual suspects: “large corporate private-equity portfolio, equity proprietary trading business and exposure to Chinese equities.” Yadda yadda yadda. Bloomberg said that “a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fund has lost $990 million since it started in January.” Wall Street has been abuzz with speculation that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley may have a large exposure to the Porsche/Volkswagen machinations. Last Wednesday, Morgan Stanley fell as much as 26 percent in New York trading; rival Goldman Sachs dropped as much as 11 percent “amid speculation a surge in Volkswagen AG shares may have saddled some banks with losses” as Bloomberg put it. When that hit the wire, CNBC called the usual “unidentified Goldman employees with knowledge of the situation,” and they said it’s all wrong: “No significant losses tied to Volkswagen.” Yeah right…

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Does the future of going green mean packing gravel into the tailpipe of your car? Maybe. MIT’s Technology Review reports that Columbia University researchers have discovered that magnesium rich rock formations know as peridotite absorb carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. The rock reacts with carbon-dioxide to create calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. The researchers optimistically predict, “that the carbon-sequestration rate in rock formations in Oman could be increased to billions of tons a year–more than the carbon emissions in the United States from coal-burning power plants, which come to 1.5 billion tons per year.” The rock is also found in California and New Guinea. Researchers believe that fracturing and heating the rock would increase its ability to trap large amounts of CO2. Right now, the researchers are only looking at large-scale commercial applications. But who knows, the time may come when a peridotite filter might find its way under your car.

You might say that this plan– getting Uncle Sam to subsidize new car payments– is a warm-up for the main event: the big ass bailout. And you’d be both wrong and right. Right, because Detroit is using all the political leverage it can muster to extract whatever drops of sustenance it can secure from the federal teat. In that effort, Motown’s running all sorts of ideas up the proverbial flagpole, including perverting manipulating the federal tax code. And lo and behold, Toyota saluted it! “Toyota would be supportive of moves such as tax deductibility of auto loans,” ToMoCo’s U.S. Veep for corporate affairs said on his post- October-bloodbath conference call. Needless to say, GM was non-committally committed to the idea, in a general sort of way. “It’s really critical for the governments and the banks to aggressively help us to revive the credit market and facilitate consumer lending activities,” Mike DiGiovanni, a GM sales analyst, said on his conference call reported by Bloomberg. As for the “wrong” part, this measure, and the “cash for clunkers” initiative making the rounds, wouldn’t provide NEARLY enough relief for Motown’s mauled motoring mavens. But hey, you gotta start somewhere… Oh wait! They already got those $25b worth of D.O.E. low-interest retooling loans. Only not, ’cause they’re hung-up on “technicalities.” Sorry. Carry on.

First things first. CarGurus.com‘s bailout poll– “Should the government bailout GM and Ford?– was an opt-in affair. Second, it’s a bit of a stretch to assume that 8112 people shopping for cars on CarGurus represent more than 8112 people shopping for cars at CarGurus. Third, the poll was worldwide. Stay with me here. Just 29 percent of the 8112 respondents allow CG to know their physical location. Of those, 29 percent were outside the U.S. These foreign respondents were in favor of a bailout by a margin of 51 to 49. The U.S. contingent (of that 29 percent) voted 59 – 41 against a federal bailout for The General and The Blue Oval Boyz. All in– everyone tallied– the vote was 52 to 48 against. Clear? Fourth, why wasn’t Chrysler in the poll. “Ford and GM seem to be in the news a lot recently,” CG editor Steve Halloran told me. “I really don’t know why we didn’t include them.” Personally speaking, Halloran would “love to see them get bailed out. I’d love to see the American carmakers continue.” That said, “I’m not sure it’s the right thing to do.” If CG’s poll is even remotely accurate, it sounds like Joe Q. Public shares his ambivalence. Somebody get GM spinmeister Steve Harris on the line, STAT!

“GMAC Financial Services has scheduled the release of its 2008 third quarter financial results for Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008. The press release, including financial highlights, will be issued at 8 a.m. EST via PR Newswire and the GMAC Financial Services media Web site (media.gmacfs.com) and the Residential Capital, LLC (ResCap) news site (https://www.rescapholdings.com/news).

GMAC Chief Financial Officer Robert Hull will host a conference call at 9 a.m. EST to review the company’s performance. The call is expected to last approximately 30 minutes.”

Featured listing on Hemmings. European version (no side lights, no pop up headlights), and only about 31,000 miles. And of course, a 352 horsepower V12 and 5-speed stick. Yours for a paltry $359,000.