General Motors turns 100 today

Congratulations to General Motors as it starts the 2nd Century today. General Motors (GM) was founded on September 16, 1908 in Flint, Michigan and currently employs approximately 284,000 people around the world. GM's global headquarters is the Renaissance Center located in Detroit, Michigan.

Here's Oldsmobile Curved Dash - from early 1900'sand here's the future - Chevy Volt!!

Detroit Mayor in trouble and the world knows about it

The mayor of Detroit was sent to jail for violating the terms of his bond and now the world knows about it. I have created a quick Google Maps Mashup to show where in the world the mayor of Detroit is making news. This list is not complete. I will be adding more links.

Google Maps Directions from Detroit, MI to Sydney Australia (includes 7906 miles of Kayaking across Pacific Ocean)

Imagine Kayaking 7906 miles across the pacific ocean. This is part of Google's driving directions from Detroit, MI to Sydney, Australia. The way the GAS prices are skyrocketing, kayaking might not be such a bad idea :-)

Traffic Prediction added to Google Maps

Its Monday around 8 AM and Employee Joe who lives in Troy, MI is heading to his work place in downtown Detroit, MI. He always drives down I-75 South to Detroit, MI. But last Monday, he ran into heavy traffic on I-75 (portion parallel to Big Beaver Road). So he was late for that important meeting. His Boss gave him a piece of advice - "Listen, Joe! in future before hitting the freeway, check out the Current and Future Traffic pattern/congestion on Google Maps".

Here's how the Boss explains it. He logs on to the computer and brings up Google Maps and zooms into Troy, MI. Next he clicks on Traffic Button which brings up a box in the upper right hand corner of Google Maps. He selects the option - "Traffic at Day and Time" and selects Monday 8.15 AM. And the result.... Google Maps Predicts that traffic at around 8.15 AM on a Monday would crawl at 0-25 MPH. Joe reacts..."Wow! That is neat!!" (Info on this Google Maps feature found at Google LatLong Blog)

Dallas-Fort Worth Leads in Population Growth and Detroit Metro Leads in Population Decline

Dallas-Fort Worth had the largest Population growth of any metro area between 2006 and 2007, increasing by 162,250, according to estimates of metro area population size and growth released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Detroit Metro leads in Population Decline with approx 27,314 folks leaving the area.

Here's a look at Population changes in 100 Largest Metro areas in United States on Google Maps. This Mashup sorts the list by 1. Most Populated 2. Largest Gain 3. Least/Negative Gain.

Metro Detroit Potholes - Mapped!

WWJ Newsradio 950, a Metro Detroit radio station has a "Pothole Patrol Map" on their website. They have mapped out Potholes in the Metro Detroit area on Google Maps.

So if you are driving around in the Metro Detroit Area and come across a "Tire Eater" Pothole, then do let the community know by visiting the Pothole Patrol Map page and adding the Pothole info. The potholes that are fixed are marked with a Green Marker and the ones which need fixing are shown with red markers (looks like none of the potholes are fixed!!).

Unique View of Detroit

Bill McGraw a Detroit Free Press Columnist was given a "extreme assignment": Take a 2,700-mile road trip and never leave Detroit. So starting in May last year he drove through Detroit's 2,100+ streets. The idea here was to get a unique view of Detroit, a street-level survey of Detroit's 138 square miles. So with all the video, sound, music and photos which were recorded during the journey, the staff of Detroit Free Press created a Google Maps Mashup.

Mike Pegg of GoogleMapsMania has this to say about this Google Maps Mashup

This is one of the best video/photo essays I've seen since it really gave me a vibe for the city when I used it.

Happy New Year

Happy and Prosperous New Year to all. Mother Nature helped us welcome the New Year by dumping 8-10 inches of snow in the Metro Detroit Area.

Sure this looks pretty but its no fun shoveling the white stuff. I do have a snow blower but it does not like this much snow so I had to shovel. (Whatever happened to Global Warming!!)

Detroit, MI on Google Maps Street View

Hello Detroiters! You are now on Google Maps Street View. Check out maps.google.com and click on "Street View" Button. You can view street level photographs. Here's a look at "Hard Rock Cafe" in Downtown, Detroit. (Thanks to Mike Pegg of GoogleMapsMania for the the tip)

World Map at General Motors Plaza, Detroit, MI

Here's a Google Maps Satellite view of World Map carved in Granite at General Motors Plaza, Detroit, MI (right by the Detroit River). This World Map shows (not visible on Google Maps) General Motors Facility Locations World Wide.

Wait a second! If you think this is cool, then take a look at what folks in Dubai, UAE have done. They have created a World Map out of sand dredged from sea. This world map is a cluster of 300 islands. Here's a Google Earth View of the "World Map" in Dubai, UAE (also view in Google Maps).

Updated Google Earth Imagery for Detroit, MI

Google Earth Imagery for Detroit has been updated. I have not seen the update in Google Maps yet. Some of what I have seen...

Ford Field - (Home of Detroit Lions), now with FORD logo on the roof of the stadium.


Campus Martius Park (Lunch time crowd enjoying music in the park)


Detroit Princess Riverboat


Detroit TV Anchors on top of Detroit People Mover