Germans keep the faith in downbeat Detroit.

Byline: Jason Stein

The waffles were offered for breakfast. The filet mignon was served at lunch. And small hamburgers and shrimp appetizers delivered for dinner.

And who was the chef in Detroit? Who kept the fire burning on a series of frigid nights in the Motor City?

Not the Detroit 3, but the German 4. The 2009 North American International Auto Show lived and breathed and thrived as if it were a Frankfurt preview.

The Europeans rediscovered America last week in the face of the largest economic and automotive downturn in recent memory.

"Some of the exhibits shown by the Detroit companies were smaller than our dealerships in …