Ford, Chrysler irked at feds' potentially biased email
Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Chrysler, Ford, GM
Charges of anti-Americanism have followed the transmittal of an e-mail from the US Department of Health and Human Services to 67,000 federal workers. The e-mail, written by an unnamed member of the department, gives advice on buying a personal car and suggests making fuel efficiency the first consideration, citing the 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid and Nissan Altima Hybrid by name. Then, based on a list from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, it suggests 12 cars to look at, all of them imports. It also specifically recommends staying away from SUVs.
[Source: Detroit News]


Continue reading Ford, Chrysler irked at feds' potentially biased email

 

Huh? Could you please post a link Paladin?

 

Here is the entire piece.

Ford, Chrysler irked at feds' potentially biased email
Posted Sep 4th 2007 4:31PM by Jonathon Ramsey
Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Chrysler, Ford, GM

Charges of anti-Americanism have followed the transmittal of an e-mail from the US Department of Health and Human Services to 67,000 federal workers. The e-mail, written by an unnamed member of the department, gives advice on buying a personal car and suggests making fuel efficiency the first consideration, citing the 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid and Nissan Altima Hybrid by name. Then, based on a list from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, it suggests 12 cars to look at, all of them imports. It also specifically recommends staying away from SUVs.

[Source: Detroit News]





Chrysler's position, via a spokesman, was blunt: "clear bias against American manufacturers." A Ford spokeswoman took a more diplomatic stance, saying "We find it puzzling that a government agency such as Health and Human Services is advising its employees on what they should choose as a personal vehicle." A GM spokesman didn't think the e-mail was intended to slight American makers, but then again, the correspondence did mention GM's E85 promotion program.
An HHS spokesman said the agency has nothing to do with auto policy, and the e-mail wasn't intended to be an official stance of the HHS. It was just a newsletter put together from available public sources. But with presidential candidates and Congress increasingly making a bad environmental example of the auto industry, especially the domestics with their once popular SUVs, it is to be expected that The Big Three would be a bit put off by that kind of official-sounding message to 67,000 potential customers.

 

Okay, thank you. After working for the U.S. gov't in the past, from what I was taught they should not be sending out e-mails like that. I would like to see the whole list though of different vehicles. Since they mentioned GM's E85 models and GM was fine with it, I'm assuming that they did not list Chrysler's or Ford's E85 models. If that was the case I can see how they would be upset, not to mention that Ford does offer the hybrid Escape which apparantly was not listed.

The thing that is amusing about this is I remember Car and Driver saying that their hybrid Altima got WORSE fuel mileage than the conventional Altima. I think they should reconsider recommending the Altima hybrid (as well as any other hybrid on the market that they might have recommended for that matter).

 

That is weird, that the Health and Human Services is sticking their nose in the automotive business marketing department.


I'll make sure I ask them for their help the next time I buy a car.

 

What's weird about it? Hell, the EPA's very existence depends on it. Just another federal beauracracy overstepping it's bounds... (and it's welcome!)

 

Yes, but why to their 67K federal employees. They still believe global warming exists and they are telling their employees what to drive.