No, the Big Three automakers contracted severely on the whole. The owners, i.e. the shareholders, suffered too. >>You mean when everyone else was still rebuild

No, the Big Three automakers contracted severely on the whole. The owners, i.e. the shareholders, suffered too. >>You mean when everyone else was still rebuilding after WWII. The post war era was the era of rising union power, not weak unions. The first half of the 20th century fell mostly outside the post-war era. Not only did Detroit become the wealthiest city in America, but that wealth didn't come at the expense of its golden geese, which were the Big Three automakers. So to summarize, the automakers became stronger during the era of weak unions, while Detroit became the richest city in America. In contrast, the automakers became less competitive during the era of a dominant UAW Union, and that culminated in Detroit becoming a ghost town.