Detroit has been in the news a lot lately and some of the headlines have not been favorable. Motor City, USA, has suffered a plunging housing market, auto worker strikes and a shrinking population. Even rapper Eminem gives the city a bad name by dwelling on its poverty in the semi-autobiographical movie, 8 Mile.

Look behind the headlines, though, and one sees a city whose economy is clipping along just fine. True, the American automobile industry has lost some of its market share to foreign carmakers. But there is a larger market to share as more and more people around the world buy their first cars (and many of them buy American models). It is also true that the housing market is falling and the population is shrinking. All that means is that newcomers can buy undervalued homes and compete with fewer people for jobs. As for Eminem, well, nobody ever called him accurate.

This is just a sample of what you'll find in the complete Detroit guide.