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Wow, what a week! It’s been all clunkers, and the cash that we will get for them, until that cash unexpectedly runs out, in a hurry, and the Congress must hustle for more cash…

Well, that was a quick billion! Given that in 2007 the U.S. market was supporting sales of 16 million vehicles, but has fallen to less than 10 million this year, we had to figure that there was some pent-up demand for new cars out there. Enter the government’s CARS program, popularly known as “cash for clunkers.” Many commentators assumed that the program’s $1 billion wouldn’t last until November.

Nothing like a little local government action to get the juices flowing! This week, the Detroit City Council pretty much ensured that the North American International Auto show will remain in Motown—by not voting to block a plan that would see the show’s venue, Cobo Center, renovated. Would it have made any difference if the show had left Detroit? Psychologically, yes.

The so-called “cash for clunkers” program—which allows people to trade in an old gas-chugging car for a new, relatively less gas-chugging car and get either a $3,500 or $4,500 voucher from the government—officially kicked off on Monday. On day one, more than 4,000 new cars were purchased, and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was there to hand over the keys to every single owner (kidding!).

The speed at which General Motors (GMGMQ) and Chrysler exited Chapter 11 has somewhat distorted our traditional perception of the bankruptcy process, particularly in the auto industry. Take Delphi, for example. Delphi is a parts supplier that was spun off from General Motors in the 1990s as a way of eliminating labor costs and deintegrating some of GM’s vaunted vertical integration, thereby improving its cost structure.

When it was first learned that Fiat wanted to merge with then-virtually bankrupt Chrysler earlier this year, a small amount of initial rejoicing could be heard from the design fanatics who wanted nothing more than to see the new Fiat 500 come to America. Forget the larger agenda, which now that the deal has actually gone through will include using Fiat small-car technology to engineer a new generation of gas-sipping Chrysler rides.

Now that the dust has settled after the Chrysler and General Motors (GMGMQ) bankruptcies, the post-game analysis can begin. The New York Times and the NYT's DealBook have each provided rundowns, with DealBook focusing explicitly on the cadre of exhausted bankruptcy lawyers who hammered both cases through in record time.

During the now mistily remembered “Detroit Meltdown” of early 2008, Chrysler, then owned by the Dark Lords of Ceberus Capital Management, was seen as the most damaged of the automakers formerly known as the Big Three. True, Chrysler had the greatest minivans in the universe and Jeep, as well as a lingering reputation for maverick design and of course history with having almost gone bankrupt before and dodged that bullet. Still, an air of gloom clung to the Pentastar.

Why aren’t we surprised? After pulling off one the auto deal of the new century, Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne will tomorrow, in all likelihood, report that the Italian carmaker is actually making money. That’s right, second quarter profits are expected to amount to more than $1 billion.

Here’s some salient perspective, from Reuters:

I’m not in the business of making official car recommendations, but every so often the stars align in such a way that compels me to…recommend. Right now, when you get finished adding up various cash incentives, financing offers, cash for clunkers vouchers, and the trade-in value of whatever you’re currently driving, you owe it to yourself to at least test drive a Pontiac G8 GT.

From my perspective, the Chevy Volt has morphed over the past year from being a different kind of hybrid to being a full-on electric vehicle, with gas-propulsion as a sidekick. Initially, the car was explained to the public as utilizing a drivetrain that, unlike that on the Toyota Prius, could conceivably never burn any gas. The Volt uses what General Motors (GMGMQ) calls a “Voltec” system, with an electric motor providing 40 miles of range before a small gas motor kicks in to recharge the battery. The gas motor has no connection to the drive wheels, however.

There’s been some snickering in the blogosphere about how new the New General Motors (GMGMQ) can be if it’s being managed by the likes of 77-year-old product czar Bob Lutz and 67-year-old board Chairman Ed Whitacre. Sometimes, however, you have to root around in a company for signs of new blood. Where New GM is concerned, a good place to look is … Australia.