Obama once again proves to be a fool.

FACT CHECK: Obama's gas-mileage claim sputters
By Ken Thomas
Associated Press


WASHINGTON — What's more fuel-efficient, a Ford Model T or a modern-day sport utility vehicle? President Barack Obama says the Model T, but his comparison is a stretch.
Obama, touring a California electric car plant on Thursday, said, "The 1908 Model T — think about this — the 1908 Model T earned better gas mileage than the typical SUV in 2008."
"Think about that: 100 years later, and we're getting worse gas mileage, not better, on SUVs," Obama said.
Ford's own Web site says the Model T's mileage ranged from 13 to 21 miles per gallon. Some Tin Lizzie enthusiasts who still drive the vehicles report numbers closer to the bottom end of that range. A typical SUV sold in 2008 gets 18.7 miles per gallon.
But even comparing vehicles that are so different is misleading, say auto industry officials and fans of Henry Ford's pioneering car.
The 1909 Model T — which debuted in September 1908 — weighed 1,200 pounds. A 1909 Model T ad told consumers it could reach 40 to 50 mph on its 4-cylinder, 20-horsepower engine. It had a 10-gallon gasoline tank with an advertised range of 200 to 225 miles carrying four passengers.
By contrast, a typical SUV sold in 2008 weighs about 4,600 lbs and carries equipment not dreamed of 100 years ago: emission controls, safety equipment like air bags, anti-lock brakes and an aerodynamic body. Model Ts featured hand-crank starters and taillamps fueled by kerosene.
"It's not a comparison that holds up well today," said Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Moore.
Moore said that by comparison, a 2009 Ford Escape achieves 20 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway while providing 200 horsepower, a tenfold improvement over the Model T.
Obama's line echoed a 2003 advertisement from the Sierra Club which was published around Ford Motor Co.'s 100th anniversary. The ad compared the fuel efficiencies of a Model T and a Ford Explorer and urged the Dearborn, Mich., company to "use existing technology to make cleaner cars that go farther on a gallon of gas."

A fool is someone who speaks about something he knows nothing about but in an authoritative way so as to get off the stage having said something.