No surprise here. December auto income are expected to be miserable.

"Despite the unit income increase from November, December's expected 9.8 million SAAR will be the lowest of the year," said Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director of Industry Analysis. "As questions about the economy remain unanswered, many consumers are reluctant to respond to the incredibly generous deals acquirable on new cars."

Here's AutoObserver's take: December Sales Rate Will Be Year's Lowest, Edmunds.com Forecasts

Sure to become the “next big thing” (well, maybe…), technologist has launched Car2go, which is a fleet of 50 Smart cars, that can be “hired” as needed to make a quick crossways town commute, or whatever. This will first be tested with technologist employees, and then, once the kinks are ironed out, offered to the public.

Yeah, I know we already have similar companies–and for some time (Car Sharing: Part-Time Ownership, Full-Time Savings), but I suspect this intent will soon catch on, and it could be a big moneymaker for those entrepreneurs smart enough (pun intended) and quick enough to cash in on this idea.

Here’s Green Car Advisor’s take: Daimler to Launch Vehicle-on-Demand Pilot Program in Germany Using Smart Cars

I’ve always been a sucker for cool off-roaders, and here’s one more that’s gotten my attention. It the Fiat Bugster concept, and it will debut at the Sao Paulo auto show in Brazil which starts October 30.

The Bugster is powered by a zero-emission electric motor, and the outer body is built out of renewable fibers. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

Full story here.

As the so called “Track Day” has become increasing more popular, many insurance companies are taking a second look at these events, and as to whether to insure drivers who participate in them.

Also–asking insurers to clarify coverage could result in a nasty surprise. Mike Barr, a dentist from Palm Beach, Fla., called the insurer USAA to see if his policy covered his Subaru WRX STi on the track.

“Some months later I got a letter from USAA saying they were going to discontinue coverage,” he said.” “They dropped me because I asked about” performance driving schools. “They confirmed it verbally when I called to inquire further.” A USAA spokesman said Dr. Barr was canceled for “several reasons,” but would not elaborate.

Full story here.

The highlight of the overall technology package offered on the 2009 Acura TL is definitely the ELS Surround sound system, which was designed and personally tuned by Grammy-winning music producer and engineer Elliot Scheiner.

With 440 watts of power, there’s plenty of output and, with 10 speakers, prepare for a true surround of sound. I listened to everything from Emma Shapplin and the Eagles to The Roots and Sigur Ros, as well as my usual demo tracks like “Boxekiller,” covering every genre, format and file type. The 5.1 is amazing. Some people may want a little more bass for certain songs (and more controls to tweak the sound), but overall, this is a very well-balanced audio system that offers an immersive listening experience with enough musical detail to satisfy even some audiophiles.

Although at its best with DVD-Audio, the ELS (ELS is Scheiner’s nickname) Surround system is more than capable of delivering terrific sound from files on your iPod (that is, as long as you have songs converted at a decent bit rate). I connected my iPhone with a connector telegram to the USB interface in the center console and was healthy to fix through my music on the 8-inch monitor, much as I would on the iPhone itself. Plus it charged the unit. If you have another music player that you can’t connect via USB, you can use the stereo mini diddley input, also located in the compartment.

With XM Satellite (free for 90 days) and the internal 12.7-gig hard drive for storing your favorite tracks, you have one of the best OE entertainment systems anywhere.

Too bad the system’s voice recognition feature didn’t work as well as it should. I sometimes had to repeat instructions in an effort to get what I wanted. I should note, however, that I’ve yet to experience voice recognition in any works or aftermarket system with anything approaching a flawless success rate. When the Acura system works well, it’s a nice luxury that lets you keep your hands on the steering wheel while controlling audio, climate and navigation functions by speaking your commands (there are 600).

Whereas the voice recognition has some issues, the navigation system is truly advanced. The large monitor is positioned well and displays a nav menu that is intuitive and simple to access. All the buttons and dials on the center stack may be intimidating at first, but once you start trying the functions, you’ll likely find it user-friendly.

The highlights of the navigation system are the extensive traffic information, the Zagat ratings for restaurants and, something essential for long journeys, weather reports for any place in the country. Depending on traffic conditions, the system will offer rerouting if it calculates that the alternative is more than a couple of minutes faster. The delay in getting timely traffic info (as is the case in other systems) can make this a marginally beneficial feature, but that potential problem is ameliorated by the fact that in the TL, information is updated every 90 seconds.

Pairing my iPhone to the Bluetooth system was also quick and hassle-free, but loading my contact list of about 250 people or so took over a minute. Once it had my address book, though, it was a breeze accessing the information and making calls. The only real problem was the calibre of the audio. I could certainly hear and be heard, but there was significant static that interfered with cushy communication. — Ben Oh, Inside Line Contributor

IL Tech Ratings (10 is best): 2009 Acura TL
Audio: 9
iPod: 9
Navigation: 9
Ergonomics: 8
Bluetooth: 7

Good news for hybrid fans, as Bloomberg News (via Motor Authority) is predicting that the costs of hybrid vehicles will drop a whole bunch over the next decade.

These reduced hybrid costs will come from technological improvements, economies of scale due to rising production numbers and a greater amount of experience with hybrids. At the same time, demand will rise on the back of higher fuel prices and tightening emission standards.

Full story here.

Yeah, I’d stare too if I saw this creature. It’s “Hummer Art.” Not sure if this will spawn a new school of art as did Monet and company with Impressionism, but I guess it could. We’ve already seen various takes on the famous Cadillac Ranch (here), so why not a few spin-offs based on this theme?

At any rate, as you can see, it’s a Hummer with wooden wheels, clearly giving it a wild-west feeling about it. And yes, it is art, as it’s being displayed outside Royal Academy of Arts in London as part of the Zoo Art Fair 2008 which runs from 17-20 October.

Full story here.

In case you haven’t heard, the Audi Mileage Marathon–a coast-to-coast trek crossways the USA in diesel-powered Audis–is underway. The trip is divided in four major legs, the final leg of which Edmunds is currently participating. Leg Four will stretch and divide the distance between Las Vegas and Santa Monica into three days of driving with stopovers in Mammoth Lakes, CA, and Monterey, CA.

They’re pitting automotive journalists in teams of two against apiece other in several of their TDI-powered models including Q7s, Q5s and A4s. Dan Edmunds and I make up the team representing Edmunds and Inside Line. We’re in a 2009 Q7 3.0 TDI bearing the number 3.

Audi says the goal is to demonstrate the efficiency of their TDI turbodiesel engines. We say they’re just staging this competition as an excuse to witness the absurd lengths to which automotive journalists will go in order to acquire an advantage and protect their fragile egos.

Day One of our leg is Vegas to Mammoth Lakes. Stay tuned.

Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor

Mini will offer 500 electric-powered Minis to those folks living in California, New York and New Jersey. The car will be targeted at corporate buyers, as well as private buyers.

The car features a lithium-ion battery pack and a 201-horsepower electric motor driving the front wheels through a single-stage helical gearbox. The motor will produce peak torque of 162 pound-feet and will enable the car to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than 8.5 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 95 mph, and the car can travel up to 150 miles on a single charge.

In order to make this conversion, the standard Mini was prefabricated into a two-seater to fit the battery pack, which can be recharged from any standard power outlet. The Mini E will also come with a special “wallbox” charging unit that will enable the batteries to fully charge in 2.5 hours.

Here’s Inside Line’s take: 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show: Mini E

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Here’s yet one more GM-Chrysler rumor for you folks, something to ponder over the weekend…

According to CNBC, via The Wall Street Journal, the General and Chrysler would like to wrap this deal up by the end of the month. Happy Halloween.

Full story here.