This Podcast Will Poke Your Auto Enthusiasm and Tweet Your Funny Bone But Not Hack Your Intelligence

After saving the U.S. auto industry and hammering out a new CAFE deal, auto czar Rob Bloom is leaving the Obama administration.

That is probably not a terrible thing because confidence in the auto industry is high and most analysts see sales holding steady despite the stock market drops.

GM is benefiting from that positive sentiment, and from it's trip through bankruptcy, and posted great profits last week. That doesn't mean the General isn't working to slim down the number of platforms it uses.

V8 engines are old school.

Engines are also important, as Ford is learning that with its F-150. The new V6 models are outselling V8s for the first time in a long time.

The Nissan GT-R has an awesome V6 engine, and one lucky bidder scored a used one on eBay for a good price. Too good for the dealer which initially decided not to honor the deal. But after being shamed they reversed that position.

Facebook was probably used in that shaming, and now Nissan is looking to the future and replacing its phone operators with Facebook operators. Toyota is trying out Twitter to tease it's new Camry.

Crowdsourcing has great potential, and BMW is leveraging apps and drivers to generate a list of Ultimate Drives.

Smartphones are great for that, and apparently for hacking. Some clever guys figured out how to open and start a Subaru Outback. This is something that the DOT is concerned about, especially as cars start to talk to each other so they are developing standards to prevent hacking.

Many hackers move on to be valued members of society, especially in Silicon Valley, and the current tech bubble has many clever folks looking for luxury cars.

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Where Is the Car Czar to Convert This Podcast to a Plug-in Hybrid?

The vacant role of auto czar got axed by the federal government in last week's budget deal that kept the government running. That means the TARP administrators will be watching over tax payers' investment in GM and Chrysler.

But Chrysler is doing much better, so much so that Fiat raised its stake to 30% after several performance indicators were reached.

Not David, not Mathew, Not driving

Performance isn't a big part of the push to hybrids and plug-in electrics, but there are cost savings. One start-up -- ALTe Powertrain Technologies -- is developing a plug-in powertrain that can be used to replace gasoline and diesel motors in trucks.

One issue with electric vehicles is the need to have a special, more powerful source to charge them. Leviton has developed a new portable charger that can take a regular electrical socket and make it more powerful.

That might not help some Nissan Leaf owners who are complaining that their cars won't start -- or is it turn on?

Mercedes has always been a technological leader and Mathew was blown away by these five innovations from the German luxury car maker.

Hot Wheels has been ramping up its marketing machine lately and will attempt the world's longest jump at the Indy 500 in May.

Finally, check out Rookies to Racers, a reality show on Discovery and Science channels for some interesting racing.

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