Obama no longer owns heavy, less-efficient vehicle
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
MACKINAC ISLAND -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, a leading Democratic presidential candidate, no longer owns the V8 Hemi-powered Chrysler 300C that Ford's executive chairman chided him for driving, the senator's office said Friday.
Ford Motor Co. executive chairman Bill Ford Jr. said he was "very disappointed" with Obama's harsh remarks about Detroit automakers when the Illinois senator spoke to the Detroit Economic Club in March. At the time, Obama said, "Here in Detroit, three giants of American industry are hemorrhaging jobs and profits as foreign competitors answer the rising global demand for fuel-efficient cars."
Obama came under harsh criticism for driving a large, fairly inefficient vehicle, while calling on automakers to do more to improve fuel economy in their vehicles.
Ford, speaking at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference Thursday afternoon, said, "I would love to invite him to our Chicago assembly plant in his state and see where we make a vehicle that's more efficient than the one he's currently driving."
Ford, the nation's No. 2 automaker, builds the Freestyle, Five Hundred and Mercury Montego at its Chicago assembly plant.
Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said today that the senator no longer owns the 300C; he sold it a "few weeks ago." He does own a Ford Escape Hybrid, his office said.
"Senator Obama believes that unless we use the technology that's available today to increase fuel economy standards for the first time in two decades, the auto industry, workers and our climate will suffer," LaBolt said. "He recognizes that automakers face challenges in transitioning their fleets and has introduced legislation that would help them pay their legacy health care costs if they commit to improving efficiency, but ultimately believes that restoring American competitiveness hinges on developing cleaner vehicles."
Bill Ford acknowledged that automakers must be part of the solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but noted the public outcry has "created a rush toward arbitrary and poorly conceived solutions."
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