Down, but not out, in the Motor city.

I have only been to Michigan 3 times. I have never made it to Detroit. After what we have seen happen to the city, and surrounding suburbs over the last few years, I was not sure there would be a city to go to.

But, I think their demise was written off a bit pre-maturely. You all can laugh, but something interesting is happening. The automobile market is showing it’s not dead---maybe on life support---but certainly not dead. Last week, Ford Motor Company, at one point a company fading faster than any of the others, made a profit. A $3,000,0000,000 one. (For those who don’t recognize all of those zeros, that would be $3 Billion.) Ford does not have to pay back their TARP fund because they didn’t accept it when GM and Chrysler did. (Pretty impressive---but they thought ahead having restructured their debt a couple of years earlier.)

Okay, enough of the business talk.

What has impressed me about the car companies are their guts to have stayed in business after every thing they did to screw up. But now GM is basically saying, “You want to know how serious we are? Take a 60-day test drive. You don’t like it, return it.” I like this kind of confidence---it’s part of the American spirit---the spirit we Americans really need at this time; because no matter how damaged our economy is at this time, we will be back and stronger. What’s cool about what’s happened in Detroit is they have worked to overcome some huge hurdles and kept their pride—look at their sports teams and you know we Chicagoans should figure out we don’t have it too bad!

A friend of mine lives in Detroit and is in the advertising business; a very tough business to be in at this time, especially during this past 12 months. We spoke last week and instead of being down and out, he explained that he has had some business coming in and thinks the economic turn is coming. Not tomorrow, but still coming. I agree with him---I can’t wait.

The photo above was taken in Texas---the license plate should have given it away---and where many people might see this as rusted out trash, I thought it made a great photo. Every time I look at this photo I think, “this car was new on a dealer’s lot at one point and now sitting rotting in a field.” Sad but true. So what’s the significance?

It means it’s time to buy a new car, perhaps one made in Detroit.

Thanks for stopping by.