Something to Think About When Car Shopping:

A battle for the hearts and wallets of consumers escalated this week as retirees of the Big Three U.S. automakers launched a campaign to make Americans think twice about buying a foreign car -- even one made in the United States.

With Asian automakers shipping about $65 billion worth of autos and auto parts to the United States last year and U.S. automakers shedding tens of thousands of jobs, ad campaigns by Toyota and Hyundai touting the number of Americans they employ have hit a raw nerve.

"While foreign automakers own more than 40 percent of the market, they employ only 20 percent of the workers," Jim Doyle, president of Level Field Institute, said at a news conference on Thursday to roll out a more than $1 million ad campaign focused initially at Washington policy-makers.

"The result? Each foreign auto purchase supports half the jobs (that) buying a Ford, GM or Chrysler does," Doyle said.