No one is allowed to escape the grinding maw of Detroit's woes -- not even Detroit Piston extraordinaire and hometown mayor Dave Bing. The mayor owns an automotive supplier called The Bing Group that provides stamped parts for carmakers. The recession has put the company on such slippery footing that it told GM it couldn't provide any more parts, and it's looking to sell itself.
As part of assuming the position of mayor, Bing stepped away from the day-to-day operations of the company by creating a blind trust. Or at least, he was supposed to -- Bing remains the registered agent for the company, and that makes him the first person the state would go to for information on the firm, which suggests that he should know something about how its currently run.
Regardless, Bing is still considering whether to sell and will decide early next year. GM has told the company that as a condition of GM's bankruptcy its suppliers are compelled to keep sending parts even if GM didn't pay them, but that didn't appear to take into account the supplier nearly going bankrupt without that money. In the interim, GM is moving toward paying its suppliers on a weekly basis, which should help The Bing Group (and others). Yet in spite of the talked-about economic rebound, Detroit still hurts

Talk to most gearheads about induction and they'll be picturing turbos and superchargers. But at this year's Woodward Dream Cruise, seven legendary figures from American racing were chosen for induction of another kind – into the Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Not to be confused with the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is located in Novi, Michigan, on the outskirts of Detroit. This year's induction ceremony, however, was held at the old Fillmore Theater in Detroit proper, where Kenny Bernstein, David Hobbs, Scott Parker, Les Richter, Al Unser, Jr., H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler and Joe Weatherly were officially inducted.





In last night's televised speech to a joint session of Congress, President Obama vowed to commit to a reworking of the domestic auto industry, saying that it is too important to let go:
But we are committed to the goal of a re-tooled, re-imagined auto industry that can compete and win. Millions of jobs depend on it. Scores of communities depend on it. And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.
Obama will present is first budget proposal on Thursday, but in his speech, he said that his administration will focus on three things: energy, health care, and education. All three components of his focus have the potential to impact the auto industry, but Obama took particular pains to acknowledge that the U.S. has fallen behind in renewable energy production, noting that "New plug-in hybrids roll off our assembly lines, but they will run on batteries made in Korea."
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Each year, thousands of journalists arrive in Detroit to see the best and brightest concepts and production vehicles automakers have to offer. It's estimated that the Detroit Auto Show brings in $500 to $600 million dollars annually to the region, which is struggling more than most due to the global recession. For years, the City of Detroit has failed to expand Cobo, and each year there are threats that the NAIAS will be taken away from the Motor City. The state of Michigan has been working with executives from Wayne and Oakland counties and the city of Detroit to upgrade Cobo, but yesterday the Detroit City Council voted down the proposed plan by a five-three tally. The proposed expansion was to add a much needed 166,000-sq. ft. of floorspace at a cost of $288 million.
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With sales at a 26-year low, the Detroit 3 are trying almost anything to reduce costs and make more money from the cars they are selling. One of the biggest changes coming apes what some of the more successful Japanese makers have done all along: offering fewer configurations of their models. If you want leather, you option up for the higher-spec model and get the sunroof, two-zone climate control, larger wheels, and steering-wheel-controlled MP3 stereo system too. Soon, you'll see a similarly simplified menu in domestic showrooms.
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