I'm somewhat ashamed to say that every new car I've ever owned has been a Japanese car.  Let's see- Mitsubishi Starion, Nissan 300ZX (80's), Honda Prelude, Nissan 300ZX (90's), Nissan Xterra, Honda S2000, and Toyota Prius.  I've been ashamed because in my experience, US cars have so lagged behind in quality, creature comforts, and digital technology that

Then, Ford announced the Sync platform with Microsoft, bringing digital nirvana to a broad range of cars, causing gaps from the audience when Ford's VP told BillG it will support iPod and Zune (of  course it will and should!). My father used to work for Ford, many many years ago.  I wonder how he took this news (or if he noticed- he still uses cassettes to listen to Pink Floyd in his car - sorry Dad).

Now, over at the "other" show in Detroit, beleagured GM unveiled the Chevy Volt concept car.  Zero to sixty in a respectable 8 seconds, top speed of 120mph, and most importantly, 40 miles on zero gallons (it's pluggable), and 60mpg on a small gas generator that powers not the wheels, but the on-board Li-ion batteries.

Apparently this technology will work it's way into mainstream cars over the next five years.  It's clear to me for the second time, Japan has jolted Detroit out of hibernation (no pun intended).  I'm looking forward to a test drive- you listening Detroit? :)