agent Entrepreneur logo
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

White House Summit Targets Auto City Hardships

May 15, 2010
2 min to read


WASHINGTON - The White House will host a daylong summit Tuesday aimed at revitalizing struggling auto communities, with a big focus on the woes of Michigan, The Detroit News reported. The conference -- Auto Communities and the Next Economy: Partnerships in Innovation -- will feature Larry Summers, the White House National Economic Council director, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Ed Montgomery, the auto communities' czar. The event "will showcase innovative ways local and state leaders are working together to lead their communities into the next economy," the White House said. It will also highlight ways the federal government and philanthropies are working to bolster state and regional innovations. "There is much more to do. We need to strengthen the partnership between industry and government -- that can't just be a one-time reaction to a crisis, but an ongoing effort to help U.S. manufacturers compete. "We need to do much more to break down barriers to our exports and address currency manipulation by countries such as China," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, who will attend the summit. Blue-ribbon panels will grapple with reinventing industries, retraining workers, cleaning up contamination and blight, and creating new uses for underutilized land, according to an advanced copy of the agenda obtained by The Detroit News. The agenda has not been made public. But one of the day's main sessions focuses on Detroit. Titled "Reinventing Detroit--Broad Vision and Partnerships to Transform the Motor City," the session will discuss how the city is grappling with the loss of more than half its population over the last half-century and what it is doing to reinvent itself. Bing "plans to outline his vision for Detroit along with the connectivity and roles that the federal government and philanthropic community can play in realizing this vision," said spokeswoman Karen Dumas. Other auto community leaders will attend including the mayors of Shreveport, La., and Youngstown, Ohio. Luis A. Ubiñas, president of the Ford Foundation, Rip Rapson, president of the Kresge Foundation, Carol Goss, president of the Skillman Foundation and Ellen S. Alberding, president of the Joyce Foundation, will discuss the role of foundations in boosting struggling cities. Joining Granholm and Bing at the event will be United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger, Wayne State University President Jay Noren and the state's two U.S. senators, Levin and Debbie Stabenow, as well as a dozen other members of Congress at the event sponsored by the White House Council on Automotive Communities and the Brookings Institution.

More Industry

Two white men's shaking hands
Industry•October 15, 2026

Penske Auto Group Deal a Record

The deal to take the dealership and transportation services company private sets a new pace for industry buy-sell transactions.

Read More →
Rows of cars parked in exterior lot
Industry•by Hannah Mitchell•October 8, 2026

War Toll a Damper on Used Auto Prices

Cox Automotive found wholesale depreciation to be elevated in September amid high fuel prices and this year's unusual hurricane season.

Read More →
Mechanic cleaning interior of engine
Industry•by Lauren Lawrence•October 8, 2026

Bridge the Maintenance Gap

With many drivers missing recommended maintenance, service departments offering transparency and efficiency have a better chance of reaching financially strained consumers.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Ford F-150 truck rounding a curve
Industry•by Hannah Mitchell•October 1, 2026

California Store Has New Owner

The longtime dealership in the northern part of the state is known for robust fleet sales and has served the state capital for 115 years.

Read More →
crane lowering a pipeline into the ground
Industry•by Lauren Lawrence•October 1, 2026

BMW Plant Pursues Cleaner Energy

BMW Group Plant Leipzig has utilized hydrogen to help power its production since 2013, but a new pipeline is planned to take it to another level.

Read More →
Two dodge cars outside of dealership.
Industry•by Lauren Lawrence•September 17, 2026

Auto Affordability Inches Up

The latest Cox Automotive and Moody’s Analytics index shows a slight increase in new-vehicle affordability despite high prices.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Five men smiling for photo in front of Honda car dealership.
Industry•by Lauren Lawrence•September 10, 2026

Ohio Auto Group Under New Ownership

After 79 years with the Schluter family, Mansfield Auto Group has been acquired by Missouri-based Clement Auto Group.

Read More →
Blue and white RV parked on beach facing the ocean.
Industry•by Lauren Lawrence•September 3, 2026

RV Group Expands Carolina Footprint

Blue Compass RV Columbia Northeast is the 13th RV dealership owned by Blue Compass in the Carolinas.

Read More →
Photo of two men and one woman on a discussion panel
Industry•by Hannah Mitchell•September 1, 2026

Agent Acumen

An Agent Summit panel of people who’ve been supporting auto dealers for years gave both timely and timeless advice for those starting out or mulling the prospect.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Gloved hand holding two wrenches next to “Turn Overdue into Opportunity” Graphic
Industry•by Lauren Lawrence•August 27, 2026

Missed Maintenance Creates Opportunity

As families get back on the road and into daily school routines, service drives have an opportunity to capture customers who are behind on recommended vehicle maintenance.

Read More →
Ad Loading...