Making new cars

Monday, July 28, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

Few sectors of the American economy have taken harder financial hits lately than the domestic automobile industry, which has itself to blame for many of its problems. But two developments announced last week, one involving General Motors and the other centered on Ford, are positive.

USA Today reported that General Motors has forged a partnership with more than 30 utilities nationwide in advance of company plans to sell a rechargeable electric car in 2010 to be called the Chevrolet Volt. The car will be pricey, costing at least $30,000 and prompting the company to consider seeking tax incentives for buyers.

The intriguing aspect of the announcement, though, is General Motors’ willingness to work with the utilities to iron out the many electricity issues that must be resolved before the Volt goes on sale.

Because the car will be able to travel only about 40 miles on battery power alone — with additional mileage possible with help from a small engine — it will need to be frequently recharged. The challenge for the automaker and the utilities will be to figure out how to make the recharging convenient for drivers without putting an unnecessary strain on the nation’s electric power grids.

But the partnership alone signals a positive step toward decreasing our dependence on foreign crude.

Ford came to the wise conclusion that it must concentrate more on smaller cars and more fuel-efficient engines. The New York Times reported the company plans to build these vehicles at plants that had produced trucks.

The conversion could help Ford regain some of the domestic market share gobbled up over the past several years by the likes of Toyota and Honda.

Taken together, the emphases on electric-powered technology and small cars represent the type of progressive thinking Detroit’s automakers need in response to high gasoline prices. Though we would like to have seen General Motors and Ford come to these conclusions much earlier than they did, the fact that they have begun to alter their strategies is good news for this country.