NEW YORK (CNN) - A group of retirees from the three major U.S. automakers is rolling out a new fleet of advertisements promoting patriotic purchasing, echoing the "Buy American," sentiment that grew during the 1980s amid fears of a Japanese takeover.

The Level Field Institute, a grassroots organization founded by retirees of Chrysler (Research), Ford (Research) and GM (Research) is funding a print and television ad campaign that shows the big three U.S. automakers as ahead of their Japanese competitors Toyota (Research) and Honda (Research) in terms of the numbers of jobs they provide for Americans.

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The ad campaign launches in the Washington, D.C., area next Thursday, coinciding with the big three American automakers meeting with President Bush.

Level Field Institute president Jim Doyle told CNN that contrary to reports the campaign was targeting Japanese automakers - or "Japan bashing" - the idea is simply to educate American consumers, media and policy makers about what's at stake in the U.S. auto debate.

"The problem is that many Americans don't realize that there is still a major difference between Toyota and Ford, or Honda and GM," Doyle said. "Jobs in the auto industry are obviously at stake today, and the idea is to encourage all automakers to create more jobs here. That means Europeans as well as Japanese. This isn't about going against the Japanese. Japan bashing was stupid back in the '80s, and it would be stupid now as well."

While companies like Honda and Toyota are making big efforts to employ more Americans and build more American plants, there is still a sizable gap between the American automakers and the international automakers.

According to Level Field's data, Ford, GM and DaimlerChrysler employ four times as many workers as all foreign automakers combined.

Mike Moran, a spokesman for Ford, said his company had contributed financial support to the campaign, though he would not disclose the amount.

"Clearly American auto companies are a vital part of the U.S. economy providing millions of jobs to Americans, and the numbers shown in these ads support that," Moran said.

Martha Voss, a spokeswoman for Toyota defended her company, saying Toyota's story is one of contributing to the American auto industry for many years.

"I am not sure why there is anything negative being said about Toyota ... we are bringing great jobs from Japan to the U.S. all the time," Voss said.

Voss added that according to recent studies, Toyota's U.S. content is increasing while other American car makers content was actually decreasing.

"We are dedicated to building as many U.S. domestic plants as possible, to localizing our production, and investing in more U.S. parts. Toyota is doing good business, while minding its own ... the market should be left to decide," she said.

The jobs debate behind the campaign runs much deeper. According to a representative from the Automotive Trade Policy Council, which compiles data for the big three U.S. auto makers on international trade policies, U.S. automakers have been fighting huge auto trade deficits with Asian car makers for years. Asian auto makers have been able to capitalize on non-tariff barriers that keep the level of American autos and parts in their countries very low, while at the same time enjoying a huge share of the U.S. auto market.

--from CNN's Jonathan Schienberg

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