2009 Model Cars

If necessity really is the mother of invention, then  surely the auto industry is on the verge of an era of blinding brilliance. Times are that bad. In July, when the price of a barrel of oil shot up to US $147, buyers in the United States dumped their gas guzzlers and lined up for that iconic hybrid, the Toyota Prius. And, astonishingly, by year’s end they had bought 25 000 Smart ForTwo cars, two-seaters so small they make the Mini Cooper, with its lavish complement of four seats, look like a land yacht. Then, just six months later, oil prices dropped back down, hitting a low of $37 a barrel. Good for drivers, bad for automakers: Such seesawing makes it impossible for them to plan—as they must—what cars they will be selling in three to five years. Then came the capper to that grisly year—the financial meltdown and the ensuing worldwide recession. It humbled what was left of America’s Detroit Three (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, which barely counts as a bona fide automak...