The news broke on the BBC’s live broadcast of this morning’s first practice at a humid Sepang International Circuit. At 01:14 PM local time (01:14 AM EST), Chris Whyatt reported:

McLaren sporting director Dave Ryan—who accompanied Lewis Hamilton to the fateful stewards’ meeting in Australia—has been seen leaving the track with packed bags.

At a news conference held later in the day, Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh confirmed the news of New Zealand-born Ryan’s firing, saying he had not been “entirely full and truthful with the answers he gave [to the stewards], so we had not alternative but to suspend him.”

To make an already gloomy week even worse for the house Bruce built, at today’s practice McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton could only manage 9^th and 11th place, respectively, while Ferrari ended the session with a 1–2 of Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa.

The Brawn of Jenson Button came in 6th, followed by teammate Rubens Barrichello.

Practice will continue tomorrow morning, with qualifying to wrap up by 06:30 AM EST. The Malaysian Grand Prix begins on Sunday at 05:00 AM EST with what we hope is more racing and less monkey business.

Update: Brad Spurgeon of the New York Times's Formula One Blog continues his coverage of the mess straight from Malaysia. Conspiracy theorists, ahoy!

Photo Credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images, Clive Mason/Getty Images

After a three-month stint in 2006 as CEO of airplane manufacturer Airbus, Streiff was appointed CEO of the PSA Group in November 2006. Thierry Peugeot, the chairman of PSA’s supervisory board, stated the following:

Given the extraordinary difficulties currently faced by the automotive industry, the supervisory board decided unanimously that a change in the senior leadership position was necessary.

Streiff’s replacement will be Philippe Carin, the CEO of steelmaker Corus.

The Carpocalypse has hit France’s rigid industry—where 10% of the workforce is employed by carmakers—particularly hard: PSA has lost $453 million in the year 2008 and is planning to cut 11,000 jobs this year.

Both PSA and rival Renault will be given an emergency loan of $4 billion by the French state.

Photo Credit: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images, ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Images

Source: BBC

News of Porsche pulling its winning RS Spyder from prototype racing follows the surprising news of Audi's departure from LMP1. Like Porsche, Audi was also incredibly successful in the series. There's no explanation for why either team pulled out of the North American series. The most obvious reason is the Carpocalypse, though it is possible the company is looking to compete in another series.

There's some good news in the wings as ALMS says that GT2 will be joined by another manufacturer in the near future, in addition to the return of Corvette and the debut of BMW. What could be joining the Porsches and Ferraris? Perhaps the Lexus LF-A? We'll just have to wait and see.

[American Le Mans Series, Photo by Gavin Lawrence/Getty Images]

We don't think vandalizing foreign cars or begging for government assistance helps. It screams "we need money to get us to the point where we make cars as good as the imports" when, in reality, American companies are making good vehicles. The vehicles people want. If they had the money to buy them.

American car companies need to get their swagger back. We wonder if the automakers themselves believe they're making good cars. The Fusion Hybrid is going to beat the Camry Hybrid in terms of fuel economy. Go on the attack. The Mercedes Benz BlueZero concept is so advanced it uses a powertrain concept idea borrowed from the Chevy Volt. Germans using American technology. You gotta brag. The same people who brought you The Dude need to get that good ol' 'merican swagger back.

(QOTD is your chance to answer the day's most pressing automotive questions and experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good "Question Of The Day" send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)

[Photo: Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images]

Coming soon, the Chrysler 30 C and Dodge Ave g r.

Apparently, Chrysler will be limited to one "0" per car.

[Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images]

This news follows the failure of the auto industry aid bill and news of other automakers slashing production. General Motors blames the "speed and severity" of the Carpocalypse. The list includes more than a dozen of the company's US plants. The cuts cover a wide range of vehicles, including nearly every truck line in addition to cars like the Chevy Malibu, Saturn Aura, Pontiac G6 and Cadillac CTS.

Full details in the press release below.

GM Announces Significant Production Cuts for Q1 '09

DETROIT - General Motors announced today a significant reduction of planned production for the first quarter of 2009 due to the ongoing and severe drop in industry sales, which were down 36 percent in November overall and 41 percent for GM (2007 vs. 2008). The impact of these and recently announced actions to adjust production with market demand, will result in the temporary idling of approximately 30 percent of GM's North American assembly plant volume during the first quarter of 2009 and will remove approximately 250,000 units from production.

The speed and severity of the U.S. auto market's decline has been unprecedented in recent weeks as consumers reel from the collapse of the financial markets and the resulting lack of credit for vehicle financing.

The following U.S., Canada and Mexico operations impacted by today's announcement include:

U.S.:

* Ft. Wayne (Ind.) - Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Light Duty Regular and Extended Cab
* Flint Assembly (Mich.) - Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Heavy Duty Regular and Crew Cab & Medium Duty
* Wentzville (Mo.) - Chevy Express, GMC Savanna
* Lansing Delta Township (Mich.) - Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook
* Pontiac Assembly (Mich.) - Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Heavy Duty Extended Cab
* Spring Hill (Tenn.) - Chevy Traverse
* Fairfax Assembly (Kan.) - Chevrolet Malibu/Hybrid, Saturn Aura/Hybrid
* Arlington Assembly (Texas) - Full Size SUVs: Chevy Suburban, Tahoe & Tahoe Hybrid, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL & Yukon Hybrid, Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV & Escalade Hybrid
* Lansing Grand River (Mich.) - Cadillac STS & CTS
* Orion (Mich.) - Chevy Malibu, Pontiac G6
* Detroit-Hamtramck (Mich.) - Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS
* Shreveport (La.) - Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon, Hummer H3 & H3T
* Bowling Green (Ky.) - Chevy Corvette, Cadillac XLR
* Wilmington (Del.) - Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, Opel GT

Canada:

* Oshawa Consolidated - Chevy Impala
* Oshawa Truck - Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Light Duty Extended and Crew Cab
* CAMI - Chevy Equinox, Pontiac Torrent

Mexico:

* Silao - Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Light Duty Crew Cab, Chevy Avalanche, Cadillac Escalade EXT
* Ramos 2 - Chevy HHR, Saturn VUE, Chevy Captiva
* San Luis Potosi - Chevy Aveo, Pontiac G3

As a result of these assembly plant actions, GM will also continue to assess its powertrain and stamping capacity needs and make adjustments as appropriate.

[Source GM: Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images]

There's no set age limit for riding go-karts, but you better have kids or be chaperoning someone else's tots if you're going to use the dinky ones at most kid-centric entertainment centers. One night we joined our bored high school friends in a trip out to one such entertainment center we used to haunt as mere middle-schoolers with the hopes of having some great times on the admittedly unchallenging kart track. It started out okay, though the speeds seemed much faster when we were smaller. It was mostly a game of bumper karts when we reached the part of the track not visible to the grumbling attendants. And then she showed up.

Track requirements dictated she must be at least 13, but by her size she looked to be no older than 5. She could barely reach the pedals. Combine the almost complete lack of weight and the luck of her getting the "good kart" and you had a dangerous combination. The lack of weight and fast kart was an advantage but it wasn't the x-factor. This little blond kid was fearless. Forget carefully considered braking patterns or perfect arches. She threw the kart into corners with the reckless abandon of someone not yet aware of what they have to lose. She destroyed us. It was embarrassing. We immediately regretted buying that "all you can drive" pass.

(QOTD is your chance to answer the day's most pressing automotive questions and experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good "Question Of The Day" send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)

[ MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images]

It may be a sweet deal for those wanting to avoid getting a ticket for parking wherever they want but Mark over at Autophiles.ca sees what the Local 415 is up to. Without the parking authority towing cars or writing tickets there could be anarchy in the streets. This is especially true in the days before Christmas as people rush to the stores for last-minute gifts. We're looking forward to seeing the streets littered with parked cars.

[Source: Autophiles.ca, Photo: Bruno Vincent/Getty Images]

Statement by Lee Iacocca, Former Chairman and CEO of Chrysler and Former President of Ford Motor Company, on Auto Industry Loans

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ —

The following statement is from Lee Iacocca, Former Chairman and CEO of Chrysler and Former President of Ford Motor Company:

"Running a multi-billion-dollar automobile company with thousands of employees, retirees, suppliers, dealers and communities counting on you is not for the weak of heart or for the timid or the untried. Especially the untried.

"Having been there, I do not agree with the sentiment now coming out of Congress that the management should be changed as a condition of granting loans to the Detroit automakers. You don't change coaches in the middle of a game, especially when things are so volatile. The industry has been brutalized by a totally unpredictable series of events over which it had little control and that is beating it unmercifully into the ground.

"The companies may not be perfect but the guys who are running them now are the only ones with the experience and the in-depth knowledge and understanding of how the car business really works. They're by far the best shot we have for success. I say give them their marching orders and then let them march. They're the right people to get the job done."

Here's what the AP's reporting this morning on details from over the weekend:

"The plan would draw the emergency aid from an existing loan program meant to help the automakers build fuel-efficient vehicles. The size of the package hasn't been finalized, but it is expected to be about $15 billion, several congressional aides said.

It would create a board composed of Cabinet secretaries from the departments of Treasury, Energy, Labor, Commerce and Transportation plus the Environmental Protection Agency administrator to oversee a broad auto industry restructuring. A congressional aide outlined the emerging measure on condition of anonymity because it is not yet completed."

All we know is Bob "The Builder" Nardelli's been praying since Friday night. We guess we may find out today if his prayers were answered.[via AP]

Photo Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images News

Photo Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images News

We kind of hope the Chrysler Aspen hybrid carrying Bob "The Builder" Nardelli made it. Ford CEO Alan Mulally may have accidentally gone to the Senate Armed Services Committee, so someone should check up on him.

But, according to Wagoner, there's one overwhelming reason why America needs to save their automakers:

"It's very important for the U.S. to have a home team in the global auto industry..."

Photo Credit: Win McNamee / Getty Images News

Loading my Ferrari onto a plane
I thought I might go and drive it in Spain
I need to be there by six
For a date with two chicks
And then I'll come home once again

My Scuderia is fast
My Scuderia is red
It cost many rubles
From drug sales and making competitors dead

I have much more money
Than with which I know what to do
So I make them fly my Ferrari
While I eat caviar fondu

Of economic collapse
I know not a thing
My drug sales are up
I'm Mother Russia's cocaine king

So we fly here for lunch
And I drive up to the bar
I get out of the car
It's really not that bizarre

I meet my two dates
Give each a kiss on the cheek
Then sit down for a dinner
Of grilled snapper and leeks

Then off to an Inn
For a quick threesome romp
Then I bid them до свидания
And race back to the Aeroflot

I fly on back home
To make sure my business stays true
And to keep profits high
and my competitors few

It's good to be the king
Or drug lord in this case
And to have it all
At least until you get shot in the face

Of course, he's talking about drug dealing the day after we do a Clipse Edition COTD...

[Photo: Matt Carmichael/Getty Images]

People get shot, immolated, robbed, drunk and, yesterday morning, arrested at the local service station. Assuming you haven't been fatally wounded while pumping premium, what's the worst thing to happen to you at a gas station?

We have a lot of stories we could go into but one particular election day sticks out in our head this morning. Having taken a job with a doomed campaign we found ourselves in rural Texas celebrating a crushing defeat with tequila. Without a car, and drunk anyways, we'd secured a ride from one of the small handful of sober individuals before the party. Unfortunately, she was a staffer for the Congressman and therefore lost both the election and her job and was pissed as hell. About halfway done a dark highway she pulled her Thunderbird into a locked Chevron station for fuel and to continue her angry cursing. I snuck off in the dark to relieve myself and get some distance from the mad staffer. As the store was closed I had to choose an abandoned corner. No problems but then, in my last pair of dry clothes, I wandered off into what looked like a path but turned out to be a ditch full of cold rainwater. I was tired, dejected, intoxicated, wet and in the midst of a verbal assault. Needless to say, I joined in the cursing.

(QOTD is your chance to answer the day's most pressing automotive questions and experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good "Question Of The Day" send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)

[Photo: MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images]

The biggest factor into how well a cash loan will work with the automakers will be the number of total auto sales in the United States. If an automaker makes the right projections they should be able to figure out how much money they'll need to get them through this downturn. So how did they each do in their projections? Let's take a look and grade them. Here are the sale projections from the three automakers:

Photo Credit: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images News

Thankfully, the pressure is off given their hideous performance in front of House and Senate Committees two weeks ago. It's time to Tuesday-morning QB by putting yourself in the congressional hearing room.

Threatening hasn't worked for GM's image. Chrysler's obfuscation and baseless optimism (look at our imaginary electric car) in the face of bad news hasn't helped them, either. We think Ford's plan is actually a step in the right direction because it suggests change needs to happen and, with the $1 CEO pay, includes a sign of contrition. Unfortunately, it isn't significantly different from what Ford has promised in the past. What the companies need to do is offer a plan for a serious and dramatic restructuring the likes of which Detroit has yet seen. Their future product lineups may be appealing, but the structure that brings them to market is still fundamentally flawed. Whether it is government-led restructuring or some form of supervised merger, these three companies need to face the harsh realities.

(QOTD is your chance to answer the day's most pressing automotive questions and experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good "Question Of The Day" send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)

[Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images]

Apparently, heavy traffic, heavy drinking and even heavier eating combined with long trips and a strong desire to run into oncoming traffic after listening to your cousin explain what it's like in rehab equals instant death. Additionally, the study looked at three- and four-day holidays and while occasions like New Year's Eve can come on any day of the week, Thanksgiving Day always falls over a long-weekend, thus encouraging hitting the roads. The list in order below.

The Most Dangerous Holidays For Drivers

1. Thanksgiving
2. Independence Day
3. Memorial Day
4. Labor Day
5. New Year's Eve
6. Halloween

We think the advice here is to celebrate all of your holidays on Halloween weekend or make everyone come to you.

[Source: Forbes, Photo: Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images]

We're pretty sure it won't be a Volvo and, to be fair, we don't know if Mullally will be driving himself. Our best guess is Mullally will take a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, which allows the company to show off an attractive, fuel-efficient vehicle people may actually want to buy and that supposedly will get 5 MPG more than the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Additionally, it's a lot more comfortable for a long trip than a Fiesta.

Remember, this follows mere hours after GM received more negative attention for trying to shut down public tracking of their leased jets in an attempt to avoid more negative attention. We're not sure how GM or Chrysler will be traveling to D.C., but we're hoping it's in coach.

[Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images, Source: The Crypt]

"We were getting the cooperation that they could give us, but the infrastructure was woefully poor," he said,

As an example, Tata said it took three hours for firefighters to get water to the Taj after a blaze broke out in the oldest part of the building.

"We had people who died being shot through bulletproof vests," he added.

Tata said that not even the army or commandoes who ultimately took over the offensive were prepared for the level of organization and execution that the attackers seemed to have put into their plan.

Though obviously deflecting with his response, Tata did say he believed the country will come together.

[CNN]

Average Gas Prices Per Gallon From Friday
• Detroit, Michigan — $1.76

• Houston, Texas — $1.78

• Atlanta, Georgia — $1.88

• Boston, Massachusetts — $2.01

• Chicago, Illinois — $2.10

• Washington — $2.19

• Los Angeles, California — $2.22

[Source: CNN, Photo: Whitney Curtis /Getty Images]