Lost among last week's bailout news was another significant announcement that is likely to shape the automotive industry. President Elect Obama selected Ray LaHood, a Republican from Illinois, as his Secretary of Transportation. He'll be responsible for everything from infrastructure improvements to fuel mileage requirements.
Guess he'll have to learn on the job though as very little, if any, of his past experience involves transportation. So why the appointment? There are plenty of possible reasons: Obama needed a token Republican in his all-inclusive cabinet, future transportation issues are going to be far different that those of the past, so prior experience is less important, maybe even a general admiration for LaHood's successful bipartisan efforts. There's a more detailed look at Ray LaHood's appointment over on GreenCarAdvisor, but it's safe to say he's not headed to Washington to prolong the horsepower wars.
cwc1 says:
07:43 PM, 12/22/08
He's probably a RINO...
bbechtel16 says:
08:44 AM, 12/23/08
Illinois eh? Maybe he paid the right person the right amount of money? ;-)
bbechtel16 says:
08:46 AM, 12/23/08
I'd also like to say that I'm somewhat comforted that the role isn't being filled by some whackjob democrat who will mandate that we'll all be driving electric cars by 2012 or something stupid.
flicmod says:
08:50 AM, 12/23/08
"I'd also like to say that I'm somewhat comforted that the role isn't being filled by some whackjob democrat who will mandate that we'll all be driving electric cars by 2012 or something stupid."
Yeah. Now we'll just have to put up with a guy who answers to a whack-job president that wants to mandate that we'll all be driving electric cars by 2012... or something stupid.
cwc1 says:
06:17 PM, 12/23/08
"Yeah. Now we'll just have to put up with a guy who answers to a whack-job president that wants to mandate that we'll all be driving electric cars by 2012... or something stupid."
Good one. As well as having to put up with a Congress dominated by the same thinking.