Haywood “Huddy” Hyman Jr. was among the first auto dealers in the nation to sell Saturn automobiles when General Motors Corp. started rolling the new brand out of a plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., in 1990.

Looking for state help against continued hemorrhaging in their industry, car dealers are turning to one of their own in the General Assembly: the part-owner of a Dodge franchise who just happens to be a powerful senator. Senate Republican Floor Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. of James City County is sponsoring legislation—opposed by carmakers, including Fairfax County-based Volkswagen—that could force manufacturers to pay dealers millions of dollars for discontinued vehicles and unused parts and tools.

During the 1950s, the Detroit Lions won three NFL championships. Bobby Layne, Doak Walker, Lou Creekmur, and others confronted the Cleveland Browns in gridiron Armageddons. Subsequent Lions teams did not attain similar glory, but the franchise boasted legends such as Joe Schmidt, Night Train Lane, and Yale Lary. Deep in the long ago we attended a Thanksgiving Day game against the Oakland Raiders, sat directly behind a post, could not see a thing, and had a blast.

The Bush administration’s declaration yesterday it would intervene to prevent an auto industry collapse creates a window of opportunity to solve the industry’s financial problems.

Local leaders hope to be on the cusp of the growing hybrid fuel technology with the announcement that the Advanced Vehicle Research Center is just days away from breaking ground at Cyber Park.