Snubbing the auto industry and instead choosing to pimp environmentalism, Obama recycled a tired old cannard from the Sierra Club: that modern day cars are no better than the venerable old Model T.

Obama parrots:

"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 less gas mileage, not better, on SUVs. Even as our economy has been transformed by new forms of technology, our electric grid looks largely the same as it did half a century ago."

Of course, we debunked this argument way back in 2003.

Of course, there are also staggering differences between vehicles made in the early 1900s and the early 2000s so any one on one comparison would be extremely flawed.

For instance, a 1908 Model T weighed a mere 1200 pounds. Compare this to the 1993 Ford Festiva, that I used to own. It weighed 1700 pounds and got 44 miles to the gallon. The Model T boasted a 4 cylinder engine that made a whopping 20 horsepower. Most modern small cars get over 100 horsepower. The Model T also burned oil for the headlights and various other lamps that adorned the vehicle. It wasn't exactly eco-friendly. Compare this to the 2003 Ford Focus. The Focus weighs over 2600 lbs, and it's 4 cylinder engine makes 110 horsepower and gets 27 to 36 miles to the gallon. Of course, they also don't bother to take into account that today's vehicles are subjected to countless government mandated safety standards.

Modern cars are larger, faster, safer, and more powerful. They hold more people, more stuff, and only emit a fraction of the pollutants compared to that of older cars. Pound for pound, we are all much better off. Who cares if they burn a few more gallons of fuel.

The 2008 Ford Focus SES weighs in at 2588 lbs, makes 140 horsepower from its I-4 engine, and 24 to 35 miles per gallon. It also gets to 60 in less than 10 seconds. Lets see a Model T do that!