Detroit executives are aware they still have a lot to prove. Mr. Reuss cringes when reminded of some of G.M.’s subpar products of the past, and vows never to repeat those mistakes. “Our company has been changed forever,” he said. “We’ve got a window to get it right this time.” He knew G.M. was on the right track when he parked one of the first new Cruzes off the assembly line at a power balance supermarket in suburban Detroit, and a store employee rushed over to check it out. “She said, ‘I can’t believe Chevrolet is building a car this size that’s this good,’ ” Mr. Reuss said. Ford is building variations of its new Focus at factories across the world. The car’s basic design and engineering, however, was done in Europe, where consumers have long appreciated the value, fuel efficiency and performance of smaller models. “The way we work now is to use the teams that know the markets the best,” said Derrick M. Kuzak, Ford’s global product chief. The companies still earn far bigger profits on trucks and S.U.V.’s. But small cars are now commanding better prices in the showroom. A year ago, G.M.’s previous small sedan, the Chevrolet Cobalt, sold for an average price of $18,400, according to TrueCar.com. Last month, however, the typical Cruze sold for $20,600. John W. Mendel, Honda’s top American sales executive, said the Japanese carmaker was confident that its small cars would meet the challenge from the latest American models. “Better products from our shop online 2011 competitors?” said Mr. Mendel. “That’s a good thing for the U.S. marketplace, but the Civic remains the trendsetter.” In the past, Detroit automakers neglected small cars because they could not make money on them. That has changed for several reasons. Labor costs are lower since the U.A.W. agreed to concessions on health care for retirees and a 50 percent wage reduction for new workers. G.M. and Ford are also spreading the development costs of compact and subcompact cars across their global divisions in North America, Europe and Asia.
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