There are some eco-friendly cars emerging from the 2007 Detroit Auto Show. So why are big trucks still stealing the spotlight?

Wars rage in the Middle East. Gas prices are astronomical. There's a hole in the Alaskan pipeline, and another in the ozone layer. So is now the time to cultivate the youngest generation of SUV-lovers? McDonald's thinks so. Pick up any Hummer Happy Meal and inside you'll find a tiny replica of the gas-guzzling giant.

"This marketing ploy says more about how desperate General Motors has become than anything else," said National Resources Defense Council spokesman Jon Coifman. "Management in Detroit ignored all the signs and bet the farm on big gas guzzlers. Now sales of the huge SUVs and pickups have tanked. Unfortunately, they've taken thousands of good jobs with them."

At last, it starts to make sense.

I simultaneously understand 1) why there are so few American-made hybrid cars; and 2) why General Motors is suffering major losses.

You may have been perplexed by that “Live Green, Go Yellow” slogan splashed across the TV ads General Motors is running throughout the Olympics. It's part of a new campaign to boost the image