Posted on 04/11/2007 2:03:24 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally is no longer laughing about his suggestion that he saved President Bush's life during a recent White House visit.
The No. 2 U.S. automaker has apologized after Mulally said his claim that he had intervened to prevent U.S. President George W. Bush from plugging an electrical cord into the hydrogen tank of an experimental Ford vehicle had been meant as a joke.
On Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said, "The story wasn't accurate, and I'll just decline to comment further."
Ford said Mulally never expected the story he told journalists in New York last week would be taken seriously.
The CEO found himself in an embarrassing situation when the story was featured on blogs and even in mainstream media such as the Financial Times, which said, "he may have saved the incumbent of the Oval Office from blowing himself up."
Mulally said last Wednesday, recounting a meeting at the White House on March 28, that he had noticed the president appeared to be ready to plug a power cord into the wrong outlet of a rechargeable vehicle that also runs on hydrogen.
"I violated all protocols. I grabbed his arm and I moved him up to the front," Mulally told reporters at the New York auto show.
"I wanted to make sure he plugged into the electricity, not into the hydrogen," he said to roars of laughter from the media, before adding: "This is all off the record, right?"
Ford said Mulally's anecdote had been inspired by a video spoof featured on ABC-TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" talk show that suggested Bush blew himself up by plugging the cord in the wrong outlet.
"I tried to tell a joke about it and proved I am no Jimmy Kimmel," Mulally said in a statement that was released to Reuters on Wednesday. "It never occurred to me that it would get such wide play or be taken seriously."
Ford spokesman Tom Hoyt said Mulally thought Kimmel's joke was funny and showed it to several Ford officials before his remarks to reporters.
"He just meant it as a joke. He kind of embellished the whole thing," Hoyt said. "There was no danger whatsoever."
Bush irritated U.S. automakers and allies last year when he said they should build more relevant products. He has been reaching out to them this year and promoting alternative fuel technologies as part of a plan to reduce gasoline consumption by 20 percent.
I am still driving my Ford Explorer Sport and it’s a 1996 model. I still love to drive my truck.
I’m a GM man but some Fords are ok.My point is the back stabbing to their customers is unforgivable
Another thing left out of the story is that of the 2 million pintos produced ony something like 10-20 exploded due to rear impacts.
In the end a ford pinto was statictically no more likely to explode than any other vehicle that was rear ended...
But many lawyers got stinking rich...hehe
Mullaly got $28 mil for 4 months work at Ford in 2006.
His deputy Mark Fields got roughly $750k in private jet trips to commute to his home in Miami every weekend.
I’m all for capitalism but these guys don’t have a clue.
I’m sure their plea for concessions from the UAW will get a great reception this fall.
"It gets so quiet around here at night you can hear your neighbor's Ford rusting away."
Yeah, and I'll bet rusty chunks don't start falling off at 50,000 miles, either...
Seriously, though - if you buy a Ford product with a defect, you can rest assured that Ford will keep it secret until the warranty run out and the hunk of junk implodes shortly afterwards.
Media. One and two syllable words. Double-digit IQs.
He's just pissed at Bush because the president questioned the relevance of putting wings on the Taurus.
Mulally studied under the world-renowned joke teller, Jokerry.
Last time I bought a Ford it started rusting within a year. The dealer just laughed, even though I foolishly had had factory applied coatings and rust prevention. It got so bad my coworkers joked they could tell where I had parked by the little ring of rust left on the parking lot. We ended up calling it "the auto of Dorian Gray.
I wouldn't make a big financial decision based on a joke that sucked. He probably can't throw a 95 MPH fastball either.
A man who can fly a fighter jet certainly knows how to plug in an electric cord. This whole Bush-is-stupid thing is really getting old.
He obviously didn’t realize that there are a sizable amount of leftists who actively desire the death of the President.
Time to check the pricing again...
Family member picked up a Fusion for $14.5k...
Show me the Camry that is that cheap. :)
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