With oil continuing to spew from a mile-deep hellhole in the Gulf of Mexico, it’s hard to resist seeing it as a sign of the apocalypse -- a crude, black symbol of the need to finally get the country off of oil and onto a cleaner, sustainable alternative.

 

But while weaning cars off gasoline will take decades, not weeks, it’s clear that we need to start somewhere. That includes electric cars and electric-car companies such as Tesla and Fisker -- but as these and other companies seek lifeblood in the form of $25 billion in government loans, I just hope we’re not all being taken for a ride.

 

The dream is tempting for anyone who’s watched the sad decline of the American auto industry. Who wouldn't want to see Tesla someday cranking out squeaky-clean EVs from the California Nummi plant recently abandoned by Toyota and GM? Or Fisker, rolling thousands of groundbreaking Nina vehicles off a new assembly line around 2012, this one a mothballed Saturn plant in Delaware? New EV assembly lines and lithium-ion battery plants for Nissan and General Motors could help make America a leader in EV technology and battery manufacturing, not to mention provide well-paying jobs for Americans who could really use them.

 

After six years and no profit, Tesla Motors still had a pretty cool product to show for it: the all-electric, Lotus-cloned torque monster with a 200-plus mile range and a $100,000 price tag that is the Tesla Roadster. Last week, we told you about a deal with Toyota that was projected to change that whole "no profit" glitch, in which Toyota invests $50 million for an undisclosed share of the company, and Tesla, using a combination of that money and federal government cash, buys Toyota's defunct Nummi plant in California to build its cheap(er) Model S electric sedan.

Turns out, though, that the much-hyped announcement may not be as solid as once thought. In fact, according to regulatory filings, the companies do not have a fleshed-out deal -- merely an agreement to make a deal in the future. And that Toyota stake in Tesla? Toyota would lose that money should Tesla fail to go public, as planned. 

The 2011 Kia Sorento EX V6 now ranks third in the Consumer Reports ratings for small and midsize SUVs.

Having earned an “excellent” overall score of 82 in recent tests, the Sorento trails only the Subaru Forester 2.5XT and the Toyota RAV4 V6. The magazine notes that the Sorento has a very firm ride and that the six-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly.

 

When it comes to comfort, cost of maintenance and repair, fuel economy and performance, those who have always favored 4-wheeled vehicles might just consider a motorcycle or scooter, according to a new study by Consumer Reports National Research Center.

For the above criteria, a majority rated their motorcycle or scooter "excellent" to "very good," and a full 88 percent of respondents said they were "highly satisfied" with their bikes.

Of course, most respondents in the study said that they used their bikes mostly for recreational riding (hence adding fewer miles) -- only 38 percent said they used their bikes for commuting. This, I would think, could have a major psychological effect on how you view a motorcycle or scooter versus a car. I mean, think about it: What are you more likely to view in a favorable light: the vehicle in which you're stuck in traffic, filled with old take-out containers, or the bike that represents freedom from work and responsibility?

Check out Consumer Reports' related video, after the jump. 

You don’t exactly need to have your finger on the pulse of the automotive market to tell that the crossover utility vehicle craze is getting ready to kick into high gear. Tall-riding, inexpensive creations like the Kia Soul are already selling in droves, and other manufacturers have clearly taken notice. Nissan is out to prove that it hasn’t been asleep behind its tiny-SUV wheel by bringing the all-new Juke to market next year. The crossover is likely to arrive in the U.S. with either a 117 horsepower 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine or a more powerful 190-horsepower turbocharged 1.6-liter engine.  

 

Enjoy your day off, thank someone who is or was in the armed forces, and take the time to remember those who gave their lives for their country.

That's what we'll be doing, anyway, along with manning the grill and enjoying some cold beverages to ward off the heat.

We'll be up and running again tomorrow. See you then.

 

It's Friday -- and the kick-off to a holiday weekend, no less -- so here's some Friday fun. It's especially appropriate for anyone who, like me, is absolutely dreading the Memorial Day weekend traffic in the parking lot known as Los Angeles.

The concept: What does Los Angeles look like, without all the cars?

The video is short at only 81 seconds, but it's real. L.A.-based filmmaker Ross Ching put together the time-lapse scenes of actual, empty L.A. roads and highways. (And, frankly, 81 seconds without traffic in this city would be a miracle, let alone empty roads.) It's very cool, it's set to Radiohead, and it reminds you how beautiful a city Los Angeles really is, if you could just stop pounding your steering wheel and cursing the other million people on I-5 North. Enjoy.