This January, American automakers introduced a wave of new small cars at the annual Detroit Auto Show in order to meet government demand, apparently. On Tuesday, the industry introduced January sales and consumer demand continued to drive double-digit increases in truck and crossover sales.

Trucks now control 52.4 percent of market share in the U.S. and hybrid-electrics — the star of the auto show — continued to decline.

What’s going on here? Manufacturers are under the gun to meet a fleet average 35 mpg mandate by 2015 even as customer demand has reversed back to pro-SUV, pre-recession levels. Automakers also legitimately fear a return to $4 a gallon gas as the global economy gains speed.

But if you want to make money (light truck margins are considerably higher than cars) — pray for low gas prices. “Trucks and crossovers helped propel Detroit’s carmakers to double-digit sales increases in January,” reports the Detroit News. That’s good news for Detroit profits, Detroit autoworkers, and taxpayer creditors — but bad news for Washington pols.

Most significantly, Chrysler led the Detroit Three with a truck-driven, 23 percent sales increase. “Every Jeep model reported a sales increase except the Jeep Commander, which is being discontinued. The all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee more than doubled its sales compared with last January, up 130 percent,” continues the News. “Dodge and Ram brands also showed at least a 20 percent increase in sales, while the Chrysler brand (where most of Chrysler’s sedans reside) saw sales drop 7 percent.”

Ford — still reaping the benefits of being the only U.S. automaker not to take a bailout — looks well-positioned for whatever the future brings. The blue oval’s car sales grew 35 percent; SUVs 22 percent; and pickups 24 percent.

And GM? Viva the SUV! The Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain, Chevy Silverado dominated sales. Toyota? A 36.5 truck-sales increase. And with a national blizzard opening February, green is the farthest thing from customers’ minds.