Survey Finds 31 Percent of Households in State Tied to Auto Industry, 84 Percent Say Auto Industry is in “Major Trouble” Today; Autoworker, Other Views Track With Rest of U.S.

Michigan residents are not cutting Detroit any slack when it comes to increasing fuel efficiency and decreasing global warming pollution. More than two thirds of Michigan autoworker households (67 percent) and a slightly higher level of all households in the state (72 percent) say that Washington could “help U.S. automakers be more competitive by increasing the federal fuel-efficiency standard to 40 miles per gallon,” according to a new Civil Society Institute (CSI)/40MPG.org national opinion poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC).

More than four out of five Michigan residents (84 percent) agree that “the U.S. auto industry is in major trouble and Michigan’s economy will suffer seriously if the situation of the Big Three automakers gets even worse.” Those in Michigan households linked a “great deal/somewhat” to the health of the auto industry are even more likely (89 percent) to see the industry as being in serious trouble today. A slim 11 percent of all state residents think that “despite current problems in the U.S. auto industry, Michigan’s economy is unlikely to suffer very much since the Big Three automakers have a good plan for moving ahead.”

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