Earlier this month, executives from General Motors and Ford met with President Trump, along with auto dealer and race team legend Roger Penske. The result of what the President called a “great meeting” was almost certainly not what the automakers had in mind.
In short, the President told America that “they don’t want people to fix their car.” Of course, they represents automakers, notably GM and Ford in this case, since they were the ones on hand. It’s all in reference to the ongoing Right To Repair movement, which will likely get even more complicated as cars get even more tech.
CarBuzz reached out to both Ford and General Motors for a comment and clarification on all this. We are awaiting a reply, but Ford CEO Jim Farley has provided additional statements to the Detroit Free Press. More on that in a bit.
President Says Automakers Want Anti-DIY Legislation
“We had the auto industry in yesterday,” Trump said on June 4 (via The Detroit Free Press). “They don’t want people to fix their car. I said ‘that’s strange. I’d never heard of that.'” The President said that “Nobody’s allowed to fix their car, they gave a man seven years in jail actually because he fixed his own car. So I thought we’d do something about that. But we’ll get it all straightened away.”
Trump continued, saying “They want a bill that prohibits people from fixing … So if you’re mechanically inclined … You know, I grew up, I went to school with some guys, they were in some cases horrible students but they could fix an engine blindfolded. They could take a car apart blindfolded. But they weren’t too good at arithmetic and other things. But they were great and so there’s a move on to stop people from fixing their cars.”
“I didn’t understand it but we had a great meeting yesterday with the head of General Motors, and Roger Penske, the head of Ford,” Trump said. “We had a great meeting I think.”
It’s not clear what case Trump was referring to when he said a man was sentenced for fixing his own car. The White House did not respond to the Free Press’s request for comment. Ford confirmed that Andrew Frick, President of Ford Blue and Model E was at the White House June 3 to discuss auto repair, but it’s not clear who from GM was in attendance.
Ford CEO Responds, And Makes Us Nervous
Now, Ford CEO Jim Farley has clarified the company’s position to the Free Press. “Ford’s position is very reasonable, really,” he said. “We’re a big advocate for the ability to repair a vehicle, but it has to be done at a reasonable cost,” the CEO added.
When asked to clarify if this meant he didn’t want customers fixing their own vehicles, Farley said, “No, that’s fine, but not for warranty work, though. These are very complicated cars and we don’t think that’s safe for many of the repairs on our vehicles.”
Farley added, “Someone at home like myself could never do it. I mean, I have no problem working on a 1973 Bronco, but to work on a brand-new Bronco? I need all sorts of specialty tools. That’s something that would put people’s lives at risk.”
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This article originally appeared on CarBuzz and is republished here with permission.
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