After presidential candidate John McCain took a ration of you-know-what for his daughter’s Japanese-built Toyota Prius, Newsweek‘s revelation that the McCains own 13 cars is bound to put the Arizona senator in the firing line. “McCain’s personal ride, a 2004 Cadillac CTS, is no gas sipper, but it should make Detroit happy because it’s made by General Motors. ‘I’ve bought American literally all my life and I’m proud,’ McCain said in the interview with Detroit’s WXYZ-TV. But the rest of his fleet is not all-American. There’s a 2005 Volkswagen convertible in the garage along with a 2001 Honda sedan. Otherwise, there’s a 2007 half-ton Ford pickup truck, which might come in handy on the Sedona ranch; a vintage 1960 Willys Jeep; a 2008 Jeep Wrangler; a 2000 Lincoln; and a 2001 GMC SUV. The McCains also own three 2000 NEV Gem electric vehicles, which are bubble-shaped cars popular in retirement communities.” And here’s the kicker: Johny’s Caddy is the only car registered in his name. “Cindy McCain’s name is on 11 vehicles, though not the one she actually drives. That car, a Lexus, is registered to her family’s beer-distributor business and is outfitted with personalized plates that read MS BUD.” Meanwhile, the Obamas own a Ford Escape Hyrbrid, after Barack took some heat for his “gas-guzzling” (Canadian-built) Chrysler 300C.
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Stop the presses! This is shocking!!!
Love the irony in the title. Couldn’t agree more. And for those that don’t agree it’s appropriate for an American presidential candidate to have furrin’ cars, remember…They’re not his!!!
Seriously, grow up, relax, enjoy the ride
Looks like she’s in some kind or blue Accord with white stars on it there.
I dont get it! Where’s the irony?
Well the irony is that the site doesn’t really see it as shocking and it is teasing those who do see it as a problem
Well at least in my mind’s eye…
While I see no problem with Americans buying foreign cars (after all, the majority of everything we buy is made overseas), I do think that those running for high political offices should show at least symbolic support buy buying American manufactured goods when they can.
Given that the McCains own 9 domestics (assuming that is what the NEVs are) I think they have done their fair share, and can be forgiven a couple foreign cars in the garage in the public eye.
As for any irony in the headline, I think it is worth noting that it could be an actual problem and a talking point if a candidate were to buy only or preferentially foreign made products. Without getting on too much of a soapbox, one of the contributing factors to our economic slide has been our country’s focus of globalization at the expense of reinvesting in our domestic industry and infrastructure. While it is well and good that we try to take advantage of developing markets and raise the standard of living in foreign lands, we should not, at least in my opinion, be conducting such business at the cost of our own standard of living.
NulloModo:
Totally agreed. If he were holding public office. If the Senate issues him a car and for whatever reason gives him a choice on what brand and he chooses anything not American, welll I think it’s ridiculous. Like my president and superior court judges and some governors and such, they’re driven around in foreign built cars. Wrong, totally wrong. They should just put up with it an go with the best domestic made cars, even when they’re not up to par w/ imported cars. To me it’s just another show of our down-trodden, colonized mind.
But, privately? I guess he should get whatever he wants. BTW, if not a collector how do 11 cars help you?
I thought you had earlier reported that John and Cindy had a Nissan 240SX that they had rebuilt together for Cindy to run in drifting competitions.
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/cindy-mccain-washington-drift/
Maybe its not licensed for use on public roads, or maybe they sold it by now.
The 2005 Volkswagen must be a New Beetle, but I’d like more information about the cars.
What kind of 2001 Honda? An Accord? A Civic?
What kind of 2005 GMC SUV? A Yukon XL? A plain Yukon? A Jimmy?
What kind of 2000 Lincoln? A Town Car? A Continental? An LS?
What kind of 1960 Willys Jeep? A CJ-3?, CJ-5?, Station Wagon, Pickup, something else?
What kind of Lexus does Cindy drive? An LS460? A LS600Lh? An LX570? Something else?
And what about the private plane that Cindy flies herself? What kind of plane is it?
And finally, the three NEV Gem Electrics don’t count as cars. They’re like golf carts and that’s how they are usually sold and marketed.
I think buying foreign is great. Buying domestic is only needed because folk have a bit of ignorance they need to face. Buy domestic is feeding the ignorance. Still its tough to get people to jump on the bandwagon. A bandwagon that is supposedly for their own good.
A couple of thoughts: a) if John McCain was not running for president, would anybody really care what Cindy drove? Did anybody care last year, when he was “just” a Senator? b)While I think it would be entirely appropriate to mandate that government vehicles be domestic, what some one drives privately is TOTALLY their business. Anything less would be like inferring that a Porsche afficionado was somehow disloyal & unpatriotic just because he enjoyed the brand’s peculiar persona. c) As for Obama’s 300C, should he be branded a sell-out because the vehicle was built in Toronto, Canada even though the company owning the plant is one of the Big 3? How narrow-minded some pundits can get! The auto industry is not as homogeneous as it once was. All of the OEM’s now use increasing amounts of parts built in Japan, China, Germany, Korea, Italy, France, and Mexico. I suppose all of us who buy domestics are similarly guilty of purchasing tainted (read “foreign-content”) vehicles….how ridiculous!
I thought MI was the only place people cared how ‘Merican’ your vehicle was….no matter where what parts came from.
>> if not a collector how do 11 cars help you?
One for every house :-)
TURBOSAAB:
LOL! Hadn’t thought of that. My Gawd, guess my middle class station in life is really coming through right now :)
As a matter of personal opinion, if my government is going to mandate the use of domestic autos for their fleet, they had better not use more of our money doing so. I find the use of the government’s leverage in a situation like this wrong. It’s an artificial demand created where their otherwise might not be any.
That being said I don’t care what my politician drives. If they have a need or want for a foreign car so be it. It’s probably nicer than any domestic.
Aaahhhh… you have got to be kidding.
The money is (at least in theory) supposed to come from American taxpayers. If not the one who pay now, at least those who will be rewarded with America’s debt in the decades to come.
Sorry, but the American government should only be allowed to buy American cars. With all the healthy subsidization other countries offer their automotive industries, the least these semi-literate marones can do is not donate my money to the national debt.
if I could afford a new one I’d own a Lexus too!
And somehow Obama is the elitist? The McCains have 13 cars, some large unknown number of houses and a monopoly on selling Budweiser in Arizona. Gosh, it is tough spending your life as a public servant. Oh, right, the wife’s got barrels (or kegs?) full of inherited money. Just remember, if your first wife doesn’t have lots of money and contacts, you can always ditch her and try again.
John Horner: Yup, McCain’s 143 cars means Obama’s an elitist.
USA! USA!
Next thing you know the President will ditch the Boeing 747 as Air Force One and buy a new Airbus A380 superjumbo!
Steven Lang: But what if there isn’t an American car for whatever needed purpose available? The only things the Big 2.4 have made with any degree of reliability and continuity are trucks and gas-guzzling luxobarges.
Also, replace the word “cars” with the word “televisions” and you’ve got a problem (RCA is owned by the French, the GE name is licensed to the French for TVs and other electronics, Zenith is owned by South Koreans, the Westinghouse name is licensed to the Taiwanese for TVs). What happens when this is also true for the auto industry?
John Horner: And somehow Obama is the elitist?
Absolutely he is!
Check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxist_philosophy
Well…at least the McCains are the most pro-economy with their own spending at least. The only thing that keeps economies afloat is the purchase of houses, cars, and larger appliances. If I had the money to buy 13 cars I would too, we all would. It doesn’t matter if things are made overseas and you buy them, it just matters that you buy stuff period. If the idea that buying non-domestic cars is so bad for our country, then we should be in the best economic position ever because EVERYTHING is made overseas but nobody is buying ANYTHING right now, and as we can see it does not help. Just buy stuff and the world will keep moving!
@ Jonny and John Horner:
The accusation that Obama is an elitist because of who he appeals to is as much a joke as McCain being an elitist because he married a rich woman.
The reality is that they are both wealthy. Obama lives in a $1.8mm house. McCain and his family own a bunch of homes. Wealth does equate with elitism. Ego and hubris does, and that’s why Obama has that label.
MS BUD? Really? Is that a joke or actually true? Was that the shocking part? Is there actually a shocking part?
Anyway, the personalised plates would show a sense of humor and of not taking yourself too seriously, consistend with the Nissan 240ZX drifting story.
Did Obama buy the house out of his Senator allowance btw? I know politicians make reasonable money but 1.8mm seems like a lot in the US housing market (in general, depending on where you live).
So what is wrong with Cindy wanting to get to the spa and back.
Bob Nardelli and Mullaly also drove Lexus products until they joined Chrysler and Ford.
John Horner: Just remember, if your first wife doesn’t have lots of money and contacts, you can always ditch her and try again.
See also: John Forbes Kerry
At least Cindy’s a helluva of a driver.
And so what if Obama drove a Chrysler 300C? Isn’t that supposed to be as big, brash and American as it gets without owning a pickup?
I guess some people buy more cars than they really need.
As a Democarat, I’m not sure how I feel about McCain driving a one-year-newer version of my car. And, I must take issue, an overall average of 24-25mpg in our case is pretty good considering.
Oh yeah, one more point, we’re nearing 100K miles. Yesterday I touched up the rear bumper and detailed the interior. When I look at the car, it certainly doesn’t look (or drive) like I would expect a six-year-old car to drive. Maybe McCain knows a good thing when he sees it…
This is a free market, folks. It thrives on competition, and if domestic cars cannot rise to the competition, then they need to change what they are doing or get the heck out of the way. It does no good to the market to prop up inferior domestic products because then the motivation to improve is erased.
Wealth does equate with elitism. Ego and hubris does, and that’s why Obama has that label.
What kind of ego and hubris must someone have to admit that he knows nothing about economics yet still run for president as the country stands on the brink of depression? It is ridiculous for someone who is worth a hundred million dollars minimum and is so out of touch with normal americans that he thinks the fundamentals of the economy are strong, even as the entire financial system is in the process of being socialized, to decry Obama as an elitist. It’s like G.H.W. Bush’s befuddlement in a modern supermarket checkout. No matter how you want to spin it, it is ironic for someone who owns eight houses, thirteen cars, and a jet to bash someone for being an elitist. It does not pass the laugh test.
If McCain was a real maverick, he would buy imports and have the cojones to say he bought foreign because domestic cars are junk and Detroit needs to get its act together, stop retreating, and go mano a mano with the japanese, or be eliminated. He would come off as honest to a lot of voters who have reached the same conclusion.
No one knows where he stands on anything. One day he is against Detroit bailouts, the next day he is for them. One day the economy is solid, the next day we are all hurting. One day he is the Great Deregulator, the next day he is promsing to regulate Wall Street. One day he is against stopping The Great Depression, version 2.0, the next day he is for it. I cannot keep track of what he believes. It changes hourly.
SupaMan: And so what if Obama drove a Chrysler 300C? Isn’t that supposed to be as big, brash and American as it gets without owning a pickup?
It’s an issue because Senator Obama criticized Detroit for building big, gas-guzzling V-8 powered vehicles.
Detroit built them because people like Senator Obama were buying them until very recently. Duh!
Qwerty: What kind of ego and hubris must someone have to admit that he knows nothing about economics yet still run for president as the country stands on the brink of depression?
At least he admits it. I have yet to see evidence that Senator Obama knows any more about economics than Senator McCain.
Qwerty: If McCain was a real maverick, he would buy imports and have the cojones to say he bought foreign because domestic cars are junk and Detroit needs to get its act together, stop retreating, and go mano a mano with the japanese, or be eliminated. He would come off as honest to a lot of voters who have reached the same conclusion.
And if Senator Obama was pushing for real change, he’d say the same thing (except for the buying foreign part – he has driven domestics). But he’s chasing those UAW votes, too.
If the government is buying ANYTHING with taxpayer dollars, it has a duty to ensure that it is getting the best value for its money. If it is buying a vehicle for Senators to ride around in, it should be the best vehicle for that purpose, whether it be built in the US, Canada, Mexico or Japan. Just as if the US is buying a fleet of aircraft tankers, it should buy the best product for the job, be it made by Airbus or Boeing. Country of origin should not be the overriding factor (though in the case of a defense related purchase, it may be A factor).
A candidate for office should also be free to choose the products that best fit their needs, though they should be acutely aware that their ‘needs’ include the support of American workers who may not be willing to lend it if they see no quid pro quo…
allythom :
If the government is buying ANYTHING with taxpayer dollars, it has a duty to ensure that it is getting the best value for its money.
Agreed. Anything less is corporate welfare.
As a taxpayer, I don’t care what brand vehicle my government buys so long as a) it’s cost effective, and b) reliable.
Foreign or domestic no longer matters in a world based economy.
unleashed: With all due respect, that’s a cheap shot. Obama is anything but a Marxist.
DearS :
September 21st, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I think buying foreign is great. Buying domestic is only needed because folk have a bit of ignorance they need to face. Buy domestic is feeding the ignorance. Still its tough to get people to jump on the bandwagon. A bandwagon that is supposedly for their own good.
Uuuuuuuhhhhhhh……….what????? Best and brightest???
Good lord, I hope the beaurocrats that run this blessed country are allowed to buy foreign cars. We certainly don’t need to give them another excuse to not come to work!
And yeah, I think our gov’t should get the cheapest, most reliable, most fuel efficient vehicles they can, irrespective of the nameplate. There should be some minimum criteria for each category and then bid requests sent out to each manufacturer for vehicles that meet those criteria. Done.
The idea of them having cars is so that they can do their jobs – not prop up failing manufacturers that produce garbage that no one else will buy.
Robert….see what you started? Sometimes, the tone on this site is SO juvenile……there are plenty of other blogs where we can read liberals trash neo-cons and and vice-versa. Can’t we just talk about CARS?
for much more info on the candidates (all of them including former candidates) cars, see my article in Car and Driver (http://tinyurl.com/prescandidatescars) or email me for the manuscript, which has even more info (much more), at motorlegends@aol.com
When a government official buys a forign car The Government is using US tax payer dollars to support foreign companies.
If the government official is so isolated that they do not know that they were elected to represent the American People (tax payer) than we should be allowed to fire them. I know you stated that – don’t re-elect them but they have violated a basic tenant of office and that is to represent and support their constituents and I am sure none of them are Japanese.