Time was when hybrid gas-electric vehicles appealed only to the greenest car consumers more concerned about saving the environment than saving on gasoline bills. Gas prices hitting $4 a gallon have changed all that.
With the largest collection of design studios backed by the world’s largest automobile manufacturers, Southern California has been seen as the undisputed hub of automobile design for decades. But your next Ford or Chrysler could be designed in Europe, or China.
When New York private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management agreed last May to buy a controlling interest in DaimlerChrylser’s struggling Chrysler Group for $7.4 billion there was a whiff of optimism about the deal.