Level Field Institute Begins Advertising Campaign on Fuel Economy Legislation

- Ad Asks Congress to Read the Fine Print of the Current Bills - Or Risk Sending Jobs Overseas -

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2007 -- The Level Field Institute, an automotive research organization founded by retired autoworkers, today launched an ad campaign that will examine the potential economic impact of competing CAFE bills. Today's ad highlights two lesser known provisions that could have a significant impact on jobs.

By requiring automakers to build flexible fuel vehicles, CAFE could reduce carbon emissions and America's dependence on foreign oil. Doing so would also boost the growing Ethanol industry, which currently supports 200,000 U.S. jobs (many of which are in Midwestern states hit hard by manufacturing job losses). While the House's Hill-Terry bill (H.R. 2927) requires investments in flex fuels, the Senate CAFE bill does not.

"This is the best opportunity Congress will have to move America towards a flexible fuel economy," said Level Field president Jim Doyle. "But you can't get there without more automakers putting flex fuel cars on the road."

The Senate CAFE bill also eliminates current "anti-backsliding" rules that require automakers to meet CAFE standards for the fleets they build here and the fleets they build overseas. This encourages more small car production in the U.S. Under the Senate bill, five assembly plants building fuel-efficient vehicles, which support approximately 180,000 U.S. jobs, could close. Among those plants at risk are: Lordstown, OH (GM); Spring Hill, TN (GM); Wayne, MI (Ford); Belvidere, IL (Chrysler); and, Fremont, CA (GM/Toyota).

"We've seen a lot of rhetoric over how much CAFE should rise, but the small print also has a very big impact on the American economy," said Doyle. "Under the Senate bill, small car manufacturing is more likely to move overseas, and we'll see no increase in Ethanol investment to offset those losses."

Doyle continued, "Our supporters agree that CAFE should rise, but it's time to recognize that every automaker in the United States today faces health care costs and currency disadvantages that make it tough to produce small cars here profitably."

The first ad of the campaign, which begins in Washington, D.C. today, can be viewed at: http://www.levelfieldinstitute.org/ . Level Field will begin a locally-targeted advertising campaign in early August.