Although American Auto is set in Detroit (aka the Motor City), the series is filmed in Los Angeles, presumably at Universal Studios Hollywood. But that doesn't mean the show's set design wasn't inspired by something real. According to The Cinemeholic, Justin reached out to Alessandro Uzielli — the great-great-grandson of Henry Ford — for a tour of the Ford Motors corporate office in Dearborn, Mich., and the Dearborn Truck Plant.

Michigan’s decades-long influence on the automotive industry makes the city the perfect backdrop for the show. In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Justin revealed, "It wasn’t really supposed to be a story about the auto industry or set in Detroit or anything. I just wanted a more specific industry than just, like, generic widgets."

Justin went on to say he doesn't describe himself as a car fanatic and, in fact, his latest show was born on a whim. "I wanted it to be a big multimillion- [or] billion-dollar company that touches on a lot of areas. And the auto industry sort of fit into that."