Wilmington, DE -- Every January, the North American International Auto Show takes place in Detroit, Michigan. Automakers come from all over the world to display their latest product offerings from tiny Smart Cars and the 2008 Car of the Year (the new Chevrolet Malibu) to the updated Chrysler Town and Country minivan. 

Automakers also unveil to the world a number of “concept” vehicles which may or may not become production models, but they do add a lot of pizzazz to the show.  This year, among the concept vehicles were an all-electric car and a low-emission diesel-hybrid – the Jeep Renegade from Chrysler – and the Chevrolet Volt, a flex-fuel, plug-in hybrid that GM hopes to launch before the end of 2010. 

In recent years, I’ve tried to be in Detroit on the first day of the show, called “media day.”  The show is not open to the public during the first few days, and the automakers use that opportunity to reveal with all of the fanfare of a Las Vegas show their newest models and concept vehicles. For anyone who likes cars, it’s a lot of fun, but there is also a serious undercurrent that flows through the event. This year was no exception.

Ford, Chrysler and GM – Detroit’s Big 3 – have continued to lose money and market share to foreign competitors for the past two decades. With those losses have come plant closures and the elimination of hundreds of thousands of good manufacturing jobs in America. 

Delaware is now the only state along the East Coast between Maine and Florida where the Big 3 still assemble vehicles.  Currently, the Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn Sky are built in the Boxwood Road plant, just outside of Wilmington. Fifteen or so miles down I-95, all of the Dodge Durangos and Chrysler Aspens in the world are assembled. 

The Boxwood Road plant is a three-shift operation. The Sky and Solstice require a lot of time and “touch labor” to assemble. The sale of these popular, sporty roadsters seems to rise and fall with the temperature, so sales have slowed down a bit from last spring, summer and fall. And, GM plans to add a hard-top version of these roadsters to its lineup by the end of this summer.  That introduction, plus exporting the Saturn Sky to Europe and South Korea for sale there should combine to keep the plant viable for the next several years. 

The contract that GM and the UAW negotiated last year, however, calls for eventually moving production of the Solstice and the Sky to GM’s Bowling Green, Kentucky plant where the Corvette is now produced. No follow-on product or products have been designated to succeed the Solstice and Sky here in Wilmington, but it’s still early for such final decisions.

Meanwhile, Chrysler has announced plans to move its one shift of production of the Durango and Aspen to another Chrysler plant in the Midwest after 2009 and to “idle” its Newark plant unless some other model(s) are identified for production there in 2010 and beyond. 

Sales of the Durango have been weakening for more than a year now.  On the other hand, sale of the Aspen continues to increase. Instead of Aspen’s being outsold by an anticipated two-to-one margin by the Durango, Aspen sales have steadily climbed since its launch last year, so much so that Aspen sales now equal those of the Durango and may soon exceed it.

For the past six months or so, workers at the Newark Chrysler plant have also built more that a hundred “pilot” hybrid versions of the Durango and Aspen. The real vehicles go on sale later this summer in dealers’ showrooms across America. This hybrid power train is the one jointly developed by DaimlerChrysler, GM and BMW over the past several years.  It’s already on the road in the Chevy Tahoe and getting excellent reviews and better gas mileage to boot! The folks at Chrysler have their fingers crossed that their new hybrid SUVs will be warmly received by the public, too. 

To encourage that kind of hybrid vehicle production and to reduce our nation’s reliance on foreign oil, along with harmful emissions into our air, Congress enacted legislation that provides for tax credits of as much as $3,400 to Americans who purchase highly fuel efficient hybrids. These tax credits also encourage consumers to purchase other hybrids like the Saturn Aura (2007 Car of the Year) and the Vue, as well as hybrids built by Ford and by other auto manufacturers. The tax credit is good only for the first 60,000 hybrids manufactured by a company and sold in this country.

Beginning next year, when consumers purchase Chrysler vehicles powered by new low-emission, highly efficient diesel engines, they will also be eligible for tax credits similar to the credits that purchasers of hybrids have been eligible for over the last several years.

Late last year, Congress passed and President Bush signed legislation increasing overall fuel efficiency requirements of the fleet of cars, trucks and vans sold in this country from roughly 25mpg today to 35mpg by 2020.  To help Detroit get there – and to reduce our growing dependency on foreign oil – the federal government is now required to make certain that 70 percent of the cars, trucks and vans it purchases both for civilian and military use are advanced technology vehicles – hybrids, plug-in hybrids, low-emission diesels and fuel-cell powered vehicles. 

In addition, Uncle Sam is investing some $100 million this year in research and development funding for new battery technology so that when GM launches its flex-fuel, plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt in 2010, it will outrun our foreign competitors. 

I spent much of last year working with the domestic auto industry and with many of my Senate and House colleagues authoring or supporting legislation that is designed to help restore the strength and vitality of the auto manufacturing industry in America. 

At the auto show in Detroit earlier this month, I met with the leaders of the Big 3 and asked them to give me a legislative to-do list for 2008.  I plan to use it to recruit many of my congressional colleagues in developing an action plan for this New Year that will enable the U.S. to reduce our reliance on foreign oil, as well as reduce harmful emissions into our air, while still ensuring that our nation has a viable automotive manufacturing industry for many years to come.  That won’t be an easy job to do, but it’s among the most important jobs – and challenges – that we face. 

Unless Chrysler and General Motors return to profitability, it’s unlikely that any of the plants marked for closure or idling in the years to come will be spared.  On the other hand, if their market share begins to rebound and they’re looking for a couple of plants with a commitment to quality and productivity and with a track of exceptional labor-management relations, we’ve got two great candidates right here in Delaware. 

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