Can GM turn profits into increased U.S. auto sales?

More money for Volt development?

The U.S. auto industry is dead, right?

Well, maybe there is still a little life. Last week Ford surprised analysts with a better than expected quarter, and, today, GM reported its third profitable quarter in a row, achieving almost 900 million in profit for the second quarter.

And, GM needs this profit. While the company is doing well in foreign markets, U.S. vehicle sales continue to be sluggish.

"Slower-than-expected sales GM's new full-size pickup have hurt GM, which still relies heavily on sales of highly profitable trucks and SUV. A slowdown in the housing market and rising fuel prices are keeping keep buyers away, and competitors foreign and domestic have piled on incentives to move their trucks," writes the the DetroitNews this morning.

Something like the Chevy Volt, more dual mode hybrid vehicles, especially a full hybrid car, and a plug-in Saturn Vue have great potential to drive the same kind of green buzz that Toyota received from the Prius.

In a nutshell, new technologies have the ability to drive new consumers to GM and to increase U.S. marketshare, and, hopefully, a few profitable quarters can provide a large enough financial cushion to enable GM to fast track some of these emerging technologies.