The Big Three dropped a bombshell at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. All three automakers have announced major green initiatives that will spur lithium-ion battery production.

Several weeks ago, I urged Congress to consider funding a domestic battery manufacturing program as part of its multibillion dollar auto industry bailout plan (see “Batteries Not Included”). Several lawmakers are urging their colleagues to include advanced battery manufacturing as part of the $800 billion economic recovery bill that’s expected to be signed into law next month by president-elect Obama.

Waterford Wedgwood PLC, which manufacturers two of the world’s most famous brands, has just declared bankruptcy. Even more shocking, the 250-year-old Anglo-Irish manufacturer of fine crystal and pottery has shifted much of its production to Asia to slash manufacturing costs.

The latest chapter in the struggle between old and new technologies is playing out now in Minnetonka, MN.

If an American automaker wants a lithium-ion battery today, it often has to turn to Japan. Perhaps it's time to create a home-grown lithium-ion battery industry that can compete with the Japanese. We need a strong government-backed program to develop a new line of green car batteries.

As automakers in Asia, Europe and North America ask for billions of dollars in government handouts and ponder green alternatives to the internal combustion engine, they should call a time out. How about shutting down the entire auto industry for one month? Automakers, suppliers and dealers could use that time to reinvent the way that vehicles are mass-produced and delivered to consumers.

The towns of Elkhart and Warsaw sit less than 40 miles apart in northern Indiana. But, when it comes to the local manufacturing climate, the two communities might as well be located at the North and South poles. The two extremes help illustrate an interesting phenomenon: Today’s crazy economic climate doesn’t always follow standard geographic boundaries.