At this coming week's 2010 North American International Auto Show, automakers are expected to try to put the dismal past year behind them and move on to whatever futures await.

Two of the U.S. auto industry's largest and oldest players, GM and Chrysler, tumbled into bankruptcy last year and required a handout from from the federal government to save them from liquidation. Was it worth it? Investors, analysts, and car enthusiasts will be looking for answers this week.

With so many people rushing out to take advantage of the "cash for clunkers" program, American auto maker Ford Motor (NYSE: F) has announced that it will be significantly boosting fourth quarter production.

There has been a lot of debate over whether or not the "cash for clunkers" program is good for the economy, but there is little debate as to its popularity. The program offers up to a $4,500 incentive for people exchanging their old gas guzzlers in for newer, more fuel efficient vehicles, and has been much more popular than anyone could have imagined.

The beginning of the year is a time to look forward and to look back. To help put things in perspective, here are some highlights from BloggingStocks one year ago, January 4, 2008:

• Jobless rate reaches 5%, is a recession imminent?
• Ford's Sync is a hit -- the new Focus, not so much
• Sirius gets more subscribers, but no merger
• General Motors turning 100 in a precarious position
• Gold stocks set new highs as gold continues to climb
• Is oil headed to $150 or $55?
• Boeing's orders soar to record 1,413 in 2007
• FINRA investigates sales of mortgage securities
• Passion prevailed in Iowa caucuses
• The Fed's quandary: Stimulate economy, but not inflation
• Ford shares sink as Toyota takes U.S. number-two spot
• Google must maintain laser focus on search throughout 2008
• Unemployment hits 5%, and the Dow nosedives 256 points
• Britney Spears hospitalization sends Starbucks shares tumbling

Sometimes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. See these recent Bloggingstocks posts:

• A new case for higher unemployment
• Ford struggles to see light at end of the tunnel
• Sirius XM shareholders OK reverse stock split -- it's not going to help
• Quiz: Which commodity just hit a 23-year high?
• Can Barack Obama save the car industry?
• For U.S., deflation remains the greater risk
• Google to employees: No $20,000 bonuses this year

Sometimes it takes a sledgehammer to the head to get a company to change direction.

Fuel costs are soaring, profits are dwindling and companies are desperate. Yet, nimble as they would like to be, U.S. auto manufacturers have been unable to provide any significant benefit to consumers in terms of meaningful fuel efficiency. Up until last year, SUV sales were still the dominant component of sales for the Big 3. It wasn't until the pain of a significant drop in SUV sales was realized and reports showed U.S. auto sales to be the lowest since 1993 that our old friend Mr. Hammer was able to wake up a sleeping (or it it dying?) U.S. auto industry.

Now Ford (NYSE: F) is trumpeting a dramatic increase in demand for its economical Ford Focus and boosting output by 30%. But I think the change is too little too late.

The truth is that U.S. vehicle sales are expected to drop by 15 million units in 2008. An increase of 30% of the Ford Focus would still mean a paltry benefit as these lower cost models also have a lower profit margin for Ford. So, as consumers buy more lower margin cars, Ford makes less money.

In the words of one reviewer, "it's hard to hide the disappointment" with the new 2008 Focus from Ford Motor (NYSE: F). While the car is "serviceable," it lacks the pizazz of the new compact cars from Honda, Mazda and Volvo. This is particularly annoying since Ford owns Volvo and has a stake in Mazda.

To make matters worse, there is a new Focus made by Ford in Europe which is earning rave reviews. But the American version of the car will not use the more advanced platform of the European model. It's the same old story: American consumers get the boring version of Detroit's global efforts. In this case, they even have to put up with cheesy fake air vents glued to the fender.

The good news is that Ford's new Sync electronics system is getting lots of positive reviews. As our own Brian White noted (Mr. Softy climbs in with Ford), Sync was developed with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and allows drivers to use their MP3 players and cell phones in the car with voice-activated software. The reviewer at The New York Times thinks it's a great system, going so far as to say that it is far better than BMW's iDrive. Our pals at AutoBlog agree, and they claim that Sync is actually helping Ford sell more cars. So even though the car itself may be dull, at least you'll have a cool computer system to keep you from noticing too much.