It can only be good news for a city that is seen as a decrepit joke across America, but auto sales are growing so fast for the Big Three in Detroit that Ford (NYSE: F), General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler are facing a battle to keep up with demand.

It is hard to believe that it is only three years since the American auto industry was on the brink of collapse, every news program was having the “too big to fail or not' debate and, overall, things looked very bad indeed.

The beginning of 2012 has painted an entirely different picture, though. This year alone, sales look as if they are going to exceed 14 million, beating 2011's 12.8 million total.