For more than a century, the auto industry has been the engine driving the American economy. Since the early days of the Twentieth Century, cars have been an important part of life in the United States. Today, facing declining sales and aggressive foreign competition, the Big Three confronts challenges that seemed unimaginable in their glory years. In Rustbelt Odyssey, retired auto executive Norman Krandall provides an unvarnished look at the cultural heritage of Detroit, and a glimpse into industrial decision-making in the halcyon days of big cars and limitless horizons. From his education and upbringing in the immigrant enclave of Hamtramck, Michigan, through a career that brought him to the upper echelons of the Ford Motor Company, to his retirement in Ireland, Krandall shares a lifetime of insights, high-jinx, and travels around the world.