Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC are betting they can return to profitability by selling new versions of their big pickups. The automakers didn't expect U.S. gasoline prices to more than double before they got the trucks to market.

At the Detroit auto show yesterday, Ford rolled out its redesigned F-150, the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for 31 years. Chrysler introduced its top seller, the Ram pickup.

The companies were completing plans for both new models five years ago, when gasoline sold in the U.S. for an average of $1.52 a gallon. Now gasoline sells for $3.16 a gallon, contributing to a 2.5 percent drop in U.S. auto sales in 2007, the worst showing in a decade.

While Ford, Chrysler and General Motors Corp. all are exhibiting fuel-efficient vehicles, they're stuck with decisions made years ago, said John Casesa, managing partner at Casesa Shapiro Group in New York. ``Automakers are struggling to adjust to a new long-term reality of higher gas prices, but they have to sell today what they can make today,'' he said.

A U.S. housing slump and an economy that may be heading into a recession are weighing on the auto industry, injecting a dose of caution amid the glitz of the North American International Auto Show, where Ford used fireworks, strobe lights and country music singers to introduce the F-150.

Chrysler heralded the new Ram by driving a herd of Texas longhorn cattle down the street in front of the convention center hosting the event.

`Russian Roulette'

Also looming over the industry are mounting concerns about global warming and the first revision of U.S. fuel-economy standards in 32 years. On Dec. 19, President George W. Bush signed a law that mandates 35 miles per gallon nationwide by 2020. That's about 40 percent more than current requirements.

``Being a product planner in this environment is like playing a game of Russian roulette,'' said Bill Reinert, national manager for advanced technology at Toyota Motor Corp.'s U.S. sales unit.

Toyota is contributing to the pressure on Detroit automakers. Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota redesigned the Tundra pickup for 2007, enlarging the truck so it's now a full- size competitor to GM, Ford and Chrysler models. Tundra sales soared 58 percent last year.

After dropping to 16.1 million cars and trucks in 2007, industrywide U.S. sales may fall another 3.7 percent to 15.5 million, Lehman Brothers analyst Brian Johnson said in a Jan. 11 note to clients. ``We expect significant further weakness in U.S. auto sales this year,'' Johnson wrote.

Pressure on Shares

GM and Ford shares aren't likely to rebound any time soon, especially if the U.S. falls into a recession, Johnson said. In past recessions, automakers didn't come back until industrywide sales had almost bottomed out, he said.

Detroit-based GM gained 19 cents to $23.69 at 4:02 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading and has tumbled 23 percent in the past year. Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford was up 12 cents at $6.18 and is down 22 percent in the same period.

GM lost $38.1 billion in the first nine months of 2007. Ford earned $88 million after losing $12.6 billion in the previous year.

Ford sold 690,589 F-150 trucks last year, 29 percent of its total U.S. sales. Chrysler sold 358,295 Dodge Rams, 17 percent of its total. F-150 sales fell 13 percent for the year, and Ram sales dropped 1.6 percent.

GM introduced the newest version of its big pickup, the Silverado, two years ago. Its sales declined 2.8 percent in 2007.

Bigger Engines

The new 150 and Ram make few concessions to higher gasoline prices. The F-150 offers more powerful engines, plusher interiors and a stepladder built into the tailgate. The new truck is 100 pounds lighter and gets one mile more for each gallon of gasoline than the current model, which weighs about 5,000 pounds, chief engineer Matt O'Leary said. The present 150 averages 14 miles per gallon in city driving.

The Ram features a more-powerful 5.7-liter Hemi engine and a coil-spring rear suspension for smoother riding.

Along with its new pickup, Chrysler plans to introduce three so-called concept cars today equipped with gasoline- electric hybrid engines. ``You are going to have to have something a lot higher than 35 miles per gallon to offset a truck,'' President Tom LaSorda said.

Concept Vehicles

Concept vehicles are ones that automakers are considering but may not necessarily bring to market.

Honda Motor Co. introduced a Pilot crossover utility with a V6 gasoline engine that will generate 300 horsepower, 23 percent more than the current model, said Mike Robinet, an analyst with CSM Worldwide. Honda also announced plans to equip an Acura luxury model for 2009 with a diesel engine that can travel as much as 30 percent farther on a gallon of fuel than gasoline- powered cars.

One of the five Chinese companies at the show, BYD Auto, plans to display today a plug-in hybrid with lithium-ion batteries that it hopes to introduce in its home country this year.

That would represent a technical coup for the five-year-old company, part of Shenzen-based BYD Company Limited. Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota won't introduce plug-ins until 2010, according to an announcement yesterday by President Katsuaki Watanabe.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Lippert in Detroit at jlippert@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: January 14, 2008 16:23 EST