Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Why #MichiganIsAuto


As I sit here on the showroom floor from Press Preview of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS)—surrounded by shiny new cars, world renowned members of the press, and auto execs and industry professionals from around the world—I am in absolute awe that all of this is taking place in Detroit.

Detroit is often the butt of jokes in the media and we're always a bit of an underdog but there is one thing Detroit does well and that's automotive. This is where it all started. We are the Motor City and building cars is in our DNA. So of course it makes sense for NAIAS to call Detroit home for over a century.

Preview Week at NAIAS is a magical place to be. It starts off with two jam packed days of press conferences with over 50 vehicle debuts. In attendance are more than 5,000 journalists from all over the world as well as all the movers and shakers of the automotive industry.

From dawn until well after dusk, Detroit is over taken by NAIAS. When the press conferences end for the day and the showroom floor closes and preview week attendees move to other venues for afterparty after afterparty. The lights are bright, the music is loud, and the cars are the guests of honor. The momentum never slows. The Motor City never sleeps.

With all of this excitement I am also surprised to find myself, not only a minority as a female but also, a minority representing a younger generation in the automotive industry. This is because there is a serious talent pipeline issue going on around here and I don't understand why.

We Have the Tools
Michigan is home to 16 universities and colleges with nationally ranked undergraduate engineering programs, four of which also have nationally ranked graduate programs. We're educating them. So what's the problem?

The younger generations want to be a part of the tech industry. And sadly, they don't see automotive as a high tech industry and, even worse, they don't see Michigan as a viable place to live and have a career. Both are bad news for Michigan's number one industry.

Auto: World's Largest Tech Industry
The automotive industry is the world's largest global industry. If you look at cultures around the world, not all of them have the latest iPhone or Surface Pro to Google from, but in every country you will see automobiles. And these vehicles are on the forefront of technology. In fact, today's cars have more computing power than the system that guided the Apollo astronauts to the moon. In addition, the typical new-model vehicle comes with 100 million lines of code and includes more code than Microsoft operating systems. And all of this originates in Michigan.

We are the Center of the Automotive World
Michigan remains the epicenter for auto-related research and development where key industry players from around the world have facilities to remain at the forefront of innovation.

Michigan is home to 375 automotive Research and Development (R&D) centers, 120 of which are foreign-owned proving that Michigan is known as the home of automotive around the globe. Fifteen U.S. and foreign-owned automakers have R&D facilities in Michigan accounting for $8.9 billion or 76 percent of $12 billion in U.S. R&D business—leading the nation in automotive related R&D.

In fact, we have a long standing history of leading the way. Between 1964 and 2012, Michigan accounted for more than 27 percent of the automotive patents issued nationwide, averaging one automotive patent earned in Michigan per day for 49 years straight. This outpaces every state in the nation by more than 300 percent.

Auto Has Something For Everyone
From engineering to design and communications to accounting, there is something for everyone in automotive. Being part of one of the largest, if not the largest, global industries means they're recruiting people with all types of background. Not only do they need electrical, mechanical, and design engineers but they need people in supply chain and sales, office administrators and healthcare professionals, fork truck drivers and lawyers. It takes a village to make a car. 

Have I changed your mind yet?
I've done my best and I'll continue to fight the good fight. I can't think of any other place I would want to work than right here in automotive and for the sake of Michigan's economy,  I hope this notion catches on. But if you still need more convincing, head over to Twitter and Instagram and search out the #MichiganIsAuto hashtag. 

During the NAIAS, the Detroit Regional Chamber and MICHauto will be sharing the #MichiganIsAuto hashtag, creating a buzz around all that is happening at the show and promoting Michigan automotive industry as a whole. They are asking for everyone to step up and be a #MichiganIsAuto ambassador throughout the month of January.

Whether it’s the state’s manufacturing know-how, automotive infrastructure, or the engineering talent to drive future innovations, use the #MichiganIsAuto hashtag to showcase the reasons why Michigan is the epicenter of the industry to the world.

A selected winner at the end of each week will be chosen to receive a $500 gift card. For more info visit www.MICHauto.org.


MICHauto is a key economic development initiative of the Detroit Regional Chamber, dedicated to promoting, retaining and growing the automotive industry in Michigan. The program serves as the unified voice of Michigan’s automotive industry, providing a platform for various automotive stakeholders to collaborate on matters related to advocacy, awareness, business attraction, and talent attraction and retention.

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