Signs of Life in Ford Country
Lo and behold, so good to see a concept car back on the road - or at least parked on the street where I live. Like spotting the first robin perched in a bare tree after a long, cold winter, to find a new Explorer in camouflage does the heart good.
As for the classic T-bird parked in the driveway next door? Correct me if I’m mistaken, the flip up headlights date it back to early 80’s. There you have it in a passing glance, an icon of the city’s true and abiding love of autos.
I’m not a reader of Car and Driver or a follower of Motor Trends. Rarely do I take note of cars, new or old, coming or going, one way or the other. But these days in Detroit, you can’t help but notice: the city is coming back to life on wheels. Car carriers have returned to the road, hauling shiny new vehicles. The volume of rush hour traffic in the morning has perceptibly increased over the summer - we’re almost back to respectable levels of congestion. Apparently, the sales figures for the quarter are starting to confirm the turn-around for the Big Three, with Ford and GM in the black for the first time in years. In an article published just yesterday in the New York Times, Bill Vlasic reports a glimmer of hope:
“Recent surveys of consumers by CNW Research show a marked change in attitudes toward Detroit by younger buyers in particular. Three years ago, more than 40 percent of new-vehicle shoppers under the age of 30 said they would never consider a Detroit-made product. Now that figure is 32 percent and dropping steadily.”
Is Detroit refueling, really? Time will tell. For more go to:
(and thanks for driving by)
Somebody sent me these billboards a couple of weeks ago. I'm presuming they've been around and you've seen them. But they're pretty great.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rockinghammemories.net/chevybillboards.html
Oops. I guess that's a cut and paste link.
ReplyDeleteWow, I thought I cover a lot of the city between my drive Downtown and to Ferndale... haven't seen the billboards. I gather they were posted along Woodward for the Dream Cruise.
ReplyDeleteThese used to be on I-75 S, between 10 mile and M-10. So cool! I remember the Volvo one in particular.
ReplyDelete