NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The head of Chrysler Group is arguing the federal government ought to intervene in currency markets to keep the value of the dollar low in order to help the competitiveness of U.S. products.

Tom LaSorda, the CEO of the North American unit of German auto manufacturer DaimlerChrysler, made the call for a cheaper dollar in a speech at the Detroit Economic Club on Monday.

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He said the Japanese government's intervention to keep the value of the yen low gives Japanese auto manufacturers an advantage that has nothing to do with "products, quality, productivity or any of the other attributes that we use to define competitiveness.

"The Japanese Central Bank intervenes in currency markets to keep the yen cheap and to create an advantage for its industry," he said. "Why doesn't our government do the same for us?"

LaSorda is not the only Detroit auto executive to call for a weaker dollar.

In a column in The Wall Street Journal in December, General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner complained about "unfair trading practices, especially Japan's long-term initiatives to artificially weaken the yen," which he said was adding to Japanese auto manufacturers' bottom lines.

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