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I think The Nice Guys was a smarter film than it appears to be at first glance.
There's a lot going on. It pushes buttons, like with that "electric car" comment at the end. Truth is, the US didn't even need Japan to build fully functioning electric cars five years after the events of the movie. We had that shit nailed down by, like, 1981 (well... 1881 if you wanna get real picky about it). But the country is built on the big three (that bit was true enough), and the briefly revitalized electric auto movement of the 1980's, which was in fact a direct response to California fuel emission regulations as I'm sure you recall, was positively sniped by the auto-industry and state and federal governments.
Sorry, not trying to get pedantic, I'm not old enough clearly remember the electric car false starts in the '80s, but I do remember '97.
Anyway, I think the film got a bit "meta" (such a trendy word these days... thanks, Deadpool!) with the whole message about the big three auto companies. It became sort of a real life version of the "experimental" film the film was about, and it did this with several subtle, muted digs at the American auto industry that were peppered throughout the if you kept your ears open. References to ethanol, a by-proxy condemnation of the corruption of the auto companies, made in third person. It's like it was trying to be the very protest film that the movie itself revolved around, but less overtly.
And I hate to say it, but the fact that it was in and out of theaters in 2 weeks despite getting rave reviews, starring two of the most beloved actors of our time and being directed by the dude who made blockbusters like Iron Man 3, is kind of telling. Makes me wonder if strings aren't still being pulled to at least minimize the reach of films that tackle these issues.
It almost reminds me of that Matt Damon/
France's McDormand film about the natural gas companies leading rural communities to the proverbial slaughter by getting them to agree to have their farmland "fracked." I think it was called The Promised Land. Anyway, it wasn't a masterpiece by any means, but it laid bare some unpleasant truths about the fracking industry, and the complete control drilling companies have over public opinion. It was an important movie, but it wasn't given the time of day, and barely spent a week in theaters.
Anyway, this is the stuff I find most unsettling about the film, and it's not really "about" the film as much as the film's subject matter.
That line "nothing can stop Detroit" also hit pretty hard.
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