Another oldie-but-goodie: BrandChannel.com (which I’m becoming addicted to) published an article back in 2004 about Detroit’s efforts to shed its “toothless and anarchic” image. Detroit had a significant opportunity to pull off an effective, widely-visible rebranding campaign with the then-forthcoming Ryder Cup and Superbowl.

Did it work? It appears that Detroit’s made a lot of progress, with recent studies showing that Detroit’s downtown crime rate is 26% below the national average, and that investments are being made to revitalize the city.

Today, it still appears that Turin, Italy is still trouncing Detroit on the (motor-related) image front, with Fiat acting as a principal sponsor of the 2006 Winter Games, but only time will tell how this all turns out.