Foreign Automakers Upset At President Obama’s Choice Not To Speak To Them At D.C. Auto Show

Put yourself in the shoes of President Barack Obama. This past Tuesday, you paid a visit to the Washington Auto Show and were drawn to certain cars such as the Chevy Corvette ZR1 and Silverado, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and C-MAX Energi, as well as the Jeep Grand Cherokee, among others. Then you spoke to various executives of the very firms whose vehicles piqued your interest… only to later find out that executives of some automakers didn’t appreciate you not taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to them. Yupp, that’s exactly what happened.

Apparently, some members of the Association of Global Automakers (AGA) are up in arms because the Commander in Chief only walked the halls with the Detroit Three, even though automakers reportedly flew in execs from around the world for the opportunity to steer the President their way. Said executives were on hand and waiting (for a special invitation?) in a “bullpen” if opportunity (President Obama) came a-knockin’ with questions about specific vehicles.

AGA CEO Michael Stanton let his dissatisfaction be heard about the perceived snub and added that some “bent over backwards to meet the request from the White House.” Mr. Stanton also pointed out that, collectively, AGA members have invested $43 billion in the U.S. and have over 80,000 employees here.

The GM Authority Take

Oh politics. Perhaps the various organizations that feel slighted by this gesture, if it were planned — that is, need to do some math and realize that it’s not realistic for the President to speak to all executives on hand… or maybe they just need a reminder of the nation in which Mr. Barack Obama is President. The first to guess correctly in the comments gets major extra credit in political science 101.