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

Well, the holidays are over, so I’m back pretending to work. My break was long enough that I thought I might forget where the CarDomain offices are, but no such luck. Anyway, here’s the news:

• GM has canceled plans to build a new V-8 for their luxury cars. But don’t worry, remember how well the Cimarron and the Catera came out? Oh wait: Automotive News
• Mazda has released pics of the 2012 RX-9, and it looks sexy as hell. Hopefully I’ll get to drive one before the world ends: Winding Road
• A new study says that people on cell phones slow down traffic. The study also went on to point out that cigarettes are bad for you: LA Times
• The good news is that Chevy’s redesigned Malibu has garnered reams of praise from the automotive press, and dealers can’t keep them on the lot. The bad news is there might not be enough to meet demand: Detroit News

Nissan and Chrysler are talking about cooperating to make cars. If I were Nissan, I might wait for Chrysler to sort out its turnaround a little better first:

• I’m all about making cars run on biofuels. It makes sense. I’m not sure I can get behind racing a biofueled boat around the world. Don’t they have sails for that? I also don’t care that it is also a great way to lose weight (you really just have to read the whole article): Autoblog Green 
• Jaguar and Land Rover will soon be owned by the company that also makes the $2,500 car. Now I just need to find a Tata emblem to affix to John’s Jag: Motor Authority 
• I know the EPA doesn’t think it can just rule that California can’t set its own emissions standards and expect that the freakin’ Terminator isn’t going to come after them: Leftlane News

Toyota is at the forefront of helping old people drive. I don’t know if they should be commended or condemned for this (see what I did there?). Also, should Oldsmobile be worried about Toyota poaching their talent?

• Mazda is taking notice of Scion’s success and might be taking a page from their playbook. Here’s the problem—they might build a crossover based on the Miata. I’m all about the Zoom-Zoom but I’m not in love with the idea: Winding Road
• Once again, a brilliant answer to congested roads come straight from Russia. Don’t worry about the lack of airbags, there’s no way you’d survive a crash anyway: English Russia
• Because I know you love the Mazda, here’s info on the new Mazda concept that I do like: Carscoop
• The new Nissan GT-R is going to be really, really quick: Edmunds

Getting your driver’s license yanked for a month seems like it would hurt off-season preparation work if you’re an F1 driver. Does anyone else think that some enterprising cop will camp out at McLaren’s test track?

• Some of the folks here bike to work. I don’t get it, but I’d miss them if they weren’t here. That’s why the Danish solution to bikes and cars not playing well together sounds like a good idea: Jalopnik
• As more jobs are created or moved to non-union companies and industries, the UAW is giving its image a facelift to show its relevance in the 21st century—and they’re doing it on the internet! DetNews
• It looks like BMW is going to get a "C" on it’s report card for "Plays Well with Others." Leftlane News
• In defense of wussy scooter [Full disclosure: My other "car" is a scooter]: NY Times 

Sorry this is so late, I’ve been in meetings all day. The presentations were all beyond boring, but with the lights turned down, at least it was easy to sleep. Here’s the news:

• Merry Christmas to all (white collar workers)! GM and Ford are bringing back merit raises for staff. I’d have thought keeping the companies alive would have been incentive enough: CNN 
• Toyota is set to overtake GM as the worlds largest automaker. Hopefully the General takes it in stride: Blogging Stocks
• British scientist says young women who want to stop global warning should stop admiring men in exotic cars. And he’s totally serious: Wired 

It’s almost Christmas, and you know what that means. I have to dump my girlfriend in such a way which insures I don’t have to buy her a present and allows us to get back together in time for New Year’s Eve. No wonder this time of year is so stressful. Here’s the news:

• In tow truck school, they apparently don’t teach not to tow police cars. Maybe the should: NBC
• For the first time in decades, the government is going to raise CAFE standards, and automakers aren’t happy about it: Detroit News
• This isn’t particularly surprising. The dude who drove his Taurus off the roof of a parking garage was wasted at the time: Jalopnik

I just figured out sick days don’t carry over into the new year, so I was ill yesterday. Here’s the news:

• The Publisher of Automotive News says if Detroit doesn’t expand COBO hall, they risk losing the North American International Auto Show. Just what Detroit needs: Freep
• Car-based portable toilets? Ketchup on your tie doesn’t seem so bad now: LA Times
• A company in California was just busted for issuing fake tickets to cars parked in free lots. If there was ever a case for the death penalty, this is it: SF Times
• Thieves in Georgia just got an unexpected Christmas gift. Instead of having to scope out cars loaded with packages, the cops are now doing it for them. As Chief Wiggum would say, "that’s some nice aiding and abetting boys!" Rockdale Citizen via BoingBoing 

Sorry this is a little late. Today I’ve been alternating between hanging out in the break room and sleeping in my car. Hopefully, this is the only work I’ll do today. Here’s the news:

• The New York Times car blog is great. There aren’t many places that would spend 600 words on explaining the appeal of a car that goes 0-60 in 13 seconds: NYT Wheels
• Al Gore must have gotten to me, I’m all over the EV scene this week. This just in: The Volt is just the beginning, GM is going to have a whole design studio for electrics: Wired
• The Cadillac CTS may have tv commercials that I hate, but the LA Times is calling it a triumph of American engineering: LA Times 
• The sale of Jaguar and Land Rover is nearly done, but with little time left before execs jet off to Aspen, or wherever, for Christmas, the sale probably won’t go final until 2008: Auto Week 

Sure, nobody likes Mondays. But it’s always good to see that someone had a worse commute than me:

• Wired has a gallery that appears to show some visually appealing electric cars: Wired
• This isn’t really news, plug-in hybrid conversion kits have been around for a bit, but maybe reporting on them every so often will make people give them the old college try. In this case, I specifically mean people who aren’t me: Motor Authority
• There’s no hope for people like me, who don’t know which Lincoln is the MK and which is the xD (What? That’s not a Lincoln? Really?). Ford is sticking with the Alphabits naming convention: Leftlane News
• JD Power put out a list of the best ways to keep your kids from actually enjoying the "road" part of "road trips:" LA Times