This is Michigan

The government-supported carmakers General Motors and Chrysler Group are producing something they haven't made in quite some time: cash.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Retail sales soared in March, the government said Wednesday, in the latest sign of improving consumer confidence.

The Michigan cities of Ann Arbor and Detroit are only about 40 miles apart, but the distance is enough to present starkly different housing markets. The Ann Arbor market saw the boom and bust in recent years. But first-time home buyer tax credits in 2009 helped change fortunes.

General Motors may have sold off Saab to Spyker for $74 million and a 50 gallon bucket of Swedish meatballs, but it appears the "Born From Jets" automaker isn't saying goodbye to Michigan altogether. The Detroit News is reporting that Saab has chosen small but trendy Royal Oak, MI as the location for the company's North American headquarters. The move makes sense given the fact that Michigan has oodles of engineering talent and many of the world's automakers and suppliers have a presence in the Mitten State. The move will be a short one as well, as WWJ radio in Detroit reports that the 60 workers will transfer from Saab's old headquarters at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit.

LANSING -- Thirteen companies were granted state tax breaks Tuesday for investments they say will produce 2,790 direct jobs to develop rechargeable batteries, components for military vehicles, medical technology, cancer drug research and renewable energy plants for African villages.

LG Chem has made it official. The South Korean manufacturer is moving forward with plans to start production of lithium ion cells in Michigan. LG Chem and its U.S. subsidiary, Compact Power Inc. (CPI), will spend $303 million to build the cell plant in Holland, on the west side of the state. By 2013, the facility figures to employ over 400 people. Groundbreaking will take place this summer, with the factory scheduled to be fully operational by 2012. At full production, the plant will have enough capacity to produce cells for 50,000 to 200,000 battery packs, depending on the configuration (E-REV vs PHEV).

A number of things transpired last month to paint most of our By the Numbers table below green. A minor contribution can be credited to Toyota and its recall woes, the effect of which has been that many other automakers are grabbing conquest sales from the wounded Japanese automaker.

CRUISE the blighted streets that shoot off in either direction from 8 Mile Road, and the scars of the automotive crisis abound. "For sale" signs adorn the front of long-shuttered metal, paint and tool-and-die shops. And at factories still in business, the small number of cars in the parking lots testify that the shops are working below capacity.