You must give strangers the impression that you're poor.
Otherwise, you'd have been robbed.
Detroit is a mess.
Hey now! It's not all that bad, you just have to know the areas to avoid. There are good parts, like near the casinos and sports stadiums and whatnot. I live about an hour from Detroit, (when I'm not at school), and really only go there for Red Wings games, fireworks, and the autoshows. You just have to know where to go when you're there.
A lot of out-of-towners are scared to come to Detroit for its rep, and to be honest, it's a very valid reason to not come. If you aren't familiar with the area, you are likely to take a wrong turn and end up in the heart of the ghetto.
A few years back I was driving down there and stopped at a red light, a policeman pulled up behind me as the light turned green. So I went to pull away from the light and he flashed his lights on and pulled me over. He then proceeded to ask me why I stopped at the red light, and if I was there to buy drugs. He told me to not stop at anymore red lights in the area until I got back on the highway.
edit: I should note that I have my windows tinted to <5% all around on my blacked out Yukon, which doesn't help the appearance I suppose.
Just avoid going to Detroit at night if you've never been and don't know your way around. During the daytime, you'll
most likely be alright. If you start seeing houses with the front doors wide open and/or plywood windows; be sure to lock your doors, roll up your windows and take as many right turns as you can so you don't have to stop at red lights as often.
