Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

You shouldn't have brought up the topic if you didn't want to hear the responses.

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

Just no one drive a non American made car in Detroit and you should be good...

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

Bad stereotype. All cars are welcomed.

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

Haha, very funny. :p

Indeed, southeast Michigan actually sees more break-ins to American-made vehicles these days. That's just because there are a lot more American-made cars in this region, however, which in turn is merely the result of employer / family / friend loyalty leading naturally to customer loyalty.

There's nothing special about the Detroit area any more, really; it's just a regular city with regular people. You can still see the history if you're looking for it, like entire blocks in the suburbs converted to fields of grass after the residents moved out, but there's also plenty of new construction and economic growth downtown to balance it out. That's what we like to call "normal" here in the real world: people move, money moves, things like that change all the time. No big deal. :cool:

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

But that's impossible - it's Detroit. Haven't you been following the media :rolleyes:


What people don't realize is that Detroit is really the world-wide center of the automotive industry - not just for the American companies. Virtually every major automotive company (OEMs and parts suppliers) have large engineering centers in the area. Within 10 miles of where I'm sitting now are large (~500-1000 engineer) R&D centers for Hyunday/Kia, Toyota, and Nissan. I read an article a few days ago which stated that even though many American companies are outsourcing to low cost countries like India and China, that Indian and Chinese auto companies are now outsourcing to the Detroit area in order to leverage the experience and talent pool. Changan (China) recently opened a tech center about a half mile from my office and Mahindra (India) just announced that they are opening a large R&D center in Troy (northern suburb).

Because of this you see plenty of non-American cars around here. I got my first engineering job at a major tier 1 supplier working on all of the Toyota projects and as a result I drive a Camry. Yeah, you have some union die-hards with the anti-non-American bumper stickers, but they're not going to do anything to anybody.

What most people don't realize is that even though Detroit has the reputation as the blue-collar factory worker town, there are relatively few auto factory jobs around here any more. The vast majority of the automotive work around here is actually white-collar (engineering, science, management, accounting, marketing, etc.) There are literally (figuratively, actually) a bazillion engineering jobs here related to the auto industry, which largely explains why FIRST has been so strong here for so long. That also means that because so many people are employed by foreign companies that there much less attitude about foreign cars.

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

Random question, for all you Canadian/Michigander teams. If a team going to the Detroit event were worried for their safety in the city and didn't want to stay in Detroit, how feasible would it be for them to stay in Windsor instead?

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

Also, since the city is sort of making itself new, it should start calling itself Retroit.

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

For a team that didn't already have to deal with a border crossing (and all the school policies that are associated with it), I wouldn't want to introduce that hassle if I didn't have to.

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

15+ years ago this would have been feasible. Nowadays the border crossing is torture. Going to the Canadian side, you will be held up and interrogated to make sure you're not importing student workers. Going to the US side, you will be held up and interrogated to make sure you're not importing student terrorists. Then, if you're unlucky, the crossing may be closed at a moments notice while you're in line. This could range anywhere from 15 minutes up to two hours. On average, you would need to plan for a 1 hour border crossing - each way.

On the plus side, our dollar is pretty strong right now, and buys more in Canada.

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

There are plenty of suburbs within a reasonable driving distance if it makes you feel better. You can try Royal Oak, Troy, St. Clair Shores, or many other in that direction (that direction is a shorter drive to the event than other suburbs).

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

Came across this article in the Detroit Free Press during my lunch. It references a blog post by a North Carolina teenager who was in town for the ELCA event and her experiences while in Detroit (compared to what she had expected)...

"...You see, I was expecting a city filled with broken dreams and shattered glass, a city devoid of life and hope. I expected a scene of desolation against the backdrop of a dead city.
But you are not dead. You are so very much alive. You destroyed all of my preconceptions the minute I set foot on your gorgeous riverwalk and was exposed to the cultural diversity and breathtaking views you offered me. I saw the opposite of what I expected..."

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

We always hear of the border horror stories, but every time I've been across the border we've been waved through. Make sure anyone who isn't an American or Canadian citizen has ESTA, have everyone wear team clothing, and just be quiet and respectful, and you get can a bus of 55 people though in 20 minutes. The biggest issue we've had was when 1114's bus managed to squeeze in front of us and we had to wait for hhem to go first. :rolleyes:

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

In agreement with the other posters, I would not consider this an option. Traffic is incredibly unpredictable and congested on both sides. You also have to consider getting the entire team the necessary papers/passport/enhanced license to be able to travel to another country. There are plenty of Detroit suburbs to stay in if you are uncomfortable staying in Detroit that are under a 30 minute drive from the city.

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

The number of homicides in 2014 was 333.

Please Adam, think before you speak.

Think about every kid that's in South Eastern Michigan that's so excited to host you and your team in their city, a city they love, and a city they personally identify with on a regional basis.

Think about a city with so much culture it was called the Paris of the Midwest, a city teeming with beautiful architecture, miles of waterfront, one of Michigan's most beloved state parks, and green spaces everywhere.

Think about a city that has been war torn by racial violence, fire, corruption, a city left to rot by the rest of the country with only the occasional ruin porn prober from the New York Times sliding through to see just how dead it really is.

Think about the crime you'd be committing against intelligence if you ignored all of the above and took an entire region, its history, its present, and its future and reduced it down to a singular number.

The 313 is so much more than 333. If you choose to ignore that fact, most Michiganders would agree you're better off attending the Houston event.

Re: Event with 30,0000 HS students in Detroit.
 

Wow, I'm impressed that you felt so passionately about Adam's joke that you created an account and made your first post to defend Detroit so vehemently. :rolleyes: