If you are seriously suggesting that Penske is not committed to Detroit because he doesn't move his business here, all I can say is that you had better not be [[1) driving a car made somewhere other than Detroit-Hamtramck or Jefferson North and [[2) shopping on Amazon or in the suburbs for anything you could buy in Detroit. After all, being committed means holding nothing back, right?

This thread has implicitly [[if not explicitly) attacked several of the biggest contributors to Detroit's cultural life, without which it would be an uncultured hellhole. If you spend any time at the DIA, the Opera, or the Orchestra, you'd see that City of Detroit residents and companies are not very common on the donor walls. Even as a Detroit resident, I would rather see their money go to supporting institutions that hit above Detroit's weight than to being some handful of water thrown onto the inferno of city finances.

And don't underestimate the effect of CEO residence on corporate siting. WTVS moved to Wixom because its head lived there. Comerica moved to Dallas because Ralph Babb wanted to live there. Bank of America [[and the rest of the big banks in Charlotte) are there because the head of a tiny regional bank bought BoA and moved all of its employees there. If Penske is in Bloomfield because it's near his house, tell me where someone of his station and wealth lives in Detroit.* I won't hold my breath.

HB

* At the same time, to derisive comments about the "vibrant downtown," it is far easier to hire [[and retain) a 20-30 year old in Detroit than in Oakland County. Unlike Dan Gilbert, someone like Penske may have an older workforce that is not [[a) eager to be uprooted or [[b) interested in a place relatively far from any quality schools.