A dispute has erupted between the US Treasury and a Troubled Asset Relief Program auditor who issued a report criticizing ‘excessive’ executive pay for General Motors executives while the company was receiving bailout funding.

TARP special inspector general Christy Romero issued a report that claims the Treasury department “significantly loosened executive pay limits resulting in excessive pay for the top 25 [GM and Ally Financial] executives.”

As the automaker’s leadership allegedly received growing rewards, “taxpayers were suffering billions of dollars of losses,” Romero added.

The Treasury has denied the allegations, arguing that the report included many “inaccuracies and omissions.” The department claims pay for top executives was restricted while the companies were receiving bailout funds, with compensation limits balanced against repayment considerations, according to a statement provided to Reuters.

The federal government earlier this year confirmed that taxpayers lost $11.2 billion on the GM bailout, approximately $1 billion more than the forecasted loss. The struggling automaker received approximately $50 billion in 2009, with the US government taking majority ownership after bankruptcy reorganization.

Lincoln’s high-profile ad campaign featuring Matthew McConaughey has been spoofed by Conan O’Brien and Ellen DeGeneres.

Both comedians have created parody videos of a Lincoln MKC ad featuring McConaughey’s introspective dialogue as he stops for a bull that is standing in the road staring back at him.

O’Brien chose to replace the actor’s internal dialogue with several of his lines from the HBO series True Detective.

Ellen took a different approach, inserting herself into the video as a backseat passenger. She munches on marijuana brownies and provides her own dialogue in the scene.

The spoof ads have already tallied more than a million views on YouTube.

Tesla Motors has already confirmed that it will build its Gigafactory in Nevada, but that hasn’t stopped California legislators from continuing to court the company for a second factory.

The automaker had previously noted plans to begin construction at two or more sites in different states, enabling operations to be kept on schedule if the first-choice location encounters any unexpected delays or legal red tape. CEO Elon Musk also envisioned a need for ‘lots of’ Gigafactories to meet battery demand in the long term.

“California offers tremendous advantages to businesses, including our diverse, highly-educated workforce, a high quality of life and an array of renewable energy resources and consumer incentives found nowhere else in the United States, making California well-suited for Tesla Motors next Gigafactory,” the state’s congressional delegation wrote in an open letter spotted by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

The Golden State was omitted from the first list of potential locations, likely due to high development costs and, more importantly, a complex web of environmental regulations that are known to delay projects.

State legislators had been working on a bill that included a wide range of tax incentives and exemptions from certain permitting requirements. Both proposals were met with resistance, however, and the legislation has not yet been voted into law.

Following the official selection of a site outside Reno, Tesla has remained quiet on plans to build at a second location.

National Electric Vehicle Sweden (Nevs AB), the holding company that acquired the assets of Saab Automobile in 2012, announced Wednesday that it will reduce its workforce by as many as 200 employees before the end of September.

2014 has been a tumultuous year for the revived Swedish nameplate. Production of the Saab 9-3 Aero was halted in May due to financial shortfalls. The severed staff are production-line workers who have been on stand-down since.

They were retained in anticipation of re-starting production, but that decision to do so has been in limbo since Nevs filed for bankruptcy protection in August. Absent a binding agreement regarding ownership structure and collaboration, production will remain on hiatus indefinitely, rendering those employees redundant.

Bankruptcy administrators will present a reorganization plan to Nevs’ creditors on October 8th.

Nissan is reportedly readying its next-generation GT-R with a hybrid powertrain that will borrow tech from the company’s upcoming Le Mans race car.

The street-legal flagship is expected to carry over the current twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 engine, but retuned for around 650 horsepower.

An electric motor will add another 134 ponies, producing a grand total of 784 horsepower, while combined torque is expected to reach approximately 737 lb-ft, unnamed sources have told Motor Trend.

The additional power is said to require a tougher gearbox, likely an eight-speed unit to replace the current six-speed transmission.

Responding to criticism that the GT-R’s aesthetic appearance doesn’t live up to the performance within, designers are believed to be embracing a bolder form inspired by the 2020 Vision Gran Turismo concept.

Nissan may unveil its next-gen GT-R concept as early as 2015 at the Tokyo Motor Show, with production potentially beginning in 2018.