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When Obama went to Michigan and lectured them on fuel economy, at the time, he was driving a Chrysler 3000 with a HEMI! This hypocrisy was pointed out by the Free Press, and he then began driving an Escape hybrid.
The point is, people were buying the cars they complain about now. A couple of years ago in Seattle, at least half the cars I saw on I-5 going home from work (this is from the vantage point of being on a bus) were SUVs, and many only had one occupant. I am not a fan of SUVs, but the car companies were producing them because people WANTED them. That's why Ford is in a little better shape than GM and Chrysler; the Explorer made profits for them for years.
I believe the auto industry should be re-tooled to be greener; I've thought that for a long time. I also think it's the government's job to help make this happen. It's win win for everyone. But it's a little rich for someone who was driving around in a large sedan with a Hemi to make this comment.
If the credit markets were loosened up, the car companies wouldn't be in this pickle. I believe that it's a golden opportunity to green up the industry - with all our help. This is the industry, you know, that produced the vehicles and parts that won World War II for the world. Are our memories that short? Do we want to jeopardize our own future by not having the capacity to produce military vehicles (if, God forbid, they are needed) in the future? Are we going to depend on the US-based Mercedes and Mitsubishi plants to do this, the same companies that helped arm our World War II enemies? I don't think so. I certainly don't anticipate any more wars with Japan or Germany, but with industrial and treaty alliances, I think we need to rely on OUR OWN industries to remain self sufficient.
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