President Donald Trump says he had a “great meeting” with the heads of General Motors, Ford and racing team legend and businessman Roger Penske this week about legislation that, in the president’s words, would prohibit people from repairing their own motor vehicles.
On Thursday, June 4, he said the auto officials “want a bill that prohibits people from fixing” their cars, though it was unclear what legislation Trump was referring to. There are various pieces of legislation being bandied about Congress that would protect owners’ rights to repair their own vehicles, though in some cases those rights might be restricted or owners could be required to meet certain safety standards.
Car owners have a right to repair their own vehicles now but in recent years legal battles have been fought over car owners and independent auto repair shops getting access to onboard computer data that makes it far easier to diagnose and fix vehicles that automakers have in some cases sought to protect. Industry groups like the Alliance for Auto Innovation have touted automakers’ willingness to work with independent repair shops but also noted that providing unrestricted access to onboard data is a security and safety risk.
Ford also has recently announced a nationwide marketing campaign to convince Ford owners that dealerships, not independent shops, are the best places to get their cars and trucks fixed.
The topic came up abruptly at an Oval Office event called by Trump to discuss moves he is making to upgrade coal plants.
“We had the auto industry in yesterday. They don’t want people to fix their car,” Trump said. “I said, ‘That’s strange. I’d never heard of that.’ They have a thing to… 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.”
“You believe it?” Trump continued. “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.”
The White House did not immediately respond to the Free Press’ request for clarification or what legislation Trump was referring to. It was also not immediately clear what case he was talking about involving someone sentenced to jail for repairing his own vehicle.
Ford Motor Co. confirmed for the Free Press that Andrew Frick, president of Ford Blue and Model-E, met with Trump on June 3 at the White House and the issue was to discuss repairing vehicles. A Ford spokesperson declined to comment further, however. GM declined to comment on the president’s remarks.
Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on X @tsspangler. Free Press staff writers Jamie LaReau and Jackie Charniga contributed to this story.
This story has been updated with new information.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump says Ford, GM pushing bill to restrict right to repair
Reporting by Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
