The mark of any powerful nation is a thriving auto industry. Building and selling cars to your own people is a privilege reserved for the most advanced and prosperous countries. In each of these countries, there's a city that touts itself as the beating heart of its auto industry.
We've taken it upon ourselves to compile some of the cities around the world with a deep-rooted connection to the designing and building of motor vehicles.
Let's take a look at some of the coolest car building cities from around the world and find out how each one makes an impact on the cars they make.
Germany: Wolfsberg
This industrial city in the German region of Lower Saxony is the German auto industry's beating industrial heart. Volkswagen's called this city home for decades, and by association is hosts headquarters for VW affiliates like Bentley, Porsche, SEAT, Ducatti, and Lamborghini.
Not only does this city feature a who's who of German automotive brilliance, but it also sports the world's largest automobile factory in the world. The local economy has absolutely thrived off the back of the VW giant. GDP per capita in the area is a scarcely believable $120,000. Not surprising when you consider how many cars they make there.
Italy: Modena
The northern Italian city of Modena has two very famous exports. Absolutely delicious balsamic vinegar and mid-engined Italian sports cars. With roots all the way back in ancient Rome, this city is home to Ferrari, Maserati, De Tomasso, Lamborghini, and Maserati.
That list of names counts off basically the entire list of Italian Car manufacturers that the average person has ever heard of save for Fiat, and even they have some presence in the city. The twisting mountain roads surrounding the town make for the perfect spot for test drivers to fine-tune their machines.
These roads were the domain of iconic Italian test drivers like Valentino Balboni and Max Venturi. There's over a millennium of history to be learned from this little Italian town, but for petrolheads, the most interesting bits all happened in the last 100 years.
United Kingdom: West Midlands
Its auto industry may be a burnt-out shell of what it used to be, but not so long ago, there was a time when as many cars rolled off British assembly lines in the Midlands that it caught the attention of the Americans and the Germans.
In the 70s and 80s, British car makers like Dolomite, Triumph, Austin, Morris, and Mini all conglomerated into the British Leyland Company, and its headquarters was situated right in the plucky old West Midlands, just a stone's throw away from Birmingham. Even if the cars they made all fell apart, it still made this pokey little section of the English countryside a significant part of British history.
Not only is this region famous for its road cars, but nearby Banbury also hosts the Pro-Drive Formula One team. Famous for making a concept road car so grippy, it made Jeremy Clarkson's stomach go all queasy.
Japan: Toyota, Aichi
Imagine if General Motors named the city they build their cars in "Buick City" that's essentially what Toyota did with the mountain laden city in southern Japan. Toyotas global headquarters is located in a 14 story office building in the heart of the city.
The office building and the accompanying factories in the city contribute to much of the cities GDP. Predictably, over 75 percent of vehicles driven in the city are made by Toyota. Since Japan is a very prideful nation, we doubt anyone would want to be caught dead in this city in a Chrysler or a BMW. It's also the city where the AE86 Trueno and the 2Jz Supra were first conceived. That alone makes us owe this city our thanks.
USA: Detroit
No matter the economic hardship, Mo-town will always beat to the tune of a thumping great V8. Since before Henry Ford had even put together his first assembly line, this city on the U.S-Canadian border's been integral to the automobile in America.
Not only has Detroit called all of the U.S's big three carmakers, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, home for over 100 years, it's also been home to dozens of smaller makers, some of whom were absorbed into the larger big three companies, or just died off altogether.
After decades of economic stagnation in the area, there's been a big push in the last 15 years to return the city to its former splendor. After a four-decade-plus tailspin caused by the mid 70's oil crisis and the end of the original muscle car era, the good ole U.S of A truly has finally caught up with Europe and Japan in terms of raw performance.
On top of that, American cars are usually cheaper than cars from overseas, so you can have as many as you want for the price of a single Italian supercar. Suddenly, Detroit might not look like the post-industrial hellscape people on the news make it out to be. It looks like, finally, there's genuine hope on the horizon.
Sources: TripSavvy, TripAdvisor, CNN, Myautoworld.com