'In the early years, there was a close connection between GM leaders and where they worked and lived,' said Ron Edsforth, a professor at Dartmouth College and expert on the automobile in American life. 'GM recognized that good community relations were critical to building the company.' Thousands of people moved to Detroit and southeast Michigan for the chance to work at GM and its rivals as auto sales soared. Cadillac's new plant on Clark Street -- the most modern factory in the world when it opened in 1921 -- was an early draw. More than anything, GM's ability to remain solvent and profitable during the Great Depression drew admiration from workers all over America -- and set it apart from rivals. 'After the economy recovered, GM was never bashful about displaying its power and financial resources,' said David Farber, author of 'Sloan Rules, Alfred P. Sloan and the Triumph of General Motors.' 'A job at GM was the ultimate source of accomplishment and security for many Americans.' GM became an easy target and the first of Detroit's automakers to recognize the United Auto Workers union and collective bargaining. The middle class was born, with Detroit as its center. The landmark 1950 'Treaty of Detroit' between GM and the UAW laid the groundwork for what historians now call the corporate welfare state -- steady wage increases, health insurance and pensions for life. Prosperity swept over Detroit and other GM towns. The stereotype of 'Generous Motors' continued through the 1960s and 1970s but began to collide with new realities such as global competition and political change. GM eventually found itself in the middle of some of the nation's biggest social and economic unrest. The civil rights movement and Vietnam War spawned more skepticism and mistrust. New problems surfaced on the factory floor. During the 1960s, absenteeism in GM plants jumped 50 percent, and employee turnover increased 72 percent. In 1967, race riots rocked Detroit, prompting National Guard troops to patrol the streets in front of the GM building. GM responded to the riots by boosting minority hiring, as well as expanding efforts to develop minority suppliers and dealers. To counter the white flight to the suburbs, it proposed a new plant that would straddle Detroit and Hamtramck and bring thousands of jobs back to the city. After a legal battle with neighborhood groups and some homeowners, about 1,300 homes, 140 businesses, six churches and one hospital were razed to make room for the Poletown plant. GM contributed to other problems that face communities today, including global warming and the lack of public transportation. In the 1940s, GM bought a controlling stake in public transit systems in California and elsewhere. They were closed down and destroyed. 'GM went on to dominate the car market,' said Thomas Sugrue, a Detroit native and urban expert at the University of Pennsylvania. 'But Detroit developed less densely and with no major mass transit for a well-populated city its size.' Sugrue said GM's philanthropic ties to Detroit have also been weakened over time. GM's philanthropic spending was $57.8 million in 2007, down from $75 million 2003; 20 to 25 percent of those monies benefit Detroit and southeast Michigan. 'GM has always had one foot in Detroit and one in New York,' said Sugrue. More recently, GM's acquisition of the Renaissance Center in 1996 for its new world headquarters sparked additional redevelopment downtown and along the Detroit river. Even as it grows overseas, GM's U.S. market share losses have led to plant closings and job losses in Michigan and other North American cities. And the lifetime promises it made to generations of Michigan workers -- pension, health insurance, steady pay -- have been scaled back to offset steep financial losses, undermining its economic ties to Detroit. 'Because of GM's transnational focus today, place matters less than ever,' Edsforth said.