[BigAls87Z28]

Im not giving them a pass, and yes the Japanese 3 did see to react quickly.
The Big 3 did not pay attention to the car market, that is for sure. But as of about 3-4 years ago, Ford and GM have moved foward with better cars. Chrysler has tried.
First big move was the new Malibu in 04. Its visual appearance was a big polarizing, but it was GMs first solid mid sizer. It was about 2-3 years too late, but still held strong vs Camry in quality. GM then revamped it in 08 and now is class leading. In between, you had the G6 and Saturn Aura to take up the gap.
The Fusion brought another excelent car to the market, along with Milan and Zepher/MKZ. 3 good cars to replace the lower end of the gap left by Taurus.
The Big 3..well, maybe 2, have put together solid vehicles since 2003, and they are getting better.

The Chevy Volt, Cruze, and the whole Family Zero engines have been coming together for years, well before the fuel crisis, not to mention the movements they already made with two-mode hybrids, BAS hybirds, E85, direct injection and HCCI.
Ford has been developing Ecoboost engines for some time as well. Ford has had a hyrbid vehicles on the market for 2 generations now, and coming out with more.
Things have been moving quickly for these large giants. They have developed technology to revolutionize the auto industry, but people cant see past the Hummer H2.