Obama Praises U.S. Auto Industry at Chicago Ford Plant

President Barack Obama commended the U.S. car industry on Thursday during a visit to Ford’s Chicago assembly plant. The president cautioned, however, that automakers still have a long road ahead of them.

“The auto industry has gone through a difficult time. And it's not back to where it needs to be," Obama said to the 1,700 workers present at the 90-year-old factory. "We're going to rebuild not only the auto industry but the economy better and stronger than before. And at its heart is going to be three powerful words: Made in America.”

During his visit, Obama sat behind the wheel of a 2011 Ford Explorer and started the engine, but he did not drive the SUV, according to the reports of media members traveling with the president.

One week ago, Obama visited Chrysler’s Jefferson North factory and GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant, where he test-drove a Chevrolet Volt, an electric vehicle with an extended driving range.

“I like to see him in a Volt," said GM CEO Edward Whitacre in an interview with The Detroit News on Thursday in Traverse City. "I got to tell him I appreciate what he did for this company and this industry and I think it was the right thing to do.”

During his 17-minuted remarks in Chicago, President Obama lauded efforts to manufacture the 2011 Ford Explorer, which will allow the automaker to add 1,200 workers to its force and a second shift in the fall.

President Obama also corroborated a report that the Export-Import Bank will give Ford a $250-million loan to enable it to export 200,000 automobiles worth $3.1 billion.

“This will help Ford export more than 200,000 cars and trucks overseas, and that means more production and more manufacturing jobs right here in the United States," Obama commented, adding the move will achieve his goal of doubling exports within the next five years.

Mark Fields, president of Ford America, sported a White Sox baseball cap as he welcomed the president, an avid Sox fan.

“I notice that Mark and everybody, they put all the White Sox fans in front for me to meet,” said Obama.

The president reported that in 2009, he faced “a hard, unimaginable reality” that two of the Big Three automakers in Detroit—GM and Chrysler—were on the verge of collapse.

“If that had happened,” he noted, “more than one million jobs could have been lost, and that would have been a devastating blow to the entire economy.”

Ford, the only domestic automaker that did not accept bailout funds, “was in better financial shape and was able to weather the storm without federal assistance,” said Obama.

“That’s a testament to the hard work you all do and the choices this company made.”