Chrysler hits back at Clinton

[hemiram]

Detroit News Washington Bureau

Chrysler LLC criticized recent suggestions that the Model T Ford is a more fuel efficient vehicle than today's SUVs -- saying that's misleading.
"We agree, the Model T was great for its time, but so was Boone's Farm wine, woolen underwear and Spam," said Jason Vines, Chrysler's chief spokesman, in a posting on a company blog made late Tuesday.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in outlining her plan to more than double combined fleet-wide fuel economy standards to 55 miles per gallon by 2030, told an audience Monday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that automakers needed to do more to innovate.

"Henry Ford would be dumbfounded until he opened the hood. Because he would recognize the internal combustion engine underneath. It is the same basic concept that he put in to the Model T almost a century ago. In fact, that Model T got better gas mileage than your typical SUV does today," said Clinton, the Democratic presidential front-runner. "We can't continue this. It's time for a change."

Vines -- who has been quick to criticize presidential candidates -- took on Clinton's suggestion. He also noted a Nov. 5 article in The New Yorker magazine that said "the average new car sold in the U.S. today gets twenty miles to the gallon … -- remarkably enough -- less than Henry Ford's Model T got when it went on the market, ninety-nine years ago last month."

Vines said this is a "myth."

"A number of members of Congress have also perpetuated this myth. We join with those in Congress who are in favor of higher fuel economy standards. But comparing the Model T with today's vehicles is like comparing the Wright Brothers glider with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. You don't hear people complaining that the Dreamliner doesn't get as good fuel economy as a glider," Vines wrote. "There's a reason the Model T weighed 1,200 pounds, less than half the weight of most vehicles sold today. The Model T didn't have safety features like dual airbags, reinforced safety cage, anti-lock brakes and traction control. The Model T didn't have electric windows, interior lights, air conditioning, a radio and CD player."

Vines also noted that the Model T had a "four-cylinder, 22-horsepower engine had a top speed of 45 miles per hour, and it spewed out far more noxious emissions than today's vehicles because it didn't have a catalytic converter. And the brakes on a Model T? Make sure you plan ahead. Assuming the laws of gravity apply in New York, all those extra features add a lot of weight to a vehicle."

Vines didn't mention Clinton by name and held his fire compared to his sharp attack on former Sen. John Edwards, who said in August that Americans should be encouraged to give up their SUVs

Would any president sacrifice their safety, or comfort, and give up the presidential motorcade, which includes many SUVs laden with heavy armor?" Vines wrote. "But when you're looking for a soundbite, why fuss with facts? Look, you can love the planet and love your SUV too."

House and Senate members are working on a compromise energy bill, holding a four-hour meeting on fuel economy proposals on Monday. The Senate passed a bill in June to hike fleet-wide fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 -- a 40 percent increase. The House sidestepped the issue in August, after more than 160 members endorsed a softer fuel economy increase backed by domestic automakers and Toyota.