Looking Back: Would Cleveland Be Any Better Off Today?

Clevelanders love to tell the story of how the automotive industry started in their hometown. Many express deep regrets that we didn't do more to become the leading center for the industry. Read this clip from a history of Cleveland's auto industry in the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.

"Why did Cleveland, an early leader in the American automotive industry, lose out to Detroit? There is no single answer, but as historian John Rae has argued, the manufacturers and financiers of Detroit were more willing to take the risks involved in building the massive plants required to shift to assembly-line mass production than were comparable businessmen in any other manufacturing center of the nation." Source: Read a fascinating history of the automotive industry in Cleveland in the Enclyclopedia of Cleveland History

Looking at Detroit and Cleveland today, would Cleveland be any better off today had it gone the whole nine yards to develop the automotive industry back in 1920s? This is a puzzling question, but just the sort of question we should be asking ourselves as we look to the future we intend to create for ourselves.