With the tightening of the purse strings at parent company Chrysler, the weakening economy and slow truck sales in general, Dodge has decided to pull out of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series following the completion of this year's festivities. This announcement should hardly come as a shock as Dodge made the decision to run just one factory-backed racer for 2008. That lone truck was being run by Bobby Hamilton Racing and we have no details on what the team plans to do for '09. The fact that Dodge has pulled support for the NASCAR Trucks has many pondering if the beleaguered automaker will do the same for the automotive side of the racing series. According to Dodge Motorsports senior manager Mike Delahanty, there are no reasons to jump to conclusions. We'll keep our collective ears to the ground.

The next stab at a Saab SUV is reportedly going to be... a Saab. Word is that the newest hauler will have "Saab-DNA design and technology." Designed by teams in Sweden and Germany, that means an Aero-X-like snout, some combi-type curves in the back, and an ascending shoulder line. No word on engines yet, but there looks to be a full range of options, and dealers who have seen the final car are excited. This is all very good news to Saab mavens who don't want another badge-engineered Tahoe. For the rest of us, our first chance to see it could be as soon as the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

Though we got a preview of the sixth-generation Volkswagen Golf earlier this month, it took VW this long to get its act together and release the full gamut of official images and details. In addition to the new exterior and interior, the Golf VI will also be offered with four TSI gas engines and two TDI diesels, and the superlative 6- and 7-speed DSG transmissions will replace automatic trannies in all but the entry-level models. Electronic nannies will include DCC Adaptive Chassis Control, Park Assist, a Rear Assist rearview camera and the Park Pilot with a visual display. Pricing hasn't bee released yet for Europe, but expect it to start low and end high.

The new Ford Fiesta isn't just good for going fast and looking good – apparently you can also make a panel van out of it. Details are scant before its supposed appearance at the Paris Motor Show, but this little guy is aimed at small businesses that might want something even more economical than the Ford Transit. The passenger compartment is separated from the cargo by a bulkhead and the latter can hold 1,000 liters, which quadruples the storage space of the 5-seater car. As long as buyers aren't hauling lead, they should be all right -- the car is supposed to get motors ranging from 60 to 90 horsepower. We'll bring more details and pics from the Paris show, as all we know right now is that the Ford Feista Panel Van will start at €11,070 in Germany.

Production of the Artega GT is set to begin later this month and even though the budget Cayman competitor is limited to 500 units per year at the automaker's current plant, Artega has plans to expand beginning with new variants of the GT.

Within the next two years, Artega will offer a lightweight, four-cylinder version likely to be powered by one of Volkswagen Auto Group's turbocharged 2.0-liter engines, while a soft-top is slated to go on sale sometime in 2010. The current production center can't handle the increased capacity of two additional models, but an Artega exec says that the company owns enough land to build an extension next to the main plant.

Speaking with CAR, Karlheinz Kalbfell said, "Mid-term U.S. sales are a must. But since we need to prepare ourselves well for this important move, late 2010 looks like the earliest possible date." That's about the same time the convertible should be available, and according to Kalbfell, since "roadsters have traditionally always done well in the U.S.", it would be the perfect time to launch the brand in the States. Needless to say, we're looking forward to getting behind the wheel.

The Detroit 3 are pushing hard for $50 billion in low interest loans to keep factories running, build new ones and create alternative powertrains. Presidential candidate Barak Obama has already endorsed $50 billion in loans and Republican nominee John McCain has signed on for $25 billion in loans already guaranteed in the 2007 energy bill. If Ralph Nader were elected to office (won't happen), he would be against such a loan. Nader told a group of supporters in the Detroit area that "tax payers should not be played for a sucker," and that decades of bad decisions by automakers means that no such government assistance is deserved.

GM spokesman Greg Martin countered that Nader was basically a non-entity in the big picture, pointing out that the loan would help quickly get more fuel efficient vehicles on the road. U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg from Michigan remarked that Detroit automakers could be paying 15-20% in interest rates without the government loan, which would be pegged at 4-5%. We're not experts on the subject, but we're pretty sure a loan with a 20% interest rate is a bad idea, and it's not the kind of rate you want to pay if you're competing against Toyota.

Though its first official public debut isn't scheduled until early next week, the 2011 Chevy Volt has been introduced to the internet early courtesy of the The Car Connection, which published these apparently official pictures of the revolutionary series hybrid today. In the past few weeks we've seen official teasers shots of the car mixed with spy video taken on the set of Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, all of which have only served to increase excitement ahead of the car's official debut next week. These pics give up the goods like no others, however, and show various GM execs and engineers directly responsible for its development posing alongside like proud papas. The list includes, in order, Tony Posawatz, Bob Lutz, Bob Boniface, Frank Weber, and Andrew Farah.

What we see is a vehicle about the size of the current Chevy Cobalt or next-gen Cruze with a very aerodynamic front end and high rear decklid. There are some futuristic design elements too, including the LED fog lights, black expanse beneath the windows and Volt badging attached to the sideview mirrors. Perhaps the most poignant pic of all is Lutz himself doing a double-handed lean on the production Volt, as GM's product czar has been the most visible figure during the car's very public development.

MotorTrend reports that GM insiders are saying that the next-generation Cadillac Escalade will jump from its current GMT900 truck platform to the Lambda crossover architecture that underpins the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave, and Chevy Traverse. MT points to the Buick Enclave Super that didn't happen as evidence that an Escalambda would be able to handle an eight-cylinder engine, which would be a step up from the rest of El Generalissimo's increasingly-crowded crossover lineup. Edgier, CTS-like styling would likely be a given, too.

Frankly, this is a good idea. The packaging afforded by the Lambda platform is vastly superior to what the GMT900 trucks offer. Remember that in the latter, the 3rd row is bolted to the cargo floor, it doesn't fold flat, and it's generally uncomfortable. The Lambda solves that instantly, and is better suited for what's positioned as a luxury vehicle anyway. Ride quality would be much better, and if GM Design were to deliver an interior on par with what's now found in the CTS, a Lambda-based Escalade would probably represent a quantum leap forward in terms of styling and refinement over the current vehicle.

As for the Avalanche-based Escalade EXT, MT says that GM's mulling over the idea of moving to a unibody pickup, a la the Zeta-based GMC Denali XT concept, to replace both of those vehicles. Again, not a bad idea, especially for Cadillac. The downside is that owners of the current vehicles who use them to tow will likely need to look elsewhere to fill that need. Still, if Cadillac's gig is to sell legit luxury vehicles, moving to more car-like platforms makes all kinds of sense. It's going to be really interesting to see if any of this stuff actually pans out.

You no doubt remember the infamous Post-It Note Jaguar. The practical joke played on an unsuspecting coworker turned into an internet sensation thanks to the photographic skills of Scott Ableman who published images of the stunt on Flickr under a Creative Commons license. 3M, the maker of Post-It Notes, wanted to cash in on the popularity of the Post-It Note Jaguar, and so contacted Ableman to use his pics. After a bit of negotiation, Ableman came down to the price of $2,000 for the use of his images on in-store displays for six months. Anyone who deals with professional photographers knows that two grand is a steal for a national campaign, but 3M didn't bite and instead told Ableman they could recreate the pics for around $1,000 and wouldn't use his originals unless he lowered his price to match. Ableman didn't, and 3M went ahead without him to produce the above in-store display that has been seen in stores this summer.

The 3M promotion is part of the Million Uses and Counting Contest, plastering someone's car with the adhesive paper scraps being one such use. The company even made a YouTube video of how to Post-It a car, and the scene they recreated is eerily similar to the one Ableman originally photographed, except that it rings completely hollow. The original was a practical joke we watched unfold through Ableman's pics, while 3M wants us to find a million uses for wasting its product so we can buy more. The marketing folks at 3M clearly don't get the whole social media thing, otherwise they wouldn't have haggled with Ableman over just $1,000 and then proceeded to profit off his efforts. Not cool 3M, not cool.

Debuting in concept form today is the most fuel efficient and cleanest version of Volkswagen's sixth-generation Golf. Wearing the BlueMotion badge, as is common for VeeDubs with fuel-saving tweaks, the new Golf is able to complete the European driving cycle mileage tests with a rather epic 74 miles per gallon (around 62 mpg in the U.S. if conversions can be trusted). For those who like to keep track of such things, that's just 99g/km of carbon emissions and an excellent score by any measure. In order to achieve such low fuel consumption and emissions, the Golf BlueMotion is bestowed with a miserly 1.6-liter TDI common rail diesel engine that kicks out 105 horses and 184 lbs.-ft. of torque at a low 2,000 rpm. Low rolling resistance tires, aero tweaks and revised gearing all help the cause. Though still just a concept, there is little doubt that this model or one very similar will debut a few months after the the standard Golf in Europe next year. In the U.S.? Don't hold your breath, though a Golf TDI sold in the States may happen eventually.

We just told you about Bob Lutz' comments that the Saturn Astra is too expensive and not making any money in the U.S., but that may change when the next iteration arrives. Of course, the next Astra will debut in Europe first as an Opel (and Vauxhall in the UK), but we suspect that GM will offer it in the U.S. again, especially if the automaker can build it locally so that it's not dogged by a weak currency exchange like the current model. Though not scheduled to debut until late next year at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, the fourth-gen Astra is making an appearance today in a couple of sketches released by General Motors Europe. The design is said to take direct inspiration from the new Insignia, which itself will become the next-gen Saturn Aura. The all-new Astra will be based on the Delta II platform with vehicles like the Chevy Cruze and Volt and feature a new range of fuel efficient engines, clever packaging solutions and trick technology like the Insignia's Front Camera System that recognizes road signs.

Porsche has won the Transsyberia Rally that runs 4,400 miles across Russia, Siberia and Mongolia three times in a row using only slightly modified versions of its Cayenne S. Not only that, it swept the podium in 2007 and took the top six places in this year's rally that ended just a few weeks ago. In celebration of these achievements, the German sportscar and erstwhile SUV maker is offering a special edition Cayenne called the Cayenne S Transsyberia. Scheduled to debut at the Paris Motor Show next month, the Cayenne S Transsyberia features the 405-hp direct-inject 4.8L V8 from the Cayenne GTS mated to Porsche's six-speed automatic transmission with a final drive ratio shortened 15% to 4.1:1. That scoots the big ute to 60 mph 6.1 seconds, half a sec quicker than a stock Cayenne S.

What really sets the Cayenne S Transsyberia apart, however, are its exterior color combinations, which include Black/Orange, Crystal Silver Metallic/Orange, Black/Meteor Grey and Meteor Grey Metallic/Crystal Silver Metallic. These contrasting color combos are coordinated with the 18-inch wheels, rear spoiler, skid plates, and air intake slats. The large "Cayenne S Transsyberia" model designation graphic that runs across the doors and the roof-mounted light bar are also both no-cost options but really make the package what it is. The interior is adorned with ornamental trim and the exterior color combo is carried through, and there's also a twelve o'clock mark on the steering as an homage to this truck's motorsports connection.

Porsche says deliveries will start in Europe in January 2009, while 600 units of the Cayenne S Transsyberia are slated for North American consumption.

Car buyers here in the States are clamoring for fuel efficient transportation, but so far the Saturn Astra hasn't been on the top of buyers lists. The Astra is a smash hit in Europe and we liked it during its short stay in the Autoblog Garage, but it may just be too expensive compared to the competition with a starting price of $16,495. General Motors isn't keeping the price high to make a profit on the small volume import, either. GM vice chairman and quote master Bob Lutz told Automotive News that the Belgian-made Astra isn't profitable in the U.S. at all anymore due to the weak value of the Dollar vs. the Euro. The Astra has gone up in price by $500 since its introduction to reflect the broadening gap between the two currencies, and the price hike was implemented only to lessen the hit from the currency exchange. The Astra is not just a financial burden for the General – it isn't exactly a sales success, either. GM has sold only 7,914 so far this year, which is far below the projected pace of 25,000 annual units. Part of the problem is that few people actually know the Astra exists, and those who do may not want to pay the relatively high price of entry. If you've driven or own an Astra, let us know what you think of it in the comments.

Reader Joe Donaldson was out taking photos over the weekend when he happened upon a more-interesting-than-normal Dodge Caravan parked outside a Best Buy. While we generally find the terms "interesting" and "Dodge Caravan" to be mutually exclusive, we'll grant an exception here, because what Don stumbled upon was none other than a Caravan R/T sporting manufacturer tags. Is it the very same Caravan R/T that we saw in Detroit back in January? Who knows, but from the looks of things, it's identically equipped, with the hood scoop, darkened grille area, big wheels, Brembos, dual exhaust, and the requisite badging. We're not particularly big on minivans, but we thought that the Caravan R/T show car was pretty cool, and seeing it in the wild does nothing to change that opinion. Hey Chrysler, Dad might not feel as lame driving around in one of these boxes if you were to, you know, actually offer this.

Who doesn't get the Jeep J8? Um, that would be the United States, Home of Jeep. Hardly seems fair... considering that pretty much every other country in the world gets a crack at the ultra-Wrangler, which comes equipped with a 2.8-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel with 158-horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque mated to a five-speed automatic transmission. Memo to Chrysler: The Wranger is screaming out for a small displacement diesel engine. No? Fine. We can understand the fact that this engine isn't certified for sale in the States and it would be expensive to make happen. At least the Pentastar brand could offer the J8's nearly 3,000-pound payload capacity via rear leaf springs and reinforced frame in its home market. Still no dice? Could we at least get the pickup bed as an option on the Unlimited chassis? Not likely, would be our best guess. Oh well, we can wish.

EPA mileage estimates can be such fuzzy things when you're dealing with hybrid powertrains. We've seen plenty of contention already about real-world results versus EPA numbers for current hybrids, and Chevrolet's upcoming Volt has GM butting heads with the Feds over how the series hybrid eFlex powertrain should be rated. Because the Volt can cover about 40 miles before it needs to fire its range-extending internal combustion engine, it can breeze through the EPA's test cycle with the engine off for 85 percent of the time. With the engine running so little, the Volt could earn an EPA rating above 100 mpg, but the agency is not comfortable with that and wants to change the test for the Volt.

GM argues that altering the test in the way the EPA proposes -- requiring the Volt finish the test with batteries near full charge -- is unfair and won't reflect reality. Moreover, in everyday commuting, the Volt will be an electric car for its first 40 miles, not ever even firing its engine for drivers with commutes short enough or recharging ability at work. The EPA's motivation is to come up with a meaningful mileage rating for the Volt, which will ace the current test. If the Volt gets a rating that is artificially low because the EPA can't figure out a test that correlates to reality, it could also hurt the Volt's case with consumers looking at the $40,000 price tag next to numbers barely better than what a diesel or parallel hybrid can earn.

What's another $25 billion between friends? That's the argument General Motors, Chrysler and Ford's Congressional lobbyists will be making in the next few months for a $50 billion loan from the federal government.

Originally, Detroit's Big Three were after $25 billion in loans from the Feds, but after lawmakers authorized a loan in last year's energy bill, the domestics now want Congress to grant loans up to $50 billion over the next three years.

The loans would carry an interest rate of around four to five percent, with $25 billion being available in the first year, another $15 billion in the second year and the final $10 billion in the third.

GM, Ford and Chrysler contend that the low-interest loans would be used to build more fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids and electrics, thus reducing the U.S.'s dependency on foreign oil, not to mention making all three automakers more competitive in a market that no longer favors big trucks and SUVs.

Mark Fields, Ford's President of the Americas, likens the bailout loan to the recent financial support granted to Bears Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the Feds, saying, "This is not about benefiting Wall Street. This is benefiting Main Street, the working men and women."

Tragedy struck the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah last week when 47-year-old Cliff Gullett, of Team Bullet Costella-Gullett Racing, lost control of his bike at nearly 240 mph. Gullett, an experienced racer who held nearly a dozen land speed records on motorcycles, was competing in the 500cc class (two-stroke, two-cylinder) riding the Costella-Gullett Motorcycle Streamliner. He crashed after completing his return run -- the record is pending ratification by the governing racing bodies. A memorial service will be held next Saturday in his hometown of Bozeman, Montana. Our condolences are extended to the entire Gullett family including his wife, son, and daughter.