Every so often, I come across an industry where the majority of manufacturers still assemble their products in the United States. It’s always a refreshing breath of fresh air. It also reaffirms what ASSEMBLY has been preaching for many years – despite reports to the contrary in the mainstream media, there’s still a tremendous amount of world-class manufacturing that occurs every day in the USA.

General Motors can be salvaged and resurrected. But, it won’t happen unless the folks in Washington do a couple of simple things that probably should have been done earlier: Take GM private and let manufacturing engineers run the company.

On the one hand, there's the dirty little secret of offshoring-those hidden costs. On the other, there’s the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

It’s been said that by the time something is featured on the cover of a glossy news magazine like “Time” or “Newsweek,” chances are its moment has already passed. I’m beginning to think much the same thing about the online and televised business press with respect to the current economic crisis.

During a presentation at last week’s Assembly Summit in Rosemont, IL, John McElroy, host of the popular Autoline Detroit TV and Web show, told attendees that the auto industry will have to endure its current wild ride for another year or two before things settle down. On a bright note, he highlighted three new technologies that GM engineers have been quietly developing: vehicle-to-vehicle communication, smart materials and autonomous vehicles.

Engineers from as far away as Espoo, Finland, learned numerous ways to improve their factories at ASSEMBLY magazine’s inaugural Assembly Summit last week.

The other day, a flying car called the Transition made a successful test flight in New York. The two-seat vehicle transforms itself from a plane to a car in less than 30 seconds. It can drive on highway speeds on the road and fits in a standard household garage.