Click over and get your Sesame Street fix. You know you want to.

click above image for more high-res pics of the 2008 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson

The U.S. Department of Energy yesterday announced eleven cost-shared R&D projects for improved vehicle fuel efficiency worth $21.5 million. You can read the full details on these eleven projects in the DOE's press release after the jump, but here's a synopsis: seven are for better flex-fuel ethanol/gasoline engines and the others are for an "environmentally friendly lubricant additive," advanced combustion engines, and boosting diesel engine efficiency, sometimes using biofuels.

Automotive News just reported that Ford received a total of $931 million for Aston Martin when it sold the British premium GT maker earlier this year. We had previously put the purchase price at $870 million after reducing it from the initial rumor of $965 million. Confused ye

To reduce the number of speed-related accidents and appease the zealous pedestrian council in the Australian state of Victoria, government authorities have blindingly placed a ban on all forced-induction gasoline engines and V8s (or larger), deeming them unsafe for new and inexperienced drivers.

Update: While I stand by my methods, you may want to look at a more updated ranking which just lists a single hybrid as safest in class. I think fair criticisms of this article were 1. not enough cars were ranked and 2. cars while they of course can, there is no universally accepted way to compare them out of class.

The Brazilian minister of Agriculture Reinhold Stephanes is visiting Mexico in order to sign agreements between the two countries that will expand Mexico's ethanol industry. The deal will include technology transfer from Brazil to Mexico and a commercial team-up to expand their export markets, namely the US and the EU.

Ace spy photographer Brenda Priddy is auctioning off a piece of automotive kitsch. Up for grabs in this eBay auction is a piece of camo that came off of a Jaguar XF prototype, which is kind of fun if you're into Jags or just offbeat automobilia. But there's an even better reason to bid - all the money raised will go to charity.