You may have noticed the continuing decline of the automotive industry in the heartland of the country. GM and Delphi are in dire straights, and Ford is announcing a major restructuring. The Dayton, Ohio area has (or used to have) many automotive parts and assembly plants. While it has not been officially announced, most of the Delphi plants in the Dayton area are probably slated for closure.
Interestingly, an acquaintance of mine inherited a Ford auto dealership in the Dayton area and he recently decided to sell the business (the dealership had been in his family for over 50 years). There are many structural changes that are coming to the automotive industry, similar in many respects to what occurred in the steel industry.
Completely agree with your comments on this – thanks for taking the time to post.