Eric, I'd say that's a tough question. My first visit to the US was in 1989 with my mother. I had been a huge fan of all things American as long as I remember and pretty much grown up with American movies and TV-series. A lot of people who we knew had American cars as did we. My parents visited New York, Washington DC, Detroit, Chicago and Toronto in 1967. My uncle was a cop in Chicago but unfortunately passed away about the same time I was born.

I didn't really have a huge surprise but rather a weird feeling which I really remember clearly still today. When exiting the LAX terminal (we spent one week in LA and one in Honolulu) I felt the hot air and saw all the American vehicles. It was surreal how familiar everything seemed. But the weird feeling was that I felt that I was finally home. It may sound silly but that is what I felt very strongly. Maybe I was misplaced at birth...

Another thing a good friend of mine experienced is probably familiar to many of those who like the US but have never visited. It is the fear of being disappointed. What if it isn't as cool as I have imagined? What then? What Americans probably don't realize is that many of us in Europe have the US as a place to escape in thought, a better place where a man can be free. It is really something you don't want to lose. But like my friend said when he came back; "No worries, everything was even better than I thought!".

Sorry, the Viper plant doesn't have any regular public tours. I'll shoot you a PM...

There is so much to see in Detroit...make a good plan before you go! Use common sense though, some of the areas are on the rougher side...