Obama a Prius? Palin a Camaro? Politics get revved up
We try to stay out of politics here at Autoblog, but sometimes, events obligate us to jump into the fray. The latest event is a Harvard Business School professor's comparison of the two leading presidential candidates to automobiles.
John Quelch said in an interview with Newsweek that he thinks of Barrack Obama as a new Prius and John McCain as an "old Ford F-150." Politically, those two products carry some weighty social symbolism that, as car guys, we're not all that concerned with.
But we do wonder what Mr. Quelch's comments mean to us. The Prius is generally seen as a visually boring, fiscally-conservative choice with little to no fun factor. On the other hand, an old Ford pickup truck isn't exactly exciting to look at and drinks a lot of gas, but it'll carry a lot more furniture on moving day and is way more fun in the mud than the Toyota. Then, in an interview with AdAge, Mr. Quelch says that by choosing Alaska Governer Sarah Palin as his running mate, McCain has put a red Chevy Camaro next to his truck.
Hmm. Palin as a Camaro? Next to McCain's Ford truck? Sounds like a house divided to us.
How about it? Is Obama a hybrid Japanese car? McCain a pickup truck? Should Mr. Quelch have said Palin is a Barracuda?
[Sources: AdAge via Newsweek]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
VP 7:09PM (9/08/2008)
Obama is the camaro, he is getting people excited about politics again.
Reply
tifosiotaku 7:11PM (9/08/2008)
I want the new Camaro, and I'm a diehard Obama supporter, so I'll agree with your assessment.
J M C 3 7:18PM (9/08/2008)
So is Palin.(getting people excited).She's a maverick.
Obama is just a standard politician ("coalition builder" of corrupt Chicago special interest groups which is what the democratic party is,actually)
BigMcLargeHuge 7:31PM (9/08/2008)
Obama can't be the Camaro, because the Camaro actually has a decades-old history.
And he's being elected based on pure hype having never done anything substantial in his entire career.
He's a Scion. A weak leader that appeals to urban youth just because its trendy.
Flashpoint 7:34PM (9/08/2008)
Leave it to Fox news to claim that Obama's Prius makes him "elitist".
Before this, he had a Chrysler 300C. That was before he planned to run for President.
Obama ditched the Chrysler because he felt it wasn't a "green" car. HOWEVER, I understand his intention...I would have kept it.
He could have used this as a chance to send a message to US automakers that he was all for US auto's making new jobs and even to shoutout Ralph Giles on saving Chrysler's image.
Yar 7:42PM (9/08/2008)
I think Obama is more of a Chery. Sure, it looks good, and is appealing to lower income families, but has the integrity of a wet paper bag.
Palin is most definitely a 3/4 ton Suburban. Tough as nails, and loves the gas pump.
J M C 3 7:47PM (9/08/2008)
Obama as a car would have skinny, overinflated, low roll resistant, summer radials.
If You prescribe to his energy policy
The Other Bob 7:50PM (9/08/2008)
"Leave it to Fox news to claim that Obama's Prius makes him "elitist"."
Obama doesn't own a Prius, he now has an Escape Hybrid, which he bought after the 300.
I think the Escape Hybrid is the official car of American politicians.
JD 8:11PM (9/08/2008)
@ Flashpoint: You see the article in The Onion about Obama being called elitist being "hailed as a step forward for african americans?" It's hilarious, as is most Onion stuff.
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/portrayal_of_obama_as_elitist
tifosiotaku 8:23PM (9/08/2008)
"Obama can't be the Camaro, because the Camaro actually has a decades-old history."
So the Camaro is Joe Biden, then...
xpolarx 8:30PM (9/08/2008)
Obama...young, hell of a speaker, looks good on paper, classy...but when you come down to it...not quite as great as you'd think: 2005 Aston Martin Vantage.
McCain...old, hell of a speaker, lots of experience, been through hell, has some unfortunate inclinations, has been changing his mind a lot lately: 1969 Ford Mustang V8 that has a few dents, a slightly bent frame and a spun bearing.
Joe Biden...somewhat old, decent speaker, lots of experience, cheap, keeps pushing hard after all these years: 1985 Toyota Corolla GT-S
Sara Palin...young, decent speaker, nice to look at, firecracker personality but underneath is running the same crap they've been pushing out of the mid-west since the 1960's: 2005 Ford Mustang V6
Chase 8:43PM (9/08/2008)
*claps for xpolarx*
I like those metaphors much better. :)
neck 9:24PM (9/08/2008)
Actually, Palin is a mythomaniac. She LIES about EVERYTHING!
And McCain lies quite a bit himself.
Those two are pathetic.
drew 9:33PM (9/08/2008)
Palin is a TOTAL PIECE of LYING CRAP.
McCAIN is crap.
McCAIN = Republican
BUSH = Republican
McCain = Bush = CRAP
stretchsje 8:10AM (9/09/2008)
The Prius is subsidized with yours and my tax dollars. So yes, Obama is definitely a Prius, in that they're both mechanisms for wasting tax revenue.
Marq 9:27AM (9/09/2008)
@BigMcLargeHuge
So wait...Obama couldn't be the Camaro due to not being around long enough yet...but Palin can?! That 19 months in office she's had definitely is longevity. Give me a break.
BigMcLargeHuge 10:52AM (9/09/2008)
You go to the back of the class.
When did I ever say Palin was a Camaro?
Razor 8:18AM (9/10/2008)
Hey Drew I can do this too!
Palin is a TOTAL PIECE of LYING CRAP.
Obama is crap.
Obama = Democrat
Carter = Democrat
Obama = Carter = CRAP
I think my analogy is a lot closer to the truth though.
Dane 7:11PM (9/08/2008)
No..... Obama is the new Ford Fiesta (True American) and Palin is more of a Hummer (American)... The Ford is a thinking man's car and the Hummer is made of greed and self destruction.... AN insult to any true driver....
Reply
Cornholio 9:07PM (9/08/2008)
Funny - you said Palin and hummer in the same sentence. There's a joke in there somewhere.....