Outrageous Claims of Obama's Teleprompter

Barack Obama said something absolutely hysterical while in Pomona, California, touring the "Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Center Garage of the Future". Here's his brilliant quote:

For decades we've avoided doing what we must do as a nation to turn -- turn challenge and opportunity. As a consequence we import more oil than we did on 9/11. The... The 1908 Model T -- think about this! The 1908 Model T earned better gas mileage than the typical SUV in 2008. Think about that, a hundred years later and we're getting worse gas mileage, not better.

Let's correct Obama's hamfisted faux pas and consider all of the facts:

The Model T of 1908 was powered by a 177 cu. in. four-cylinder engine which produced 20 horsepower, propelling the Model T to a top speed of 45 mph. The mileage cited for the Model-T is 13-18 miles per gallon. The Model-T weighed 1200 pounds.

Now, Obama was comparing the Model-T with an SUV. I don't know which SUV, but let's take the biggest SUV flagship out there and compare these specs, shall we? The 2009 Ford Expedition is powered by a 330 cu. in. V8 producing 310 horsepower, more than 15 times the power output of the Model-T. The Expedition carries approximately 5 times the curb weight at around 6000 pounds. It's equipped with an automatic transmission, airbags, power windows, climate control, and a ROOF. The Model T had none of these features, nor did it have DVD players built into the back of the seats. The Expedition was engineered, as most cars are nowadays, with much thought toward crash safety. The engineers of the Model T didn't give crash safety the first thought. The Expedition will comfortably cruise at 70 mph, though the top speed would surely top 100mph, not that you'd ever want to drive one that fast. As for fuel economy, the Expedition can get as much as 18 miles per gallon.

Now, imagine installing a Model-T engine into a Ford Expedition and consider whether the T's engine would still get 13 to 21 mpg as it struggled to pull 6000 pounds down the road. I'm guessing that the thing would barely be able to move. You'd probably suck the Expedition's 28 gallon fuel tank dry in a just a few blocks, if you could even make it that far before blowing the engine. And think of the emissions of the Model T engine compared with the Expedition's!! The Model-T powered Expedition would leave a cloud of black smoke behind it as it crept along, trying to move 3 tons… and then when the engine finally exploded, you'd get a nice cloud of blue smoke and shrapnel everywhere.

Conversely, imagine putting the Expedition's powerplant into the Model-T. The T is so light, the mileage of that big V-8 would likely double.

President Obama doesn't have a clue. I can't believe people voted for this man. This was truly a stupid claim to have made.