US:Visitors to the Detroit Auto Show, which opened yesterday, can marvel at the latest in luxury vehicles, featuring the most innovative motor technology in the world and promoted in the time-honoured way by beautiful, barely clad models. When they leave the show, however, they will be brought down to earth with a bump - literally - as they plunge into a pothole on one of Detroit's threadbare highways.
As industry has fled or shrunk and unemployment has soared, starving the city of revenue, the potholes have grown bigger, deeper and more numerous. Driving out of the city, you pass block upon block of empty, derelict buildings as local radio stations broadcast ads for the latest gun amnesty - "This is a no questions asked programme".
Cross into Oakland County, however, and you enter a different world of smoothly paved, tree-lined streets and spacious houses with carefully tended lawns. This is Mitt Romney's home turf, and as Michigan prepares to hold its presidential primaries today, he came to Lawrence Technical University to preach to his well-heeled choir.
Romney's campaign is the most lavishly funded in the Republican race and everyone at the rally was handed balloons, badges and a big red mitt with "Mitt" printed on it. Inside, many of the men wore dark blue blazers, the women were dressed to the nines, and practically everyone was white.
"You're in a place here that had one of the highest standards of living in the world for nearly 100 years. Currently we're challenged because it hasn't evolved fast enough. I think ultimately the jobs that come back are going to be in different areas," said John Stoffregen, a management consultant from Ann Arbor.
When John McCain suggested that Michigan should forget about the old jobs and start thinking about how to generate new ones, Romney accused him of defeatism, an attack he returned to in his 20-minute speech.
"I've heard people say that the auto jobs are gone and they're never coming back," he said. "Well, baloney, I'm going to fight for every single good job." Right now Romney is fighting to remain in the Republican race after losing Iowa and New Hampshire despite vastly outspending his rivals. As a Michigan native whose father ran a motor company and became the state's governor, Romney is banking on a victory in today's primary to revive his fortunes.
A new poll over the weekend gave him an edge over McCain but Romney's rallies have attracted smaller crowds and McCain received a boost yesterday as he shot into a strong national lead in two polls.
Romney shows little of McCain's passion or wit on the stump and most of his jokes attract no more than a smile. His best is about asking his wife Ann if she ever imagined in her wildest dreams that he would be running for president.
"You're not in my wildest dreams," she said.
While McCain offers a blunt assessment of Michigan's economic troubles, Romney is relentlessly optimistic, promising to restore the prosperity that once made the state the envy of the country. "I will commit this to you," he said. "If I'm president of The United States, I will not rest until Michigan is back."
For supporters like Stoffregen, Romney's experience in business makes him the right candidate to restore competence to the US government, although he acknowledges that Romney has so far failed to connect with voters elsewhere. "He's not a professional politician and he hasn't had the advantage of a real grassroots organisation. He's had to build it himself and that's taken some time."