Detroit OEMs Apparently Not Involved in Joe Biden Acceptance Speech

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Car Twitter was abuzz on Saturday, as eagle-eyed automotive journalists noticed a bunch of brand-new vehicles, mostly Jeeps, in the front row of the socially-distanced acceptance speech by Joe Biden that marked his being voted president-elect of the United States

With so many American cars in the front row or rows, and Biden being a car guy, speculation rattled around that maybe this was staged somehow? This speculation floated around even though at least one car was a Subaru — a Forester, which is built in Japan.

So, was it staged and did the OEMs have any involvement?

Yes, it was staged, and no, the OEMs weren’t involved. It was Biden’s team doing the staging, as part of the usual political theater that all campaigns engage in. And these vehicles weren’t just present at Saturday’s speech, but they were part of a celebration planned for Election Day and were there on Tuesday.

Buzzfeed has the deets: “About five hours before polls closed on Election Day, 21 empty pickup trucks appeared in the parking lot of the Chase Center, sitting in two careful rows facing the stage where Joe Biden was supposed to address the nation in a victory speech later that evening,” Buzzfeed reported.

Further from Buzzfeed: “The fleet of Jeep Gladiators and Jeep Wranglers, along with some Ford Rangers and Chevy Silverados, had been arranged in alternating colors of red, white, and blue, all with open backs or sunroofs, and hoods stamped with BIDEN–HARRIS decals. They were reserved for the family and friends who would be arriving with Biden to his socially distanced ‘drive-in’ rally — the proverbial front row in a sea of other cars. Sitting opposite a freshly installed panel of bulletproof glass, US Secret Service protection befitting a president-elect, they had the clean and perfect look of new rental cars, windows darkened, paint gleaming in the sun. In the style of a tailgate, aides had placed a pair of blue folding chairs in the back of each truck.”

I reached out to FCA, Ford, and GM on my own, before I saw the Buzzfeed report via Jalopnik (I was out of the office most of Monday and didn’t see the reports until later, although I’d already sent my queries before stepping away from my desk) and all three told me that they had no involvement.

Ford: “There was no coordination between Ford and the Biden campaign to showcase our vehicles at this event.”

FCA/Jeep: “No, FCA played no role in the event. FCA does not endorse political candidates.”

GM provided what it called a “general statement of support” for Biden after telling me they were not involved in the event: “General Motors congratulates President-elect Biden on his election as the 46th President of the United States. We look forward to working with the new administration and incoming Congress on policies that support our customers, dealers and employees, help strengthen our manufacturing presence in the United States and advance our vision of an all-electric, zero-emissions future.”

That last statement is the kind of boilerplate statement any automaker might publish no matter who the president is, or what their ideology/party is.

As Biden’s Saturday Night Live doppelganger Jim Carrey says when in character: “Here’s the deal”. The deal is that these cars were staged by the Biden folks, with no apparent OEM involvement.

So if you’re a car person (or just a generally curious sort who notices these kinds of things) and you were wondering why there were so many new vehicles produced by the Detroit 2.5 in prime viewing spots during Biden speeches this week, you have your answer.

[Image: lev radin/Shutterstock.com]

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • El scotto El scotto on Nov 11, 2020

    TTAC Mods: There seems to be a spike in commenting about COVID. Thought you had that shut down.

    • Slavuta Slavuta on Nov 11, 2020

      Another person who wants to abolish 1st amendment

  • Ajla Ajla on Nov 11, 2020

    A lot of commenters are making complete fools of themselves in this thread.

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