Motor City Revived as Detroit Withers to Motown Shadow

[FarCenter]

Detroit’s ties to the fortunes of the auto industry have been fraying for six decades, as manufacturing jobs in the city fell from about 296,000 in 1950 to fewer than 27,000 in 2011. The U.S. automakers, still ruling the road in the ’50s and ’60s, moved their factories from the heart of Motor City to new plants built in the suburbs, across the country and around the world as they sought cheaper labor and foreign sales. The auto companies’ evacuation of the city accelerated Detroit’s decline.

Chrysler has factories to make Jeeps and Viper sports cars in the city and a 70-person office downtown, about 30 miles from the suburban headquarters where it employs more than 10,000. GM builds the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volts at a factory in Detroit, where it also has its headquarters. Ford, based in neighboring Dearborn, built Model Ts in Detroit until 1910 and hasn’t built cars in the city since.

The Detroit area automakers followed the general trajectory of their namesake city for much of the second half of the 20th Century, steadily losing market share to foreign rivals offering superior quality and better fuel economy. In 1962, GM had 51 percent of the U.S. market. In 2009, when Obama fired the GM CEO and appointed a team to run it, the share was 19.8 percent.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-25/motor-city-revived-as-detroit-withers-to-motown-shadow.html

Even by 1950, Ford and GM were mostly outside of Detroit. The auto companies inside the city were Packard, Hudson, Nash, Dodge, Plymouth, etc. There were also parts suppliers to Ford and GM, but these were on the way out.

[longship]

1. The 1968 World Series.

The second lowest time in Detroit's life was the summer of 1967 when LBJ called out the Nation Guard to put down open rebellion in Detroit.

I was on summer break from Michigan State University. I remember the 24 hour smell of smoke that permeated the city, the early evening curfews, falling asleep with the stench in my nose. I remember armed Jeeps driving past my house. It was an absolutely abysmal time for Detroit. Mayor Jerry Cavanaugh did what he could, but things went quickly out of hand. The city was literally on fire and firemen were being shot by snipers.

The next summer things changed, if only briefly. But sometimes events conspire to point a way to possible solutions. The Detroit Tigers had possibly their best year in their long history. The Tigers won the World Series in the seventh game, a Polish heavyweight named Mickey Lolich won three of the four wins for the home team. The word has it that "The Mick" hid his grip on the ball from the batter behind his beer belly. Perpetual hometown hero Al Kaline figured prominently along with many others, but Lolich was the big hero. (31 game winner during the regular season, Denny McLain, did very poorly -- he would go on to corruption and anonymity). Lolich later opened up a doughnut cafe in the area which he managed for some years.

It transformed Detroit almost overnight. I remember streets full of people of all races, ages, and whatever celebrating for days. Jerry Cavanaugh showed up to help. Detroit had an opportunity to put things behind it.

I will not speculate where it went wrong. But I do know that this was an opportunity missed. I assign no blame because such hindsight assignation is like the Texas Sharpshooter -- you shoot a hole in a barn and then draw a target around the bullet hole. One can always assign blame after the fact. That's part of all of our problems. It's human nature, I think.

But, damn!, the 1968 Tigers were wonderful. They helped unite a divided city. If only temporary. But that was amongst the best years of my life. Detroit's too. The city had a lot of hope.

Not so much now. Maybe Detroit needs another World Series championship. They've been knocking on the door the past couple of years. I would like to see that hope again, even if it's just sports, and arguably, illusory. Those who would dismiss this argument should not dismiss that hope.

Go Tigers! Go Detroit!

[TheMightyFavog]

2. The Red Wings have won several Stanley Cups since they got good again in the 90s.

Yet that hasn't helped things much.

[longship]

3. Yes, but Detroit is still a baseball town.

Or, it pretty much has been in the past.

The Red Wings last won in 2007-2008. It would be a boost if the did it again this year. Add a Piston victory (no hopes there)? But the Tige's could make it this year. It sure would help my home town's spirit. Hell! Maybe the Lions can win, too!

Now that would be great! Red Wings, Pistons, Tigers, and Lions all win the same year.

Fuck you Rick Snyder, and you too Mitt Romney and, as a matter of fact, all the fucking Republicans.

I'll settle for just two championships. It's more than Detroit's ever had before.

[FarCenter]

4. Coleman Young happened.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. A major industrial city is flailing and some discuss its sports teams nt