STATEMENT: "CalCars.org and the broad coalition that's been promoting
plug-in hybrids -- and hoping that the auto industry crisis wouldn't
derail their production -- got a reassuring sign today. It came at
President Barack Obama's 100th Day Press Conference. In the last
question, the President was asked how the federal government, as an
interim part-owner of private companies, might shape their products.
He picked plug-in hybrids as the model for his hopes and
expectations. He cited them as his way to demonstrate his confidence
in American industry -- its resources, capabilities, expertise, and
future." [Transcript and additional comments below.]

(Shortly after it goes out on email, this posting will also be
viewable at http://www.calcars.org/news-archive.html -- there you can
add CalCars-News to your RSS feed.)

HERE'S WHAT HE SAID -- the video and transcript show him pausing,
then choosing PHEVs (full transcript follows):

...like any investor, the American taxpayer has the right to
scrutinize what's being proposed and make sure that their money is
not just being thrown down the drain. And so we've got to strike a
balance. I don't want to be -- I'm not an auto engineer. I don't know
how to create a -- affordable, well-designed, plug-in hybrid, but I
know that if the Japanese can design a -- affordable, well-designed
plug-in hybrid then, doggone it, the American people should be able
to do the same. So my job is to ask the auto industry: Why is it you
guys can't do this? And in some cases they're starting to do it..."

BACKGROUND: We've been saying for a long time that the car industry
could save itself, after a century of fossil fuel dependence, by
producing vehicles running on cleaner cheaper, domestically-generated
electricity. We saw the new administration come into office hoping to
help facilitate that shift.

OUR WORRIES IN RECENT WEEKS: Since the introduction March 30 of the
Automotive Task Force, we've expressed concern about the advice the
President was getting about the intersection between the auto
industry's crisis and the opportunity for carmakers to begin a rapid
transition to plug-in vehicles. During the campaign, the transition,
and the early days of the Administration, we've seen Obama's team
understanding this moment as similar to the shift after Pearl Harbor,
when the auto industry in one year switched from building cars and
trucks to planes and tanks. We hoped that vision would continue as
the automotive industry crisis continued.

BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP'S ROLE: We became concerned when the Boston
Consulting Group was retained to advise the Automotive Task Force. We
presented a critical analysis of BCG's view of the role of plug-in
vehicles, saying that the firm was relying on incorrect data and a
business-as-usual approach. (Our April 24 posting on CalCars-News
http://www.calcars.org/news-archive.html links to our critique, their
response, and our reply.) And we saw a Washington Post editorial
writer use BCG's data to conclude, "The Volt: Not Ready to Roll" --
see
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042801191.\
html
for the story and many comments . We hoped this weak echo, from a
writer whose alternatie was to stick to gasoline vehicles -- just
drive less, buy smaller cars and improve engines -- was not going to
influence decisionmakers.

OUR HOPES FOR TODAY'S ENDORSEMENT: We are now encouraged to hope that
whatever happens to GM and Chrysler on financing and corporate
restructuring, the Task Force will promote rather than hinder
automakers' recent decisions to shift as rapidly as possible toward
the electrification of transportation. [And on a personal note, I
chose to watch the press conference rather than a movie as a fun
activity on my birthday. After seven years of working to promote
PHEVs, I feel like I got a great birthday present from the
Shareholder-In-Chief!]

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT OF FINAL QUESTION -- from
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/29/obama.transcript/

STAFF: Last question. MR. OBAMA: Jonathan Weisman, you get -- you get
the last word. Where are you? There you are. QUESTION: Thank you,
sir. MR. OBAMA: Yeah.

QUESTION: You are currently the chief shareholder of a couple of very
large mortgage giants. You are about to become the chief shareholder
of a car company, probably two.

I'm wondering, what kind of shareholder are you going to be? What is
the government's role, as the keeper of public -- public trusts and
bonds in -- in soon-to-be public companies again?

MR. OBAMA: Well, I think our -- our first role should be shareholders
that are looking to get out. (Laughter.) You know, I don't want to
run auto companies. I don't want to run banks. I've got two wars I've
got to run already. I've got more than enough to do. So the sooner we
can get out of that business, the better off we're going to be.

We are in unique circumstances. You had the potential collapse of the
financial system, which would have decimated our economy, and so we
had to step in. As I've said before, I don't agree with every
decision that was made by the previous administration when it came to
TARP, but the need for significant intervention was there, and it was
appropriate that we moved in.

With respect to the auto companies, I believe that America should
have a functioning, competitive auto industry. I don't think that
taxpayers should simply put an -- attach an umbilical cord between
the U.S. Treasury and the auto companies, so that they are constantly
getting subsidies. But I do think that helping them restructure at
this unique period, when sales -- you know, the market has
essentially gone from 14 million (sic/thousand) down to 9 million
(sic/thousand), I don't think that there's anything inappropriate about that.

My goal on all this is to help these companies make some tough
decisions based on realistic assumptions about economic growth, about
their market share, about what that market's going to look like; to
prevent systemic risk that would affect everybody; and as soon as
their situations are stabilized and the economy is less fragile, so
that those systemic risks are diminished, to get out; find some
private buyers and --

QUESTION: And could you shape the products and services that are on offer?

MR. OBAMA: I don't think that we should micro-manage, but I think
that, like any investor, the American taxpayer has the right to
scrutinize what's being proposed and make sure that their money is
not just being thrown down the drain. And so we've got to strike a
balance. I don't want to be -- I'm not an auto engineer. I don't know
how to create a -- affordable, well-designed, plug-in hybrid, but I
know that if the Japanese can design a -- affordable, well-designed
hybrid then, doggone it, the American people should be able to do the same.

So my job is to ask the auto industry: Why is it you guys can't do
this? And in some cases they're starting to do it, but they've got
these legacy costs. You know, there are some terrific U.S. cars being
made, both by Chrysler and GM. Question is, you know, give me a plan
so that you're building off your strengths and you're projecting out
to where that market's going to be.

I actually think if -- if you look at the trends, that those auto
companies that emerge from this crisis, when you start seeing the
pent-up demand for autos coming back, they're going to be in a
position to really do well, globally, not just here in the United
States. So I just want to help them get there.


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Felix Kramer fkramer@...
Founder California Cars Initiative
http://www.calcars.org
http://www.calcars.org/news-archive.html
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