Riding record sales, show to dazzle with 40 new models – Obama to visit Detroit Auto Show

This news has been read 5718 times!

A worker uses a lift near a video board in preparation for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. (AP)
A worker uses a lift near a video board in preparation for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. (AP)

WASHINGTON, Jan 9, (AFP): President Barack Obama said Saturday that he would visit the Detroit Auto Show this month so he can personally see how the industry has recovered since he took office. In his weekly radio and online address, Obama focused on how his policies helped the US car industry recover. In 2009, as the global financial crisis peaked, “the American auto industry was on the brink of collapse,” Obama said. “Plants were closing. Hundreds of thousands of workers were getting laid off … another one million Americans would have lost their jobs,” he said.

In a controversial move taken early in his presidency, Obama bailed out two major US auto companies to the tune of $80 billion. The plan was initiated under president George W. Bush, but Obama largely oversaw the bailout. The money helped General Motors and the Chrysler Group, now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Ford did not take any bailout funds. “In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility,” Obama said. “We said the auto industry would have to truly change, not just pretend that it did.” While critics derided the plan as a “road to socialism” or a “disaster” waiting to happen, Obama said, “I’d make that bet again any day of the week. “Because today, the American auto industry is back. Since our plan went into effect, our automakers have added more than 640,000 new jobs.

We’ve cut the Detroit-area unemployment rate by more than half. The Big Three automakers are raising wages.” Auto sales hit a 27-year low in 2009, but last year “they hit an all-time high,” he said. Later this month I’ll visit the Detroit Auto Show to see this progress firsthand. Because I believe that every American should be proud of what our most iconic industry has done. The White House said that Obama will visit the annual vehicle extravaganza on January 20. In the address Obama, who is in his last year in office, crowed about economic growth and progress during his presidency, including “more than 14 million new jobs” as well as slashing the federal deficit and a major expansion of health care coverage.

Future

“The point is,” Obama said, “America can do anything. Even in times of great challenge and change, our future is entirely up to us.” Forget the winter chill: the mood at the Detroit auto show is expected to be nothing short of exuberant when carmakers riding high on record US sales reveal their latest wares. “The industry is truly firing on all cylinders, and that will be reflected at this year’s show,” said Paul Sabatini, chairman of the North American International Auto Show. Nearly every major automaker is racking in huge profits after US auto sales hit a new record high of 17.5 million vehicles in 2015.

The boom times are especially sweet given they come just six years after General Motors and Chrysler clawed their way out of bankruptcy after the financial crisis knocked US auto sales to 10.4 million in 2009, the lowest level in nearly three decades. That downturn accelerated muchneeded restructuring at the Detroit Three carmakers, which are now producing far more attractive vehicles with significantly lower operating costs. More than 40 new vehicles will vie for the attention of over 5,000 journalists from dozens of countries during two days of official press previews. “There are certainly important vehicles there,” Jack Nerad, an analyst with Kelly Blue Book, said in a telephone interview.

Chrysler will be unveiling the next generation of its Town and Country minivan. “That was their bread and butter for several decade and they need to win that back. I imagine they’re pulling out all the stops,” Nerad said. General Motors will reveal its Buick Envision sport utility vehicle at a party on Sunday night. With annual sales expected to come in around 40,000 vehicles, the Envision is not going to be a huge part of GM’s portfolio. But it’s a landmark because the Envision is the first vehicle that a major automaker is importing to the United States from China. “If the quality is good, I don’t know if people are necessarily going to care,” said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst with automotive site Edmunds.com. “There may be some balking at first if people want to make an issue of it but I imagine in the long run it won’t be a deal breaker for a lot of people.” Mercedes will also try to steal the spotlight by revealing its new E class luxury sedan at a party Sunday night.

This news has been read 5718 times!

Related Articles

Back to top button

Advt Blocker Detected

Kindly disable the Ad blocker

Verified by MonsterInsights