Obama drives Volt, praises U.S. auto industry David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau Detroit -- President Barack Obama today praised the revitalization of the U.S. auto industry as he got a first-hand look at Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs coming off an assembly line and even drove a Chevy Volt a few feet.
The president got thunderous applause as he told autoworkers at Chrysler Group LLC's Jefferson North plant, where the Grand Cherokee is made, that some had urged him to let the auto industry die. He got a similar reaction from workers at General Motors Co.'s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant. "Listen, this was a hard decision," he told more than 1,000 cheering workers at the Chrysler plant. "I didn't want government to get into the auto industry. I've got enough to do." Advertisement Shocking discovery for joint relief The Asian secret to strong, lush hair How to keep your PC clean and quick Mysterious fruits reverse aging, improve health Age 55 or older? Pay up to 75% less for your cruise Dreaming of a cruise for up to 75 percent less? Underscoring the merit in his decision, Obama revealed that Chrysler will keep its Sterling Heights plant open after 2012, when it had been scheduled to close, and add 900 more workers to a second shift next year. And GM said it would boost production of its Volt by 50 percent in 2012. Later at the GM plant, Obama got behind the wheel of a black Chevy Volt and drove it 10 feet as the plant manager rode shotgun. "Pretty smooth," he told the press corps. He signed another Volt, as well as the hood of a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Presidents don't get to drive much -- his only time behind the wheel in office was driving a Dodge Charger at a Secret Service training center about four months ago. Obama drove the Volt a few feet and emerged with a big smile. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs joked, "I hope it has an airbag," he said. Auto czar Ron Bloom said that the auto industry was doing better than they had expected more than a year ago when they were working on the $85 billion restructuring of the industry. "I think we're a little ahead of where expected to be," Bloom said in an interview. "I think it's happened a little faster than we thought." The focus on the Volt came as GM was announcing it was boosting the production volume of the extended-range electric Volt for 2012 from 30,000 to 45,000. Obama has called for 1 million plug-in vehicles on the roads by 2015 as a candidate. The president said that when he took office "the industry looked like it was going off a cliff." He defended his decision to rescue the companies with an $86 billion government bailout, saying it saved a million jobs. Obama acknowledged it was a hard decision but said it was the right thing to do to save the companies. He said the factory was evidence of the bailout's success. "You are proving the naysayers wrong," Obama said. "Our strategy was to get this company and this industry back on its feet, taking a hands-off approach, saying you guys know the business, we don't. We're going to give you a chance, but we do know you've got to change." He noted some critics said helping automakers was "stupid." Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, said that Obama, was right to tout his bailout. "He has a right to take a victory lap," Levin said. Wearing safety glasses and minus his jacket, Obama got a 20-minute tour of Chrysler's Jefferson North plant, where he peered inside half-completed vehicles, shook hands and patted workers on the back. One young female worker, wearing a T-shirt that reads "Dreams Come True" and featuring pictures of Obama and Martin Luther King Jr., got a hug from the president. The president got a big round of applause when he told workers that his first new car he ever purchased was a Jeep Grand Cherokee. He took a moment to sit in the front seat of a silver 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Chrysler has high hopes for the Grand Cherokee, which is new from top to bottom. Hundreds of Detroiters lined Connor as the presidential motorcade rolled to Jefferson North. One held up a sign that read, "UAW thanks you." Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said he got a quick chance to talk to the president -- and he urged him to come back to the city. Bing said he asked Obama "to come back to Detroit and help us" like he helped the auto industry. "It was wonderful, it was needed," Bing said. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who took part in the tour, said Obama had done the right thing. Obama's restructuring plan a year ago was "being pooh-poohed by a lot of people." "The workers realize that the president has really lifted their opportunities to be productive citizens," LaHood said. "These folks are doing well because of the investment made in these companies" [email protected] (202) 662-8735 >From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100730/AUTO01/7300409/Obama-drives-Volt--praises-U.S.-auto-industry#ixzz0vCJWhokC _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
