http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/26/detroit-name-change-oregon-michigan

The other Detroit considers scrapping name

Oregon tourist town to vote on calling itself Detroit Lake to end association with troubled Motor City

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• Associated Press
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 26 October 2010 19.45 BST
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Detroit, Michigan, has its problems. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images Detroit, a tourist town in Marion county, Oregon, believes it is developing a bad image for being associated with its namesake in Michigan.
The 300-resident town, in the Cascades foothills, is to vote next week on whether to dump the moniker it shares with the city that is home to the car industry of the US.
The ballot proposes altering the name of the town to Detroit Lake. Doug DeGeorge, a builder, told the Detroit News that the town name carried an unsavory image. He expected the measure would pass, but said the residents meant no offence to the Michigan city often associated with crime, corruption, failing schools and a shaky auto industry.
Detroit City councilman Gary Brown said Oregon residents were making a big mistake because the Motor City would one day return to its previous glory.