It's Not Distracting to Text While Podcasting

The government put $50 billion into General Motors, to get its investment back share would have to be sold for more than $133 a share in the initial public offering. But David argues that it's a long-term investment in GM and not to be too concerned about getting our money back right away.

Automotive X-Prize

Meanwhile, China wants to leap ahead in the electric-vehicle race, but to do so it may force foreign companies to give up their technology to get access to its market.

Hertz is promising to step up its electric-vehicle efforts, not just offering cars but also helping build out the infrastructure needed to support them.

The company probably won't be renting any of the designs that came out of the Automotive X-Prize. The three designs that will split the $10 million are fairly radical and not likely to be in dealers any time soon.

Texting and driving are in the news this week with NHTSA sponsoring an event. But there is still some debate about whether mobile phones actually lead to more accidents than other distractions like food or Kindles.

Finally, big, luxurious sedans from Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Audi and BMW haven't seen sales drop as much as you might expect. And that could be good as Hyundai tries to crack the high-end sedan market with its Equus. But will it be as sexy or as comfortable at the country club as an Audi.

GetThisShowOnTheRoad, Sept 23, 2010.mp3