Umm. The automobile was not invented in the USA.

[Mika]

It was invented by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz in 1889, in Germany, unless we are talking about the steam powered auto, which was an invention of Nicolas Joseph Cugnot, and a product of France in 1771.

[TexasObserver]

1. It was NOW!!

haha

[sharp_stick]

5. LOL we'll make

Daimler and Benz honorary citizens just for this.

[TexasObserver]

14. This is how millions of Americans get igorant.

It's idiocracy!






(yes, I know it's spelled "ignorant")

[ncteechur]

2. He was like Bluto in Animal House. He was on a roll.

[Zywiec]

8. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? n/t

[Historic NY]

3. But old Henry Ford invented the assembly line to produce them.

[JackRiddler]

6. Something like 20 or 30 years later, yes.

And Werner von Braun brought rocket technology to fruition in America, dammit!

[Johonny]

16. Using technology USA invented

thank you Robert Goddard

[Johonny]

19. this is a basic thing about history

the credit of the "inventory" doesn't always go to the first person, but the person that did the most to promote the invention. In this case Henry Ford is generally remembered as the father of the automobile even though clearly he did not invent it anymore than Pythagoras invented his theorem.

[Wilber_Stool]

35. Ransom Olds got the patent

for the assembly line in 1901 and first used it to build Oldsmobiles.

[Hello_Kitty]

4. True. But it was mass-produced in the U.S. eom

[kwassa]

7. Daimler, Benz, who ever heard of them, anyways?

:rofl:

Here is the first Mercedes SL 500

[liberalmuse]

9. Oh c'mon!

Yeah, we know, but the US found a way to mass produce it first. < slinking away >.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Ever heard of Ford, he is talking of that little step of production

He gets it, we need manufactuing

[Mika]

12. Not disputing that, he just said that the auto was invented in the US.

A common misconception that a preznit shouldn't make.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Perhaps, I'll take those mistakes over bush's though

:-)

[DainBramaged]

18. Impeach him then, it is a crime right?

[marmar]

11. That lying bastard......IMPEACH HIM !!!!

n/t

[depakid]

13. Why on earth was that line necessary?

Makes the speechwriter looks like a poor fact checker- and it's stupid to include a false statement of fact in a speech that's emphasizing EDUCATION.

Sheesh.

[blogslut]

22. Because it pushes the right buttons

And starts a conversation.

[depakid]

25. Maybe so- but it doesn't give me much faith in the fact checkers

and/or doesn't exactly engender honesty- whoch is pretty damned important after the last 8 years.

[blogslut]

28. Okay

I think it's an embellishment but it's not that far off the mark. Ford turned the assembly line concept into a profitable, successful business model. Because of mass production, Ford's cars were priced at a level affordable to the populace, thus cementing an industry that fed a hell of a lot of people for a very long time. Some other dude may have technically invented the car but it was Henry Ford who perfected the process.

[DainBramaged]

17. Call President OBAMA and tell him he made a mistake

8 fucking years of Chimpy and we hold this against him?

Yeah, we know, but who gives a shit.

[Generator]

20. Nazi's don't count, patriot!

[Raine]

21. Mass production Fords for the average guy

not just the rich like those in Europe.

[UTUSN]

23. Everybody knows it was Huguito who invented EVERYTHING!1

[Mika]

33. ROFL

:rofl:

[fishwax]

24. America invented the automobile

in the way that Hollywood invented the movies. The technology was there, but it was fully transformed by mass production, consumption, and its centrality in American culture.

Then again, he may also have meant that America invented the automobile industry, which is something I think he's said before.

[MrsBrady]

26. i think he meant the auto industry

[lumberjack_jeff]

27. Shut up Otter. n/t

[MadHound]

29. Umm, George Baldwin Selden of New York, patent number 549,160

Invented the car in 1878, patented (due to various legal obstacles) in 1895.

[malaise]

30. Yep I caught that too n/t

[serrano2008]

31. Hey wait...I thought we only recognized American made autos as autos?

Therefore it was invented in America.

[Kansas Wyatt]

32. Like Republicans are going to say...

'Americans weren't first.' It's unholy for them to even think that.

[IDemo]

34. I had the privilege of seeing one of these in 1975

The old man towing one on a trailer was stopped near the place I worked at, and started it for me when I asked about it.
Took him a few turns by hand of the pulley wheel and one or two "Come on, speak to me"s, but it finally ran.

[flvegan]

36. Didn't Cadillac get the current layout correct first?

Meaning three pedals, a gearshift and a steering wheel?