General Motors’ assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, is a rarity these days. At a time when the carmaker is trimming capacity and chopping jobs across North America, Lordstown is about to hire 1,400 workers for a third shift.

The plant owes its good fortune to building the sporty, fuel-efficient Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 cars. While demand for big sport-utility vehicles and pick-up trucks has plummeted, Cobalt sales jumped by 18 per cent in the first five months of 2008.