Moody is taken to task on car ownership

8/27/2009

Asked about the cars found in his household in a televised debate Monday, Republican Jim Moody gave the politically correct responses - he drove a Ford F150 truck and his wife tooled around in a "GM product."

Unmentioned was the sporty Mercedes-Benz convertible belonging to Mrs. Moody.

Responding to a question from The Blade yesterday, Mr. Moody acknowledged his wife owns a 1980 Mercedes two-seater.

Mr. Moody said the car is a "classic" vehicle that they keep stored in the winter and which Mrs. Moody, who lives in Sylvania Township, drives less than 800 miles a year.

The car question was posed during the debate sponsored WTOL-TV, Channel 11 and The Blade by Terry Frederick, the financial secretary of United Auto Workers Local 14, which represents employees at General Motors' Powertrain plant.

"I would like to know what brand of vehicles do you have in your households," Mr. Frederick said, to which WTOL Anchor Chrys Peterson added, "and we want them all."All the candidates ticked off

lists of American-made cars, as expected in a city where General Motors and Chrysler paychecks account for a big chunk of the economy, and the UAW packs big political clout.

Democrat Ben Konop, who is single, said he had a Mercury Mariner hybrid. Democrat Keith Wilkowski said he drives a 2004 Chrysler Sebring while his wife, Barbara, drives a Buick LaCrosse. Mike Bell, who is also single, named the most vehicles - a 2000 Ford Explorer, a 2005 Chrysler Magnum, a 1989 Chevrolet Corvette, and a Harley-Davidson motorcyle.

Independent Mike Collins said he and his wife, Sandra Drabik, both drive Jeeps, and that they have a third Jeep, as well.

Mr. Moody said he drives a Ford F150 pickup truck, Mrs. Moody drives a "GM product," and his daughter drives "the family minivan." He said yesterday the GM product is a Cadillac CTS while the minivan is an Oldsmobile Silhouette.

He said he thought the question was about cars that the candidate owned.

"I don't think it's politically unpopular that my wife owns a classic 27-year-old car," he said, adding that it has fewer than 100,000 miles. He said they bought it seven or eight years ago.

Mr. Frederick said Mr. Moody knew what the question was and should have answered it completely.

"This is a very important job that he's running for. Be up front and honest about it," Mr. Frederick said. "Classic car or not, I just feel he should have said that. People would have drawn their own conclusions."

Mr. Frederick said foreign-car ownership of any kind won't be well-received by UAW members who work at area car plants, where foreign cars are banished to the far end of the parking lot.

DaimlerChrysler AG of Germany owned Chrysler Corp., including Toledo's Jeep Assembly plant, from 1998 to 2007, the period during which Mr. Moody said he and his wife acquired her Mercedes-Benz.

Contact Tom Troy at:

tomtroy@theblade.com

or 419-724-6058.