ST. CLAIR, Mich.—At first, North America’s biggest auto-parts supplier was thrilled to snag the job of making enclosures for the batteries in General Motors’ new electric pickup. The contract was so ...

The Art Deco skyscrapers of downtown Detroit, built when money flooded into the Motor City in the 1920s, attest to the early years of America’s long dominance of carmaking. Though the industry’s ...