The US car industry is forecasting a better sales year than 2009, but recovery for the battered industry is still expected to be slow and painful.

And news from China that it has become the world's top auto producer does not build confidence.

America's top carmakers have downsized both their workforces and their brand lines since the economic downturn.

Al Jazeera's Tom Ackerman reports from Detroit in the US. (12 Jan 2010)