A new group has been formed in the US, called the Level Field Institute, and it will run commercials in Washington and Detroit attacking claims by foreign automakers that they are as American as GM, Ford and Chrysler, because they manufacture in the US.

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According to USA Today, the commercials will say that in truth, the Big Three still employ eight out of 10 workers in the automotive industry, four times as many as the Japanese, Korean or European automakers combined.


The Level Field Institute was created by Jim Doyle, a former US Department of Commerce official and son of two autoworkers. He was struck by the damage that the Big Three’s problems are causing in the Detroit area. He has gained funding from retired autoworkers, the vehicle manufacturers and dealers.


People in the Detroit area are generally loyal to the Big Three, although that has recently changed. Five years ago, GM, Ford and Chrysler accounted for 90.8% of vehicle sales in Michigan, according to JD Power, quoted in the New York Times. That has fallen recently to 88.3%, compared with 55% nationwide.


The Big Three’s influence in Washington diminished some time ago. USA Today quotes David Cole, chairman of the Centre for Automotive Research, as saying it has been at least 20 years since domestic automakers had real clout in Washington.

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JP Morgan analyst Himanshu Patel told the newspaper that taking into account the large number of foreign automaker plants and the number of Big Three plants that are scheduled for closure, just one in five house members will represent states in which Detroit automakers dominate.