(AOL Autos) -- A directive recently handed down by a Detroit-area suburban mayor has ignited the latest round of a seemingly endless debate -- one that always burns with more intensity in the home of the Big Three than anywhere else.



Many residents in the Detroit, Michigan area are auto workers. Thousands have been laid off recently.



It's the debate that relates to cars and goes something like this: "Buy American!" vs. "I'll buy what I want!"



That debate sometimes, but not always, begins as a civil conversation. But the Detroit area has been hit hard in the last five years by the ongoing, sometimes enormous financial losses posted by the Big Three. The Big Three's financial woes have had a direct impact on the Michigan economy with hundreds of thousands of layoffs and/or buyouts.



Given that so many of the state's workers have lost their jobs -- and in some cases, their homes - it sometimes doesn't take long before the car debate escalates into an emotional one.



That can lead to angry name-calling and insults - like many of the reader comments that flooded the online edition of the Detroit newspaper that first reported a controversial story. AOL Autos: Best new car deals this month



This latest round of the discussion was inspired by a decision made by Jim Fouts, the mayor of Warren, Michigan, a large Detroit suburb and Michigan's third-largest city, and where a good portion of the residents are (or were) autoworkers.



In mid-August, Fouts told his department heads, which amount to 40 or 50 of the city's more than 700 employees that he "expects" the next car they buy will be an American model.



More to the point, he expects them to drive General Motors or Chrysler vehicles, since both companies have various manufacturing or assembly plants in Warren -- not to mention GM's sprawling Tech Center -- and therefore are the city's two highest taxpayers.



Fouts, who drives a 2001 Chrysler Concorde himself, isn't being draconian about it. That is, he hasn't ordered his appointees to run right out and dump their Hondas, Toyotas, Saabs or Audis immediately.



"But I strongly suggested that the next car they buy should be an American one, and that I had an equally strong expectation that they will do so," Fouts said. "Legally, since they are 'at-will' employees, I have the right to mandate, and an expectation that they will meet that mandate." AOL Autos: Best hybrid SUVs



Some have accused Fouts of over-stepping his authority by "butting in" to his employees' private lives, while others have given the policy a hearty "thumbs up."



"Some of them are not enthusiastic about it," Fouts said, noting that one department head currently drives a Mercedes-Benz vehicle. "But many of these department heads make more than $100,000 a year, and I told them that they might not be able to enjoy the economic comforts they currently enjoy if it were not for the amount of taxes that GM and Chrysler pay to the city. AOL Autos: Luxury cars with the best MPG



"I think of it as 'economic patriotism.'"



Fouts said he did not know how many of his department heads currently drive imports, although one of his appointees, Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer, guessed that about 90 percent of the appointees already drive American-made cars.



"But the ones who are not happy about this -- well, they won't talk to [reporters] about that, because they know how I feel about it," said Fouts.



Dwyer, who drives a Jeep Cherokee, supports the mayor's "buy American" expectation. "I believe that, the way the economy is that Americans should be buying American cars. And, as department heads, I think it's important for us to be setting an example for the other city workers." AOL Autos: Safest cars



One of the reasons usually cited for the U.S. automakers' loss
What has an impact of Michigan economy? What had an impact on the Michigan economy? What did the mayor spark? Who sparks a debate after telling employees to buy American cars?
The Big Three's financial woes The Big Three's financial woes round of a seemingly endless debate Detroit-area suburban mayor
question: What has an impact of Michigan economy?, answer: The Big Three's financial woes | question: What had an impact on the Michigan economy?, answer: The Big Three's financial woes | question: What did the mayor spark?, answer: round of a seemingly endless debate | question: Who sparks a debate after telling employees to buy American cars?, answer: Detroit-area suburban mayor