Obama vows not to give up on Detroit automakers
In last night's televised speech to a joint session of Congress, President Obama vowed to commit to a reworking of the domestic auto industry, saying that it is too important to let go:
But we are committed to the goal of a re-tooled, re-imagined auto industry that can compete and win. Millions of jobs depend on it. Scores of communities depend on it. And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.Obama will present is first budget proposal on Thursday, but in his speech, he said that his administration will focus on three things: energy, health care, and education. All three components of his focus have the potential to impact the auto industry, but Obama took particular pains to acknowledge that the U.S. has fallen behind in renewable energy production, noting that "New plug-in hybrids roll off our assembly lines, but they will run on batteries made in Korea."
In his speech, Obama was short on specific courses of action, but he acknowledged that Detroit's automakers have fallen into disrepair in part because of their own doing and in part because of market conditions:
As for our auto industry, everyone recognizes that years of bad decision-making and a global recession have pushed our automakers to the brink. We should not, and will not, protect them from their own bad practices.[Source: Automotive News (subs. req.) | Image: Saul Loeb/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Quattroporte 11:00AM (2/25/2009)
"And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it."
?
Reply
Phil L. 11:02AM (2/25/2009)
Yes, that would be... Germany.
Yikes 11:02AM (2/25/2009)
Obama probably believes the USA invented the automobile.
Chris 11:03AM (2/25/2009)
I was just about to say that! Someone needs to tell him the Germans did that. Wow. That's pretty bad.
Quattroporte 11:03AM (2/25/2009)
He once said he visited 57 States. I guess Germany was one of them.
Andrew 11:08AM (2/25/2009)
blame the speechwriter, although it never does hurt to check over your own speeches before you address the country.
aj121489 11:12AM (2/25/2009)
I'm kinda disappointed they didn't point that out in the article...this just makes him sound stupid though. Make sure you know what you're talkin about before you go sayin stuff. I'm sure there are plenty of people around the world that are laughin at the US as a whole on this one
AfterGasoline 11:39AM (2/25/2009)
Even though America didn't invent the automobile, we did invent the "modern" automobile that is mass-produced thanks to Henry Ford. Maybe this is what he was alluding to?
Hcorbin 11:30AM (2/25/2009)
"The very first self-powered road vehicles were powered by steam engines and by that definition Nicolas Joseph Cugnot of France built the first automobile in 1769 - recognized by the British Royal Automobile Club and the Automobile Club de France as being the first."
http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aacarsgasa.htm
Guess Obama wasn't the only one to get this wrong....
Epyx 11:34AM (2/25/2009)
Had this been anyone but Obama we would hear none stop about how stupid they are. I don't think Obama will be given the same treatment. Of course others (Bush) had quite a pattern of saying even more stupid things.
Regardless, it does not matter. Talk about missing the point by focusing on such irrelevant detail. Failed rhetoric does not trump the overall message he was conveying.
Quattroporte 11:38AM (2/25/2009)
@Hcorbin
You could also say the Italians invented the automobile on the basis of drawings depicting wind powered cars that date back to the 1300s. But, it is generally accepted that Karl Benz invented the automobile. Benz's car was the first patented automobile with an internal combustion engine.
Flashpoint 11:40AM (2/25/2009)
The first thing I thought was "KARL BENZ" (he's responsible for my S-class by the way :P )
But if I was Obama, I'd have said: "PRACTICLY INVENTED THE AUTOMOBILE"
Most Americans think Henry Ford invented it because all they remember is the Model T.
Frank 12:00PM (2/25/2009)
First automobile powered by anything (other than wind, human, or animal power) - Nicolas Joseph Cugnot
First automobile powered by petroleum ICE - Karl Benz
First modern assembley line mass produced automobile - Henry Ford's Model T
If Bush's speechwriter had done this, everyone would say how stupid Bush is.
zamafir 12:03PM (2/25/2009)
'I'm sure there are plenty of people around the world that are laughin at the US as a whole on this one"
I'm also sure that laughter pales in comparison to the jolly’s they had the last eight years. Minor slip up, yeah it's funny, but not nearly as funny as a president who had the sentence completions kills of a 5th grader.
Quattroporte 12:06PM (2/25/2009)
@Frank
"First modern assembley line mass produced automobile - Henry Ford's Model T"
Actually, the true first mass produced car on an assembly line was the 1901 Oldsmobile Curved Dash. Ransom Olds patented and came up with the basic concept of the automotive assembly line, but Henry Ford improved on it.
J Who 12:14PM (2/25/2009)
@ zamafir: "...who had the sentence completions kills of a 5th grader".
Really?!?! "sentence completions kills"?!?!
Chris 12:14PM (2/25/2009)
Seems like there's disagreement about who DID invent it...I'm gonna give Obama a pass on this. Especially since it isn't important. And I'm sure MOST people around the world AREN'T laughing...most probably didn't watch, and most of those who did probably aren't car enthusiasts who are like "uh-oh, no he DIDN'T!"
Get a life, everyone. And besides, screwing up which nation invented the automobile is NOT on par with making up words and screwing up grammar non-stop...the things for which Bush II is known.
Polly Prissy Pants 1:02PM (2/25/2009)
This is why I really it hate it when politicians mess up a speech. Instead of debating the merit of the speech we end up going on and on and on about some inconsequential piece of trivia that has nothing to do with anything.
Congratulations.
Frank 1:43PM (2/25/2009)
Quattroporte:
"Actually, the true first mass produced car on an assembly line was the 1901 Oldsmobile Curved Dash."
I stand corrected sir! I forgot about Mr. Olds. It's really easy to forget about Oldsmobile now, isn't it? That's really a shame.
Quattroporte 1:57PM (2/25/2009)
@Frank
It really is a shame. Buick probably should have been the one to go. It's wierd; I kind of miss the Aurora. And, had it been Buick that was killed, there would probably be less "the Quattroporte looks like a Buick" jokes.