Decline and fall of the motor city

IN THE MIDDLE decades of ´The American Century´, Detroit ??? the Motor City ??? was a powerhouse of the American Dream, spewing out rocket-finned Cadillacs as if there were no tomorrow. But, tomorrow came and America rejected the axiom of excess that had been embodied in the gas-guzzlers. Detroit lost business to Japan, workers lost their jobs and, in July 2013, the city finally filed for bankruptcy.