Detroit was one of the first cities that Frank visited while working on The Americans. As the home of the Ford Motor Company, it was an essential location for his project. Frank recognised that the car was one of the most powerful symbols of American identity. Moreover, Ford's River Rouge plant at Detroit was among the most elaborate manufacturing complexes in the world. Everything took place within one site, beginning with the raw iron ore that was smelted and processed into steel, before being shaped into engines and body parts, which were then assembled into the finished automobile. As Frank wrote to his wife, 'this one is God's factory and if there is such a thing - I am sure that the devil gave him a helping hand...'.

Frank spent two days at River Rouge, which he presents as an oppressive, grimy environment crowded with machinery. The men themselves seem weary and despairing, exhausted by the ceaseless pace of the production line. Frank later recalled the extreme heat and noise of the factory, and the workers shouting at him.

While in Detroit, Frank took a number of photographs around the city, showing the spaces where the workers and their families lived and tried to relax. As if to emphasise that there is no real escape from the factory, Frank portrays popular entertainment at the Drive-in, lined with row upon row of cars.