Look, we know that you belly up to the table wanting a great big heapin’ serving of the most middle-of-the-road, kind of interesting news we can dig up, and we’re sorry to say that this week…well, there wasn’t much that really passed muster. That doesn’t mean we didn’t get anything…just that this time around, you’re getting Scrapple Lite. Hey, the holiday season is fast approaching and you’re gonna raid your kid’s candy stash after Halloween.

1. Run, I dare ya.

The LAPD is back to evaluating the Tesla Model S as a potential police vehicle. Interesting, honestly not a bad choice given California’s call for cleaner vehicles in their fleet. It also adds the upscale look that any true Californian wants in their police vehicles. But in case you’re ready to start writing jokes, remember that even the lowest version of the Model S has a surprising 0-60 time and enough room to hold at least two donut-munching cops and their guns.

2. No flannel, no post-irony, no service.

Meet a new car nameplate and their first product. The company is, seriously, Link & Co., and the SUV you see here is the “01”. It’s manufactured by Geely, the Chinese firm that overlords Volvo, and underneath the bespoke skin is mostly Volvo XC40. That name though…I’m imagining a bunch of trendy twenty-somethings in skinny jeans in the showroom already. Moving on…

3. Certainly optimistic, he is…

“I think he (new Fast and Furious director F. Gary Gray) went into making this movie with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, going ‘Oh, really? OK. Now I’m going to take the biggest saga in the world, and I’m about to throw Oscars at you.’ Wait until you see what he does!” -Vin Diesel, referring to the upcoming Fast 8 movie.

Oscars? No, sorry, not buying that. Not for one moment.

4. Outta Here!

Dodge is uprooting from the Australian market. Considering that the only Dodge product sold is the Journey, is that really a loss? It shouldn’t be, especially when you Aussies get the Chrysler 300 SRT…hell, we don’t even get that one! If anybody is bothered by Dodge leaving Australia at all…yeah, don’t be. A combination of exchange rates and the availability of the penalty box SUV equaled no business case.