I was off on a little web-surfin’ safari this morning and ran across a story in The Los Angeles Times that says Angelenos are abandoning mass transit and crankin’ up their little deuce coupes again, now that gasoline prices have plummeted to $2.30 per gallon. Good news, Detroit: You won’t be needing that bailout after all. SUVs for everyone! She’s real fine, my 409 . . . .

In other auto news, failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney — whose dad ran American Motors in the good ol’ Rambler days and then became governor of Michigan — took a giant dump on Motor City in The New York Times the other day, and The Detroit Free Press called him on it. It’s a pretty interesting read for those of us who haven’t paid much attention to the U.S. auto industry of late. Meanwhile, here’s some number-crunching from The Detroit News regarding the industry’s employment effects beyond Motown.

And in DeeCee, House Donks have voted to replace auto-industry pal John Dingell of Michigan as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee with Henry Waxman of California. Steve Benen calls this “a very encouraging development” that will make a meaningful energy bill more likely.

As in record temperature, I suspect. It was 75 when I wrapped up my lunchtime ride into the Air Force Academy and back, accompanied by a couple hundred of my closest friends. Seemed like everyone with a bike and a good excuse for riding same was doing so. Damn, it was nice. But dry, dry, dry, as in drier than a popcorn fart.

The creek is mostly not there anymore, and the trail is powdery, which makes traction iffy if you’re running a bald set of Michelin Jets on the old ‘cross bike and trying to slalom around ragged formations of tuned-out iPlodders taking their half of the trail out of the middle.

Back home, I laid a quick eye on the VN.com website to see if anything needed doing (it didn’t) and set about watering the lawn. Watering the lawn. In November. That’s just wrong.

Meanwhile, from the We’re All Hopelessly Fucked Department, we’re facing an economic collapse sometime this century, perhaps as soon as 2020, and we’re too stupid to watch movies. There’s some news you can use. A tip of the Mad Dog Kevlar helmet to Steve F. and Khal S. for the tips.

Late update: Meanwhile, as long as we’re on the subject of movies and stupidity, indulge your inner geek with the new “Star Trek” trailer.