Did the White House pressure Ford to pull their commercial?

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The New York Post


http://i.imgur.com/sD0ez.jpg

In a single day this week, the Obama administration managed to chill the free market, stomp all over the First Amendment and -- once again -- bend Detroit’s auto industry to its political will.

Not bad for a day’s work.

For the past few weeks, Ford has been airing spots on TV and online showing the owner of an F-150 pickup truck declaring his disdain for companies that took a government bailout in 2009 to stay afloat.

“I wasn’t gonna buy another car that was bailed out by our government,” says the Ford owner. “I was gonna buy from a manufacturer that’s standing on [its] own -- win, lose, or draw. That’s what America is about, is taking the chance to succeed and understanding when you fail that you gotta pick yourself up and go back to work. Ford is that company for me.”

Enter Team Obama.

Ford chose to pull the ad after “individuals inside the White House” complained about the devastating spot, a columnist at the Detroit News reported, who stands by his story after denials by both Ford and the White House.

Such is the power of the administration that a company that rejected government meddling implicit in the bailout still felt it had to fall in line.

Of course, the White House denies pressuring Ford to yank the ad. But administration capos don’t have to break your thumbs to let you know they’re angry -- in Lingua Obama, tone is enough to say it all.

Truth is, the administration has so deep an interest in seeing the bailed-out Chrysler and GM succeed that it has no reason to wish Ford well -- it being a direct competitor with those companies, and thus with Shareholder-in-Chief Obama.

Ford doesn’t look splendid here, either. It developed the ad to show it’s not subservient to the White House -- then dropped it after a phone call, showing just how subservient it actually is.

Not exactly Ford Tough.

But there’s the rub.

Even though the bailout of Chrysler is complete (after taxpayers lost $14 billion) the Treasury still owns a $16-billion piece of Government, er, General Motors, or about a third of the company. Which means that for the foreseeable future, Detroit will remain Obama’s outpost on the Great Lakes -- where free speech and a free market seem to have little relevance.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e37qVWcRgVQ

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Yeah, this is why its a good idea to have government with an owning interest in business. :roll:

[JoeyB]

This sort of shit is why I dislike politicians. Bush had an entire team of people who did nothing but call newspapers and other media sources to discourage them from running with any story that was not to the liking of the administration. Now this? Obama, why would you take clues from Bush? Why would you do that? WTF!

And fuck Ford too...not for this commercial but for all the others where it pretends to be an environmentally thoughtful car manufacturer, even though Ford has always been the biggest stick in the mud trying to stop anything that might in any way benefit the Earth. Assholes.

[deebakes]

obama has been such a disappointment... glad i didn't vote for him last time...

[JoeyB]

glad i didn't vote for him last time...

The way you phrased that sounds like you plan on voting for him this time. I voted for no one last time, because no one worth voting for ran.

[Hal-9000]

I'm just curious as to why Lance went from Ford to Toyota? :-k

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I'm just curious as to why Lance went from Ford to Toyota? :-k

Ford is no longer making the Ranger (in North America). The smallest truck Ford makes now is the F-150 and I don't want a full-sized pick-up and I want nothing to do with those 2 fucking companies that took bailout money...so I went with Toyota :)

It was built in the US, so I am still supporting American workers. :thumbsup:

[Hal-9000]

Yeah they're all in bed together now...parts from Japan, assembled on American soil by Mexican workers.And it's a German car maker :lol:


My friend did the same as you, went from an older Ford ranger to a Toyota truck a couple of years back, right around the time of the big recalls.His Toyota wasn't affected.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Even 'American' vehicles aren't all American anymore, no matter what people think. My Ranger was only 80% American parts...I forget what was outsourced but I remember the transmission was German.

And I had a top of the line Ranger when I bought it, my new Tacoma blows it away in every category.

[Hal-9000]

Even 'American' vehicles aren't all American anymore, no matter what people think. My Ranger was only 80% American parts...I forget what was outsourced but I remember the transmission was German.

And I had a top of the line Ranger when I bought it, my new Tacoma blows it away in every category.

You should talk to my old boss..he rebuilds classic cars of all makes both foreign and domestic.The guy is a freak :lol: He remembers every document and story he's read and knows exactly what you're talking about in terms of which companies use which parts and the history of all of them.

To give you an idea..he couldn't find a part for his old Morris Minor, so he built it from scratch.He knows really interesting history right back to the model T's and Studebakers.

[Hal-9000]

same guy...when he first got into PC's...couldn't troubleshoot to save his life.Something went wrong with his 2300 dollar PC? He buys a new one :lol:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

You should talk to my old boss..he rebuilds classic cars of all makes both foreign and domestic.The guy is a freak :lol: He remembers every document and story he's read and knows exactly what you're talking about in terms of which companies use which parts and the history of all of them.

To give you an idea..he couldn't find a part for his old Morris Minor, so he built it from scratch.He knows really interesting history right back to the model T's and Studebakers.

The lines are so blurred now with what's 'American' and what isn't when it comes to vehicles. Back when I was living in Vermont I bought a Ford Escort...it was made in Canada. Everything in it was all metric, it was frustrating :lol:

And with Toyota, I doubt very much that anything is actually from Japan anymore other than some minor things. That was why Toyota started building plants in North America. No more having to import parts. I remember when I was a kid, if someone owned a Japanese car, it was hell getting parts if the dealer was out of stock because it had to come from Japan.


same guy...when he first got into PC's...couldn't troubleshoot to save his life.Something went wrong with his 2300 dollar PC? He buys a new one :lol:

And I'm the opposite, I find vehicles very intimidating and I have no problem ripping open a PC :lol:

[Hal-9000]

Me too.My old boss could listen to your car and say - Oh, that's just a spark plug cable or whatever.I find that mechanical talent very admirable.
Same guy gives me a pc, tells me it's fooked and I open it up to find so much dust that I can't get the video card out of the AGP slot :lol: His complaint was - The monitor is acting funny and I'm getting these messages = toast the pc.


When looking for cars I always read how the 'imports'...Honda, Mazda etc are better made cars, more reliable.The only downside I've heard is that compared to a GM product for example, the parts and servicing are more expensive.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Plus another thing I like about Toyota is that they are non-union plants :tup:



When looking for cars I always read how the 'imports'...Honda, Mazda etc are better made cars, more reliable.The only downside I've heard is that compared to a GM product for example, the parts and servicing are more expensive.

Yeah, the salesman told me when I bought my truck that the first 'major' scheduled maintenance due on my truck at 30K miles runs about $700 :|

[Hal-9000]

Yikes...that would hurt me.

I've bought two crappy GM makes the last two cars...Sunbird and Grand Am.Both are discontinued models now :lol:

[DemonGeminiX]

When looking for cars I always read how the 'imports'...Honda, Mazda etc are better made cars, more reliable.The only downside I've heard is that compared to a GM product for example, the parts and servicing are more expensive.

I think I've mentioned this before, but during my last oil change of my Honda Civic, they told me that I needed my engine air filter and cabin air filter needed to be changed. They wanted like $70 for the cabin air filter and $40 for the engine air filter, parts and labor. Now a good cabin air filter at Napa Auto parts costs around $15 and the engine air filter costs a little less (or maybe that should be switched around, but no matter), and replacing each takes about 30 seconds each, so I just did it myself.

I also asked about an endcap to a windshield wiper which I was missing on the driver's side, just a small plastic piece, and they said it would cost $20. A whole windshield wiper from a decent brand costs around $20, so yeah, I skipped that one too.

Long story short, Honda is ridiculous about jacking up their prices on parts. If I can handle getting the part I need and doing the work myself or I can get a local garage to do whatever it is I need done without much fuss, I will.

[KevinD]

Doesn't matter what manufacturer you buy your vehicle from, if you take it to the stealership for maintenance, you are gonna get raped.

[Iffy]

Ford is no longer making the Ranger (in North America). The smallest truck Ford makes now is the F-150 and I don't want a full-sized pick-up and I want nothing to do with those 2 fucking companies that took bailout money...so I went with Toyota :)

It was built in the US, so I am still supporting American workers. :thumbsup:



From the Office of President Obama

Dear avid forum administrator and all-around pervert,

Please remove your derogatory remarks about the glorious support offered to the great American auto companies single-handedly saved by Supreme Commander Obama; he who is loved by all.

Failure to comply with our "suggestion" will result in an immediate beating with the Constitution of the United States. Please keep in mind that we have wiped our collective asses with it.

Yours empirically,
Uncle S-dawg

[Teh One Who Knocks]

:outtahere:

[Muddy]

Toyotas aren't assembled by a bunch of beaners... These are highly trained, skilled workers, that if cant make the cut they are cut... This is one of the tightest ship, best run company's out there...

[FBD]

Doesn't matter what manufacturer you buy your vehicle from, if you take it to the stealership for maintenance, you are gonna get raped.

:hand: when its the old lady's overengineered japanesium, she can take the frickin thing to the dealsership, I dont want to touch the damned thing :dance:

[Acid Trip]

From the Office of President Obama

Dear avid forum administrator and all-around pervert,

Please remove your derogatory remarks about the glorious support offered to the great American auto companies single-handedly saved by Supreme Commander Obama; he who is loved by all.

Failure to comply with our "suggestion" will result in an immediate beating with the Constitution of the United States. Please keep in mind that we have wiped our collective asses with it.

Yours empirically,
Uncle S-dawg

:+1: for originality, prose, and all around laughability.

[Hal-9000]

Toyotas aren't assembled by a bunch of beaners... These are highly trained, skilled workers, that if cant make the cut they are cut... This is one of the tightest ship, best run company's out there...

I've always been curious about where you worked..


















:dance:

[Acid Trip]

I've always been curious about where you worked..


















:dance:

You saw that too eh?

[Muddy]

Im just familiar with their process. It's a tight ship..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban_%28development%29)

[Hal-9000]

sending out a bat signal...hadn't seen you for awhile and you surfaced for air...


you'd think that after all the recall hoo-hah they would have dropped the prices significantly...

[Acid Trip]

Im just familiar with their process. It's a tight ship..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban_%28development%29)

When you say "this is one of the tightest ship, best run company's out there" it implies you work on that ship or are a part of that process.

[Muddy]

sending out a bat signal...hadn't seen you for awhile and you surfaced for air...


you'd think that after all the recall hoo-hah they would have dropped the prices significantly...

Nah, it was uncovered that was a scam. There was nothing wrong with those cars..

[Hal-9000]

Nah, it was uncovered that was a scam. There was nothing wrong with those cars..

Really? Up here we had a case where the chick's accelerator was sticking and it caused an accident.I'm pretty sure she was paid out...
And also the commercial with they guy talking about re-committing to quality (he never did apologize, just double talked thru the whole thing :lol:)

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Nah, it was uncovered that was a scam. There was nothing wrong with those cars..


Really? Up here we had a case where the chick's accelerator was sticking and it caused an accident.I'm pretty sure she was paid out...
And also the commercial with they guy talking about re-committing to quality (he never did apologize, just double talked thru the whole thing :lol:)

There were some actual problems, but there were a fair share of scams too.

I was warned about the floor mat riding too high and getting under the accelerator and causing it to stick

[Hal-9000]

Yeah I had heard about the floor mat thingy as my buddy has a Toyota truck....there were some legit recalls up here though because I tormented him for months about it :lol:

[Muddy]

There were some actual problems, but there were a fair share of scams too.

I was warned about the floor mat riding too high and getting under the accelerator and causing it to stick

These cases of the people standing on the brakes and not being able to stop, and the vehicles jumping to life and flying off the flatbed wreckers were all a bunch of BS though.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

There's a place to anchor the floor mat down so that it can't slowly work it's way up under the accelerator

[Teh One Who Knocks]

These cases of the people standing on the brakes, and the vehicles jumping to life and flying off the flatbed wreckers were all a bunch of BS though.

Yeah, those are the ones that were scams

[Muddy]

I really think this was a ploy to hurt Toyotas reputation...

[Teh One Who Knocks]

And some people trying to just get money out of them once it was known there was an issue

[Hal-9000]

I have a sticky accelerator pedal on the Grand Amborghini (limited recall on certain years)

I can feel it at times get away from me when my foot's off the gas but it's only a matter of a few kilometers per hour...nothing like the jumping to life BS from a standing start :lol:

[Muddy]

Some of these peoples stories seemed like they needed a priest more than a judge...

[KevinD]

The only semi modern car I've ever had an accelerator pedal stick in was a 84ish Pontiac Trans Am. I worked at a dealership back then, and the car was brought in for "The pedal sticking" The lead line mech couldn't find any problem, so they had me (porter) take it to the car wash to be detailed. I found out why the pedal was sticking, lol. Seems that if you floored it, the pedal would actually stick under the front edge of the center console/ heat duct.

[Hal-9000]

My accelerator sticks when I let fat chicks drive :thumbsup:

[KevinD]

I thought that was your stick accelerating?

[Joebob034]

why is this commercial still out then


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccIE5XRTszk&feature=relmfu

[Acid Trip]

The only semi modern car I've ever had an accelerator pedal stick in was a 84ish Pontiac Trans Am. I worked at a dealership back then, and the car was brought in for "The pedal sticking" The lead line mech couldn't find any problem, so they had me (porter) take it to the car wash to be detailed. I found out why the pedal was sticking, lol. Seems that if you floored it, the pedal would actually stick under the front edge of the center console/ heat duct.

So you decided to floor it on the way to be detailed?

[Hal-9000]

I thought that was your stick accelerating?

I have a fat girl date protocol...I keep them in the car for 3 hours minimum, claiming I'm lost etc.

then, after the third hour I whip out hal junior and ask if she's hungry? Works a charm :thumbsup:

[KevinD]

So you decided to floor it on the way to be detailed?

Hey, I was young, it was a brand new Trans Am...Wanted to see what it would do (not much btw)

[Hal-9000]

Hey, I was young, it was a brand new Trans Am...Wanted to see what it would do (not much btw)

my bro had the 6.6 liter model (complete with hood decal) and that thing rolled pretty well for the time

[Acid Trip]

Hey, I was young, it was a brand new Trans Am...Wanted to see what it would do (not much btw)

:mrgreen: Just checking! I probably would have done the same thing if I was 17 or 18.

[KevinD]

Mid 80's T/A's (and Camaros) had 305 (5.0ltr) turd engines. My 73 Fiat 1800 Spyder was a lot quicker. My 68 Camaro was pretty fast for back then, but I never took it to a track

[KevinD]

my bro had the 6.6 liter model (complete with hood decal) and that thing rolled pretty well for the time


Ah yes, the screaming chicken....lol I still want to find an early T/A 1970 or so to build.

[Hal-9000]

yep, the Fire Chicken...

Funny story , he was a Surveyor and had just worked 16 months on and off in the bush at camps.Came back with the intent of buying one and writing a check on the spot for the car.The dealer looked at him (grubby, jeans and a beard) and I guess wasn't very polite to my bro.My brother went across the street and bought the TA from the guy's competitor (GM and Pontiac lots right across the street from each other)

gotta love it :lol:

[Godfather]

Lance bought a Toyota truck? Jealous. Those are my favorite :mrgreen: Awesome man

I've always wanted an older (mid 90's) Tacoma in mint condition as a second vehicle. That would be ideal.