If the Inuit have 100 words for snow*...

Gas prices have accelerated the move away from trucks and sport utility vehicles at a furious pace, leaving the Big Three at the most crucial crossroads in 30 years.

"In the early '70s, we were caught flatfooted, without smaller, fuel-efficient cars. We had nothing to sell," said Gerald Meyers, a former chairman of American Motors Corp. "That's exactly what's happening now."

Then the language of Detroit should have 500 words for stupid.

* Funny thing -- they don't.