Lucy, footballs and General Motors

For a long time, General Motors has told us its newest model would drive back the Germans, Japanese and more lately the Koreans.

Those who believed, of course, must feel like Charlie Brown after Lucy yanks away the football.

Now GM is getting its costs under control and basking in praise for its redesigned Cadillac CTS and Chevy Malibu, with some
reviews ranking the redesigns at the top of their classes. Designers are pushing back against bean counters to bring pizzazz
to an improving reliability record.

A couple of decades ago Indiana was practically a GM colony. Waves of factory closings and layoffs have lessened that dependence,
but an army of employees, suppliers and people who serve the suppliers still need the company to succeed.

Will these new models and others start the awaited comeback? If you drive another brand, are the redesigns enough to bring
you into a show room?