Detroit, Jan. 5 (Reuters): Having all but given away the cream of the domestic car market to foreign competitors as they trumpeted trucks for the past decade, US auto makers are touting a return to the glory days of the car as their best bet to restore reliable profits.

However, just as the Big Three US car makers turn their efforts to reviving their small-vehicle fortunes, the overseas crowd is revving up truck and sport-utility lines of its own in a bid to squeeze Detroit’s largest source of profits.

“I think we as an industry probably deserted the car for some time. It’s time to put the focus back on that,” said Joe Eberhardt, Chrysler’s marketing chief.

“I think the car making a comeback, not just for us but for some of our competitors as well, probably will be a good story for ’04.”

General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler arm will roll out roughly 40 new or updated models in 2004, giving them their best chance in years to prove they can compete head-on against foreign auto makers in the United States.

At the North American International Auto Show on Sunday, GM unveiled the Pontiac Solstice, a small convertible that GM plans to start selling late next year at prices starting around $20,000. GM has a number of car models coming out in 2004, from the Chevrolet Cobalt small car to the Cadillac STS luxury sedan.

Ford showed off the Five Hundred large sedan, a new version of the iconic Ford Mustang and the Freestyle “crossover”, or car-based sport utility vehicle. The Freestyle is Ford’s first entry in the fast-growing market for midsized car-based SUVs that has been dominated so far by Japanese auto makers, while the Five Hundred and Mustang are Ford’s first updates in those segments in years.

And no golden era in Detroit would be complete without a new raft of sports cars. Chrysler, which is rolling out the 300C and Dodge Magnum rear-wheel-drive midsize cars this year, on Sunday unveiled the audacious ME Four-Twelve concept — a mid-engine, 850-horsepower supercar that it hinted could be headed for production.

GM planned to unveil the next generation of the Chevrolet Corvette, complete with a 400-horsepower V8, on Sunday evening. And Ford on Sunday night was set to unveil a concept sports car reviving the Shelby Cobra name from the 1960s sporting some 600 horsepower.

With its new models and improving US economy, there’s a level of optimism among Detroit auto executives that hasn’t been seen for the past few years.