Republican presidential hopeful John McCain looked under the hoods of Ford hybrids and watched as Ford Focuses were assembled Thursday during a Wayne, Michigan campaign stop the Republican candidate hoped would give some gas to his less-than-cordial relationship with domestic automakers.

McCain and his wife, Cindy, donned safety glasses and were escorted around the sprawling Wayne Stamping and Assembly plant by Ford Motor Co. executives and Republican Party supporters.

The Arizona senator met with Ford executives before the tour and was to meet later in the afternoon with executives from the Detroit Three — Ford, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC — in Troy before heading to an evening fundraiser at the nearby Somerset Inn. He was to head to Indianapolis for another fundraiser after that event.

After looking at the undercarriages of Focuses passing overhead as workers added parts, McCain stopped to look at a Ford Escape hybrid and Ford Edge plug-in hybrid before wrapping up his 20-minute tour.

He called Ford’s efforts to make more fuel-efficient vehicles and ones that can run on alternative fuels “very important.”

“It’s the future, and I’m glad they’re doing it here,” he said. Campaign workers gave McCain little chance to interact with the media, at times stopping them from accompanying McCain on the tour.

Dozens of the 2,800 Ford workers employed at the plant watched as McCain made stops to speak briefly with workers and see what they were doing.

Among them was Dave Herant, 49, an automation engineer from Romulus who has worked at the plant for 11 years. He said he’d consider voting for McCain, who like him is a military veteran.

He said McCain’s visit “lets us know he cares. … I hope that’s that signal that’s coming.”

Herant said McCain should come away with a better understanding of the domestic auto industry after the tour and his discussions with auto executives.

The UAW overall has not announced endorsement for a particular candidate, though various regional branches of the UAW have. In the 2000 election the UAW endorsed Al Gore.