Lansing (WWJ)  -- The presidential campaign stops in Michigan.  Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says consumers need to buy more of the fuel-efficient cars being built in Michigan.
  
During a speech at the Lansing Center,  the Illinois Democrat says he'd put more money into helping develop cars that use less fuel.

His plan calls for spending $150 billion and "leverage billions more in private capital" to build a new energy economy. 

Obama said he'll provide $4 billion in loans and tax credits to American auto plants and manufacturers to retool their factories and build more such cars. Obama wants to offer a $7,000 credit to motorists who buy those cars.

"That's how we'll not only protect our auto industry and our auto workers, but help them thrive in a 21st century economy,'' he said to applause.  "We will help states like Michigan build the fuel-efficient cars we need, and we will get 1 million 150 mile-per-gallon plug-in hybrids on our roads within six years.''

Obama said those efforts will help Michigan escape the economic doldrums that have plagued the state as domestic automakers have struggled with falling sales of its trucks and large sport utility vehicles and growing demand for small cars.

"At the turn of the 20th century, there were literally hundreds of car companies offering a wide choice of steam vehicles and gas engines,'' Obama said. "I believe we are entering a similar era of expanding consumer choices, from higher mileage cars, to new electric entrants like GM's Volt, to flex fuel cars and trucks powered by biofuels and driven by Michigan innovation.''

Obama's Lansing visit - his first to Michigan's capital city in 2008 - comes a day before Republican rival John McCain is to hold an event at Detroit Edison's Fermi 2 nuclear power plant in Monroe County to highlight his support for more nuclear energy as a way to decrease the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
  
A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed McCain leading Obama among male voters and white voters in Michigan, although Obama still had a 46 percent to 42 percent edge over his GOP rival statewide.

Half of Michigan voters in that poll said energy solutions are more important in deciding their vote than the war in Iraq, one reason both candidates are in Michigan this week addressing energy issues. When asked who had the best program for helping solve the energy crisis and making America less dependent on foreign oil, 35 percent of voters picked Obama and 28 percent picked McCain, with around a third undecided.

However, 58 percent said they would support more nuclear power plants, which McCain is pushing, while 63 percent said they'd support more offshore drilling and 86 percent want to see government invest in developing renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

The statewide Quinnipiac poll of 1,684 likely voters was conducted July 14-22 and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

In a reversal, Obama proposed the government sell 70 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum stockpiles.
  
The Illinois democrat said the move could help in the short-run to drive down gasoline prices that now top $4 a gallon.  Previously, Obama opposed tapping into the reserves, located in caverns in Texas and Louisiana.

Obama said releases from the reserve in the past have lowered gas prices within two weeks.

He said U.S. politicians have failed for three decades to deal with the energy crisis, and he said his GOP rival John McCain has been part of that failure.

Meantime, McCain is coming to Michigan Tuesday to visit a nuclear power plant.

State GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis says McCain will visit DTE Energy Co.'s Fermi 2 nuclear power plant. It's in Monroe County's Frenchtown Township, near Monroe and about 30 miles south-southwest of Detroit.

The Arizona senator has been promoting nuclear power to help lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

DTE plans to apply for federal approval by Sept. 18 to build a second, 1,560-megawatt nuclear plant at the site.

Check out more at WWJ's Politics Page.

Campaign '08 coverage from CBS News.