MotorMediaWatch October 1: Honda Hybrid Will Take On Prius +++ GM to cut contract workers +++ Toyota develops new rear window airbag +++ Porsche Panamera Spy Shots

Paris Motor Show Preview: Concept Cars
It’s time for the Paris Motor Show — it’s been the event that kicks off the auto show season and gets the automotive rumor mill grinding from China to Detroit. (LAT)+++

Coolest TV car stars
Though KITT may be the most recognizable name and grill from TV’s recent past, he’s not alone. They may not ever grab the cover of Rolling Stone or TV Guide, but these TV star cars have charisma to spare.(LAT)+++Selecting a High-Performance Sedan
This week, Jonathan Welsh answers questions on finding a high-performance sedan to replace an aging BMW M5, the future of Subaru engines, will Infiniti bring back its Q sedan and hanging on to a Ford Explorer.(WSJ)+++

New Questions on Booster Seats
Comprehensive tests on booster seats found that some don’t do enough to protect children in a crash and could even contribute to internal injuries.(WSJ)+++

Enterprise Plans Car-Sharing Push
Enterprise Rent-A-Car plans to launch its car-sharing unit, WeCar, at several partner businesses around the country.(WSJ)+++

Honda’s Hybrid Will Take On Prius
Honda may pose the most formidable threat to Toyota’s dominance in the hybrid market when it unveils its Insight model in Paris this week.(WSJ)+++

Car Suppliers Feel Sting of Slowdown
Until signs emerge that consumers are spending again, and that banks are lending, auto-parts suppliers will be stuck in the same pileup that is hurting their customers.(WSJ)+++

Bush signs spending bill, including $25B for automakers
WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush today signed a sprawling, $630-billion-plus stopgap spending bill that will keep the government running for the next 12 months and, among other things, provide automakers with $25 billion in taxpayer-subsidized loans.(DFP)+++

GM to cut contract workers
General Motors Corp. says it has notified several employment agencies that it intends to cut contract jobs as it continues to shrink its work force to match lower U.S. sales.(DFP)+++

GM suspends stock purchases in employee plans
General Motors Corp. said today it has suspended employee stock purchases through two 401(k) programs because workers have bought all the available shares.(DFP)+++

September auto sales won’t be healthy
With the distracting collapse of powerful Wall Street institutions this month — the latest crisis in a growing economic calamity that has ensnared the housing, credit and energy markets — it’s safe to say that consumers weren’t much in the mood to buy a new car or truck in September.(DFP)+++

Investors’ worst fears come to pass
NEW YORK — Stocks plunged Monday, with the Dow industrials plummeting 777.68 points — their worst point drop on record — as the U.S. House voted down the government’s $700-billion financial bailout package. (DFP)+++

Auto news in brief: Opie to exit Delphi board
John Opie, a member of Delphi Corp.’s board of directors, plans to retire from the supplier’s corporate board today, Delphi said in a securities filing Monday. (DFP)+++

BMW Concept X1 arrives early on web
If the BMW X3 isn’t ugly or space-inefficient enough for you, here’s the Concept X1, which is a lightly veiled version of the production soft ute you’ll see in BMW dealers shortly. (AUTOBLOG)+++

Spy Shots: Porsche Panamera suddenly not so bad
We know when it happened, we just don’t know why it happened. Autoblog reader Joshua Silverman sent in some cellphone pictures of a Panamera he drove by in Denver, Colorado.(AUTOBLOG)+++

Ford reminds world that it didn’t “willfully” violate wiper patent
Engineer Bob Kearns had been granted a patent for a design of intermittent windshield wipers in 1967, two years before Ford introduced them in production.(AUTOBLOG)+++

Enthusiast designs four-door Ferrari PanaQuattroMeraPorte
Since everyone else is getting in on the four-door supercar game, Ferrari might as well give one of its cars the taffy pull treatment.(AUTOBLOG)+++

Toyota develops new rear window airbag for small cars
Safety technology has improved by leaps and bounds over the last few decades, and just about every automaker now knows how to score a five star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (AUTOBLOG)+++