Cobo burned down, right? We used to go to the auto shows there. Back when cars were made in Detroit.
Completely wrong on both counts!!
Cobo Hall never burned down. It was given some renovations a few years back, but there was never a fire. It's been renamed 'Huntington Center' for some unknown reason.
The North American International Auto Show is STILL held in its convention halls. I've done a TON of music for NAIAS exhibits in Detroit, Chicago, LA and Europe, and usually go when I'm hired to do music for it ((those shows largely put my kids through college!).
Cars are still made in the old (but renovated) places in the Detroit area. Lots of 'em!
F-150s are made in Dearborn, Mustangs in Flat Rock, Bronco and Ranger are built in Wayne. Dodge Ram trucks are made in Sterling Heights, as are some Jeep models. The heaviest duty RAM trucks are made in the Warren assembly plant. The 3 Row Jeep Grand Cherokee is made in the Detroit assembly plant, the two-row at Jefferson North in Detroit, as is Durango.
GM's EVs, including the Cadillac Escalade EV and the Chevrolet Silverado EV are made in the Detroit Hamtramck plant. It also produced the Chevrolet Impala, the Buick LaCrosse and the Cadillac CT6. The Orion assembly plant makes the Bolt and one other.
The GM A-chassis cars are made in the Lansing factory, and GM's big trucks are still built in Flint.
The Wixom plant is still making cars, but I forget what. I know I'm leaving out lots of models made in the area.
As you know, all of these places are within an hour of Detroit (Flint, Toledo and Lansing being the farthest but they've ALWAYS been in operation). Jeep's old Toledo factory has been making the Wranglers forever (since the AMC days). Only a few of the old plants have been shuttered; one is the original Ford factory from before WW1, and the other is the Packard plant. I think everything else is still up and running. Even the Ontario, Canada plant is in the Detroit area, right across the river. Most of the factories are either in the city or within 20 minute drives from it.
That's a crapload of cars still made in the Detroit area! In addition to the car assembly plants, lots of subassembly and parts manufacturers, tool makers, die makers, etc., are still in the Detroit area. If anything, Detroit is busier making cars than it has been in many years!
Too many urban legends about the collapse of manufacturing in Detroit. We're still busy here, and Michigan's economy is doing pretty well (14th largest GDP in the US, 10th most populous state). Actually, Michigan's GDP would rank in the top 25 or so if Michigan was a country instead of a state. That's also true of other states in the US.
Of course, California's economy is larger than most countries', including Russia's; it's nearly as large as Germany's entire GDP, which is the 4th largest in the world, and significantly larger than everyone else, including India, the UK, France, Brazil, Italy, Canada and S. Korea.
