The Art Deco skyscrapers of downtown Detroit, built when money flooded into the Motor City in the 1920s, attest to the early years of America’s long dominance of carmaking. Though the industry’s centre of gravity has shifted to China, the stamp of the “Big Three” on Detroit endures. This year General Motors (GM) opened swish new headquarters. Last year Ford moved house within its home suburb of Dearborn. The American base of Stellantis, of which Chrysler Group is now part (and whose biggest shareholder, Exor, part-owns The Economist’s parent company), is still in Auburn Hills, another suburb.
