At the beginning of the year, I pledged I wouldn’t drink on school nights. It was a great plan, and I wish I’d stuck to it. Then I wouldn’t have this massive hangover. Here’s the news:   

• Ford is bringing back the Taurus. But will it ever be number one again? The New York Times
• Aston Martin is changing its colors. Look, the Shell scheme is cool and everything, but no racing green? Smells like heresy. Auto Express
• After 76 years, it looks like the General might lose the title of the world’s largest automaker. Freep
• I though that Jag’s venerable XJ was going to be replaced by the XF, but they aren’t ready to give up on it yet. Winding Road

I haven’t worked a full week in over a month, and the grind is already started to wear on me. Well, at least I got a flat on the way in to the office. Here’s the news:

• Want to get your hands on a GTR before it officially hits your shores? Good luck. Nissan is threatening gray market entrepreneurs with legal action: Auto Express
• Hot Wheels is planning a cross country blitz to celebrate its 40th anniversary. You can’t blame them—can any other company claim to have sold four billion cars? Auto Week
• This year, F1 cars will be hitting the grid without traction control, and some drivers are predicting more accidents: BBC News
• Upon release, Aston Martin’s new Rapide sedan will be going head-to-head against Maser’s sexy  Quattroporte and Porsche’s dreadful Panamera. How will it do? From the looks of these pics, jolly well indeed: Car Scoop
• So just who is legitimate media anyway? That’s the question the brass at NAIAS are asking. Here’s a tip: if you write a blog about beer and cheese, it’s not you: Detroit News

These Ferrari SUV rumors will not go away. I hope they’re just rumors. The Lambo LM002 was kind of cool, but I don’t think the world needs another Cayenne. In fact, I don’t think the world needs any Cayennes. More at Auto Express.

Do you think Ferrari should be building SUVs?

Most of the time, a three-day week seems short, but this one has made me more miserable than a goth kid at Disney World. Time to up the lunch beers I guess. Anyway, here’s the news:

• Everyone has reported that oil just hit 100 dollars a barrel, but Ford is doing something about it. Their new nav systems will help drivers find cheap gas: Automotive News
• Terrorism has caused race organizers to cancel the Dakar Rally. Funny… as scary as this event is, I figured terrorists would be all for it: Top Gear
• Spy shots of BMW’s new 5-Series have leaked, and I couldn’t help but think that some of their recent models would have looked better had they left the cladding on: Auto Express
• Here’s a big surprise: Ford paid so KITT would be reincarnated as a Mustang. Is nothing sacred? Autoblog

I don’t know if I have the energy to write today. Thankfully, it’s not every day you get your flying car dreams crushed:

• Yay! Fiat has new, limited edition, tiny cars! Buy a truck, and you could even park your Fiat Panda inside! Automotive Express
• Terrific early results for GM. The new Malibu is performing well in the unsexy car market and putting unsexy rivals Accord and Camry on notice. DetNews
• Anyone ready to backseat drive from the driver’s seat? Robot drivers are now a reality, marking the first step towards safer roads—and our ultimate doom (John Connor, we need you NOW): Freep
• If you have the money and want a blazing fast muscle car, go out an buy an ’08 Viper. Just do me a favor and don’t get the green one, it’s just not right: DetNews

SEMA is only a few days away and I can’t wait. I have SEMA-itis pretty bad, and I’m sure the only cure is a big shot of Vegas, which is way different from that big shot of penicillin you have to get after returning from Vegas. Anyway, here’s the news:

• Apparently Nissan isn’t going to rest on the laurels of having the baddest sports car on the market (the new GT-R, duh), they’re apparently going to develop a lightweight, more powerful GT-R Spec V as well. Lord help us all.  (Edmunds Inside Line)
• Lexus is no longer the only car offering a "hands-off" parking experience, Mitsubishi is now in the game with the all-new Galant. And all-new it is! It’s got the all-wheel drive and twin-clutch system from the Evo X, as well a crazy diesel motor with 274lb/ft of torque! Of course, it’s so cool, its probably never coming to the US. (AutoExpress UK)
• Ferrari has the Porsche Cayenne in its sites, as it’s rumored to be developing the world’s most powerful SUV. Dubbed the Ferrari FS 599 Fuoristrada by WCF’s insider, this beast is said to produce 600hp and 411lb/ft of torque with a 0-60 of about 5.5 seconds. (WorldCarFans)
• What can green do for you? FedEx is going to test ten diesel-electric hybrids in it’s European force, and it’s already running 95 hybrids in the US. Kind of gives me a warm fuzzy to know the company delivering my front mount intercooler might be setting a good example. (Autoblog Green)
• BMW is developing a baby SAV dubbed the X1. Rumored to be a 3-door sporty crossover with similar styling to the new X6, we should expect this around 2011. And let’s hope they have better design plans than the concept! Right now, it looks like an angular Morgan with a pick-up camper shell! Yuck! (AutoExpress UK)

Well, Jason seems to be "too busy" to bring you guys the news, so I’m stepping in until his schedule clears.  He’s saying something about having to save the world… or his job, I dunno, one or the other. On to the News:

• Seems the kids at the UAW and Chrysler just can’t seem to play nicely. It’s reported the 4-year contract hit a few snags as four plants have now rejected the current version. Un-cool, guys. I hope this doesn’t delay my Jeep Compass delivery. (Detroit News)
• Mugen, Honda’s official factory tuning house, got their hands on the Honda Fit. They now offer some great aero parts and basic bolt-ons that make this green machine a much more aggressive little street monster.. Well, ok maybe more of a Muppet than a monster. (Carscoop)
• F1 finished the season with Kimi Raikkonen stepping into the World Champion title after Lewis Hamilton couldn’t quite cut it in Brazil. (Autoexpress UK)
• One of my personal favorite race teams is pulling out. Cadillac has decided this will be the last year for the CTS-V team, citing a need to focus on the their luxury market without racing. If it wasn’t for the success of CTS-V race team, I don’t think I’d even have noticed this bad-boy BMW-fighter!(Autoweek)

After a three week hiatus, I’ve finally found news you folks should read (plus, I finally beat Halo 3). Here it is:

• Traffic in LA is terrible no matter what. So it probably doesn’t help when somebody hacks the traffic lights. Thanks for giving them the idea, Seth Green (anyone seen the Italian Job?): Autoblog
• It goes 0-60 in 10 seconds, has a top speed of 95 mph, and gets 300 mpg. What I like about the Aptera is it looks like  you could slap wings on it and avoid rush hour: Auto Express
• GM is going to be paying its workers a whole lot less in 2011 and Wall Street is pumped about it. If the people making cars won’t make nearly as much, how beneficial is it to have those jobs in the US? DetNews
• Motorcycles get better gas mileage than cars. How do you build a car that gets better fuel efficiency? How about designing them so they can use motorcycle engines: Jalopnik
  

Well, Jason is out of town again, so I thought I’d go ahead and steal his format to let you all know what’s going on in the wonderful world of VW.

• The Scirocco is coming! We showed you video of the Rocco in a previous post, and AutoExpress UK has spy photos giving us a sneak peak of the interior styling. (Auto Express) 
• VW’s new boss (Martin Winterkorn) confirms that VW is working on an ultra-efficient 1.0L motor that might be good for around 235mpg. 235mpg? What’s up now Prius? (Motor Authority)
• While the automotive world figures out what future fuel won’t bring an end to the world, Audi wants to teach you have to drive your car more efficiently. (Popular Mechanics)
• Our favorite BBC car-junky show got their hands on the VW concept W12 GTI. Check out the video below where a very lucky Jeremy Clarkson gets to tear up the track!

The picket lines are still out in front of GM plants. Fortunately, since demand isn’t high right now, if the strike lasts less than a couple weeks, it shouldn’t hurt the General much. Finally, selling less cars is a good thing. Here’s the news:

• Going 172 mph in your Porsche 911 Turbo is pretty fun. Unless you get a speeding ticket and get sentenced to 10 weeks in jail, that is. One more thing: it’s probably not a good thing if the 911  belongs to the company you work for—and they already told you not to drive it: The Daily Record
• Looking to test drive—well, kind of—the new Skyline GT-R before anyone else? Get the GT5 Prologue demo on your PS3. It’ll be out October 24th and will feature the GT-R Skyline concept, as well as the Evo X and Subaru’s newest STi: Autoexpress.co.uk
• The Tesla Roadster should actually be on roads in the US in early 2008 (mostly California roads, we’re guessing): Motor Authority
• It’s tough to be #1. Everyone is setting their sights on overtaking Toyota as the biggest car maker in the world. Apparently, this now includes VW: Autoblog