It probably stopped the city from collapsing entirely into the dust, which would have been sad.

Detroit was a symbol of what was great about America in the 1950's and 1960's. In 1960, it had the highest per-capita income in the U.S. It was built on American technology and American manufacturing prowess and an industry that brought wealth and good jobs to ordinary Americans, not just the top 1% (either financially or intellectually).

Oh no. No no no.

It was built on the auto cartel, which robbed consumers all across the country to keep the Grosse Point estates of the automobile executives well appointed and manicured.

It'd be interesting to see some research on that. Most of the plants I'm aware of aren't actually in Detroit proper, but the metro area.

A quick glance over the list of GM factories[1] shows just one assembly plant in the city. Chrysler has a bit more going on[2] in Detroit. Of course, this doesn't take into account all of the suppliers, which is a huge omission. In my experience growing up in the area, it wasn't so uncommon for someone to be working for a company whose sole customer was one of the Big Three.

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_General_Motors_factorie...

[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chrysler_factories

It's not just the big three auto plants. There is all of the ancillary plants that make the parts and sub-assemblies. Raw materials, Logistics, Accounting, Foodservice, and everything else that goes along with productive activity.