Wheelies: The Papal Beater Car Edition Pope Francis is the proud owner of a 1984 Renault 4, which an Italian pastor, Renzo Zocca, gave to him on Saturday. Since his election to the papacy earlier this year, the new pope has emphasized humbleness and thriftiness among the Catholic clergy. Having largely eschewed the Mercedes-Benz cars typically used by modern popes for a plebian 5-year-old Ford Focus, he seems to be practicing what he preaches. According to a report from Yahoo Autos, Pastor Zocca donated his 186,000-mile Renault to Pope Francis because it had been used to help the poor in Verona, Italy. The pope didn't seem to have any trouble operating the car when he jumped behind the wheel - he said he had driven one in Argentina that had been very reliable - but the Swiss Guard told reporters that they were a little concerned about what he would do with the car. Yahoo Autos The shuttered General Motors assembly plant in Louisiana that Elio Motors had planned to use to eventually build its 84-m.p.g. 3-wheeled car escaped demolition by its previous owner, Racer Trust, but the start-up automaker still doesn't have a permanent home for its proposed production line. Caddo Parish, the local government, owns the plant now, and although it could decide to tear down the building for scrap at some point, it doesn't have immediate plans to do so. In the meantime, Elio Motors plans to get production moving and occupy a third of the building, according to a report from Green Car Reports. Green Car Reports Steven Rattner, the federal government official who orchestrated General Motors" taxpayer-financed bailout in 2009, defended in a Congressional hearing this week the automaker's decision to pay Delphi Corporation (a G.M. subsidiary) hourly retiree pensions while reducing salaried retiree benefits. Mr. Rattner said that doing otherwise would have angered the United Auto Workers union, which he maintains was a crucial partner in making the bailout work. Delphi had already gone through bankruptcy proceedings by the time G.M. was bailed out, but its financial trouble led to the cancellation 70,000 pension plans worth about $7.2 billion. The government stepped in with $6 billion worth of aid, but the difference meant that something had to give. Salaried pensioners continue to fight the decision in court. Harley-Davidson motorcycles are quintessentially American, but according to a report from The Daily Bhaskar, the manufacturer might try offering a lower-cost model in India. The 40-horsepower 500-cubic-centimeter V-twin-powered motorcycle would be built in India and would cost under $6,500. The Daily Bhaskar