Ford just reported a profit of almost a billion dollars for July through September.

VOA: special.2009.11.06

Just as Ford and General Motors can push their suppliers into doing business with them through online exchanges, so can governments, thus galvanising thousands of small firms into becoming e-businesses.

ECONOMIST: A survey of government and the Internet

And just north of Ford's, 5, 000 homes are going up as part of a private property development.

ECONOMIST: Industry

The message is unmistakably aggressive, arguably arrogant: Ford just redefined the midsize-car market.

FORBES: Companies, People, Ideas