DETROIT -- As this year's North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) kicks off, more than 50 Michigan students will march and rally in front of the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit to demand environmental progress from car companies. The rally, organized by the Freedom From Oil Campaign, will take place on Sunday, Jan. 13 at 12 noon. Students involved in the rally say they are pushing for more commitments by automakers to mass produce ultra-fuel-efficient cars and less mass marketing of environmental dreams. November's Los Angeles Auto Show and last year's NAIAS both received heavy criticism from environmental groups for having "green" themes that contrasted starkly with the auto industry's poor record on fuel efficiency and vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. "The green theme at this year's North American International Auto Show is window dressing," said Jodie Van Horn of Rainforest Action Network. "The environmental rhetoric coming out of the last two year's of 'eco' auto shows does not reflect true vehicle production. The industry's goal has been to fool consumers into believing that automakers are producing eco-conscious cars. Nothing could be further from the truth." With the first new CAFE standards in 30 years, record truck sale losses, rising gas and oil prices, and the unavoidable realities of climate change, producing fuel efficient vehicles has become politically savvy and increasingly profitable. Despite such incentives to mass produce green cars, the auto industry's only response has been to roll out eco-concept cars that rarely reach the assembly line. This week, Michigan youth are holding their state's cornerstone industry accountable to climate change concerns: "Climate change is a problem we are inheriting," said Global Exchange's Brandon Knight, the rally's lead organizer. "As the next generation of automobile consumers, we are standing up and refusing to drive cars that drive climate change." Late last year, Michigan students delivered 80,000 letters to Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, urging him to take the climate crisis seriously. The average fuel economy of new vehicles is worse than it was 10 years ago. By prolonging America's addiction to oil, the auto industry is threatening our national security, economy and the environment.

The Auto Show march and rally is being coordinated by the Freedom From Oil Campaign, a coalition of environmental and human rights advocates organized by Global Exchange, Rainforest Action Network and Ruckus Society. The campaign is working to end America's oil addiction, stop oil wars, and curb global warming by convincing the auto industry to dramatically improve fuel efficiency and eliminate vehicle greenhouse gas emissions.

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