Detroit bears the distinction of being one of the few cities in the world whose name alone stands in for an entire industry.<\/p>\n
Automobiles.<\/p>\n
Ford, Chrysler, GM. And in the distant past, all those smaller manufacturers gobbled up by the Big Three—Lincoln, Buick, Chevrolet, and so on—and then those even smaller companies that simply died out. Packard, Hudson, Rickenbacker.<\/p>\n
When we think about Detroit, we think about cars. Through the metonymic chain of associations, talk of cars invariably leads us to the economy. When the automotive industry is in the dumps, the economy is in the dumps. And when the automotive industry picks up, surely this means the economy is recovering as well.<\/p>\n
This was the message of Chrysler’s highly acclaimed SuperBowl ad, featuring Clint Eastwood:<\/p>\n