Link Love From The Car Connection: Obama Waves At Tesla, Hyundai Gets Conceptual, Plus Videos For The Toyota Aygo And Electric Cars

Obama drives by Tesla, via Edmunds

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2020 Hyundai City Car concept by Nicholas Stone

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• Elon gets a drive-by -- President Obama loves electric cars--but apparently not quite enough to get out of his non-EV limo to look at 'em. [Edmunds, h/t John V]
• Meddling kid has mettle -- Who says today's kids are a bunch of slackers? Nicholas Stone just graduated from Detroit's College for Creative Studies, and he's already designed a concept car for Hyundai that uses solar power to produce hydrogen for propulsion and oxygen for Earth's ailing atmosphere. So, what are you doing this weekend? [WorldCarFans]
• Strike a pose -- More political posturing in Washington: two Republican senators are whining about Obama's $5 billion lifeline to auto parts suppliers. We tend to think that if you're going to bail out the industry, you have to bail out the industry. Surely there's something else in D.C. they can find to complain about. [Freep]
• Buffers for buyers -- America's largest dealership chain, AutoNation, has nabbed a page from Hyundai's playbook and is taking it one step further: if you lose your job, they'll pay your note, no matter what model car you bought. The program's only active in southern Florida for the moment, but plans may be in the works to take it nationwide. We just hope you don't have to use it. [KickingTires]
• Electric cars on the fast track -- A start-up called Better Place is hoping to fill U.S. roadways with electric cars really, really fast. Their plan is definitely out-of-the-box, and works like a cell phone contract: you pay for a Better Place vehicle (like your phone), then maintain a monthly contract to cover mileage (like your minutes). It's crazy and ambitious and fascinating, and it's on-track to nab over $1 billion in seed funds. David Pogue had a lengthy interview with project frontman Shai Agassi on CBS News Sunday Morning; you can read the full transcript at the New York Times, or check the video clip (which was edited for time) below. [NYTimes, CBSnews]

• Adwatch Friday -- Marketing firm Zeitguised was hired to build an ad campaign for Toyota’s highly touted European citycar, the Aygo. The three 18-second spots are simultaneously jarring, disturbing, and kinda hot--not unlike the car itself. There's one below; the other two are here and here. [CreativeReview]

Aygo - Concrete from Rokkit

• Monorail! Monorail! -- Finally today, there's news from Detroit that the city is mulling the construction of a high-tech, high-speed, inter-city train service, and officials may enlist the aid of idled auto factories to build the hydrogen-fueled cars. So, in honor of all that, and in lieu of our usual Friday car-themed rock video, here's a musical number that this story brings to mind. Watch it before Rupert Murdoch pulls it. [YouTube]