Sunday
Mar162025
THE DEAL ON DETROIT.
Sunday, March 16, 2025 at 08:58AM Editor's Note: This week, The Autoextremist provides some much-needed historical perspective on Detroit, as the city and the region find themselves in the crosshairs of some woefully misguided political machinations. In On The Table, Peter comments on accountability for auto industry CEOs, a rare occurrence to say the least. We also comment on one of Ford's latest moves in the hiring department. Then, we detail the new CLA from Mercedes-Benz. And we preview the all-new 2025 A6 and S6 Sportback e-tron from Audi. Our AE Song of the Week is "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva. In Fumes, we have the next installment of Peter's riveting new series, The Great Races. And in The Line, we'll have coverage of F1 in Australia, MotoGP in Argentina and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Enjoy! -WG
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. The thing about living around here and being immersed in this business is that at some point you come to understand that it has always been a tenuous endeavor.
You only have to look at the story of William Crapo Durant, the man who, starting with Buick and adding Oldsmobile, assembled the car companies and parts manufacturers that together would form General Motors Holding Company in 1908. In 1909, he added Cadillac and Oakland (which would eventually become Pontiac). Durant’s rapid expansion and frenzied acquisition strategy would catch up with him in 1910, and he was forced to relinquish control of the company. But that wasn’t the end of his story.
In 1911, Durant invested in Louis Chevrolet’s automobile company, and after many financial twists and turns, he leveraged his stake in Chevrolet and regained control of GM in 1916. He would go on to lead the company until 1920. In 1921, Durant would form Durant Motors in an attempt at duplicating his success with GM, but after the Wall Street Crash in 1929, followed by the Great Depression, he would be out of business by 1933.
The aftermath for Durant wasn’t pretty. He basically lost everything he had in the stock market and declared bankruptcy in 1936. His next venture was opening a bowling alley/fast food restaurant in Flint, and after pursuing various other money-making ideas, he died bankrupt and penniless on March 13, 1947.
This brief mention of Durant can’t possibly convey what a pivotal figure he was to the founding of the auto industry as we know it today. That he became a tragic cautionary tale is somehow fitting to the story of Detroit, because this business is cruel and life around here can be arduous and inexplicably difficult.
To outsiders and politicians, Detroit is an afterthought, a weird outpost in one of the “fly-over” states, only to be summoned or talked about when it’s convenient. The last time that was done positively, as I mentioned two weeks ago, was when the entire manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy – led by Detroit – mustered everything it had and then some to meet the needs of the war effort during WW II.
The “Arsenal of Democracy” was created right here in Detroit. The depressing thing that I have found, and not surprisingly so I might add, is that this means absolutely nothing to most people under a certain age. The basic lack of understanding of history in this country is one of the most depressing things about our so-called modern life. And it’s not just a lack of understanding of what has come before that is bothersome, it’s that people just don’t care. And with our compromised educational system, it’s a situation that’s not likely to be addressed anytime soon.
When Detroit finds itself in the crosshairs of woefully ill-equipped and flat-out incompetent politicians in Washington, it’s not new. Detroit has always been the convenient whipping boy when the hot front burner of political discussion turns its ugly glare toward the Motor City, which is exactly where it finds itself right now.
That the tariffs being capriciously applied are nonsensical and offensive to people in this region and basically everyone else in the rest of the world has already been established. And these traiffs threaten to decimate this town and the business that drives it. Not that anyone cares in Washington. After all, politicians have consistently demonstrated that they only care about Detroit when they’re looking for campaign contributions. That this calculated ugliness is compounded by the reactionary, juvenile hack who currently sullies the Oval Office makes it that much worse.
With the business waltzing to a pathetic two-steps forward, five-back dance of mediocrity as part of its standard operating procedure, trying to establish a predictable cadence for what’s next is pure folly. It just can’t be done. And as the various CEOs and our own Governor make treks to the White House in order to explain how absolutely devastating these tariffs will be to our founding industry and the quality of life in this region, it has become apparent that their pleading means absolutely nothing. Why? Because the people charged with the stewardship of this country right now have a very limited capacity for understanding the real world, and zero empathy for anyone who falls out of their sphere of give-a-shit.
Pretending that the fundamental nature of this business isn’t precarious is not a value-added activity. It is, and it always has been. And as I’ve said previously, yes, as a town and as a region we do have a long way to go. But this is who we are, and this auto thing is what really matters to us. We don’t need sympathy, and the glossy stories that occasionally crop up are nice, but they will never define us, or what it’s really like to be here and be from around here.
Detroit is a state of mind that’s filled with countless contradictions, and our great history is offset by some lurid realities.
We’ve contributed much to the American fabric, yet we have a historical propensity to make things brutally tough on our day-to-day well-being.
You only have to look at the story of William Crapo Durant, the man who, starting with Buick and adding Oldsmobile, assembled the car companies and parts manufacturers that together would form General Motors Holding Company in 1908. In 1909, he added Cadillac and Oakland (which would eventually become Pontiac). Durant’s rapid expansion and frenzied acquisition strategy would catch up with him in 1910, and he was forced to relinquish control of the company. But that wasn’t the end of his story.
In 1911, Durant invested in Louis Chevrolet’s automobile company, and after many financial twists and turns, he leveraged his stake in Chevrolet and regained control of GM in 1916. He would go on to lead the company until 1920. In 1921, Durant would form Durant Motors in an attempt at duplicating his success with GM, but after the Wall Street Crash in 1929, followed by the Great Depression, he would be out of business by 1933.
The aftermath for Durant wasn’t pretty. He basically lost everything he had in the stock market and declared bankruptcy in 1936. His next venture was opening a bowling alley/fast food restaurant in Flint, and after pursuing various other money-making ideas, he died bankrupt and penniless on March 13, 1947.
This brief mention of Durant can’t possibly convey what a pivotal figure he was to the founding of the auto industry as we know it today. That he became a tragic cautionary tale is somehow fitting to the story of Detroit, because this business is cruel and life around here can be arduous and inexplicably difficult.
To outsiders and politicians, Detroit is an afterthought, a weird outpost in one of the “fly-over” states, only to be summoned or talked about when it’s convenient. The last time that was done positively, as I mentioned two weeks ago, was when the entire manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy – led by Detroit – mustered everything it had and then some to meet the needs of the war effort during WW II.
The “Arsenal of Democracy” was created right here in Detroit. The depressing thing that I have found, and not surprisingly so I might add, is that this means absolutely nothing to most people under a certain age. The basic lack of understanding of history in this country is one of the most depressing things about our so-called modern life. And it’s not just a lack of understanding of what has come before that is bothersome, it’s that people just don’t care. And with our compromised educational system, it’s a situation that’s not likely to be addressed anytime soon.
When Detroit finds itself in the crosshairs of woefully ill-equipped and flat-out incompetent politicians in Washington, it’s not new. Detroit has always been the convenient whipping boy when the hot front burner of political discussion turns its ugly glare toward the Motor City, which is exactly where it finds itself right now.
That the tariffs being capriciously applied are nonsensical and offensive to people in this region and basically everyone else in the rest of the world has already been established. And these traiffs threaten to decimate this town and the business that drives it. Not that anyone cares in Washington. After all, politicians have consistently demonstrated that they only care about Detroit when they’re looking for campaign contributions. That this calculated ugliness is compounded by the reactionary, juvenile hack who currently sullies the Oval Office makes it that much worse.
With the business waltzing to a pathetic two-steps forward, five-back dance of mediocrity as part of its standard operating procedure, trying to establish a predictable cadence for what’s next is pure folly. It just can’t be done. And as the various CEOs and our own Governor make treks to the White House in order to explain how absolutely devastating these tariffs will be to our founding industry and the quality of life in this region, it has become apparent that their pleading means absolutely nothing. Why? Because the people charged with the stewardship of this country right now have a very limited capacity for understanding the real world, and zero empathy for anyone who falls out of their sphere of give-a-shit.
Pretending that the fundamental nature of this business isn’t precarious is not a value-added activity. It is, and it always has been. And as I’ve said previously, yes, as a town and as a region we do have a long way to go. But this is who we are, and this auto thing is what really matters to us. We don’t need sympathy, and the glossy stories that occasionally crop up are nice, but they will never define us, or what it’s really like to be here and be from around here.
Detroit is a state of mind that’s filled with countless contradictions, and our great history is offset by some lurid realities.
We’ve contributed much to the American fabric, yet we have a historical propensity to make things brutally tough on our day-to-day well-being.
We’ve brought this country a sound like no other and a gritty, gutty context that’s second to none, yet we’ve created countless problems for ourselves, most all of them self-inflicted.
We created the “Arsenal of Democracy” when our country needed it most, yet we allowed a movement based on fairness to become a disease based on entitlement and rancor.
We’ve contributed much to this nation's progress and standing, yet we can’t seem to get out of our own way at times, which is infuriating and debilitating.
We created the “Arsenal of Democracy” when our country needed it most, yet we allowed a movement based on fairness to become a disease based on entitlement and rancor.
We’ve contributed much to this nation's progress and standing, yet we can’t seem to get out of our own way at times, which is infuriating and debilitating.
But thankfully, the story never really ends for Detroit. At least not yet anyway. We’re still standing, warts and glaring faults and all.
We know who we are. And we know that the perception isn’t often favorable. And we get that. But still there’s an exuberance and spirit here that is indescribably joyous at times, which somehow makes it all worthwhile.
It’s a Detroit thing, or if you must, a Dee-troit thing. And we’re proud of what that means.
But if the current climate in Washington persists and this onslaught of abject stupidity continues unabated, then Detroit as we know it will not survive.
That’s the deal on Detroit in March 2025.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
We know who we are. And we know that the perception isn’t often favorable. And we get that. But still there’s an exuberance and spirit here that is indescribably joyous at times, which somehow makes it all worthwhile.
It’s a Detroit thing, or if you must, a Dee-troit thing. And we’re proud of what that means.
But if the current climate in Washington persists and this onslaught of abject stupidity continues unabated, then Detroit as we know it will not survive.
That’s the deal on Detroit in March 2025.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG