Schwarzenegger at SAE 2009: Car Industry Will Be Back!

The Governors' opening talk

California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, hasn't forgotten his famous "Terminator" line (and neither did we) and adapted it for the Detroit automakers facing the economic crisis, when he spoke at the opening session of the SAE World Congress today.

"Yes, they're wiped out. Yes, they're down. There are a lot of uncertainties, but there is one thing that is certain,"  was quoted as saying by Autonews. "They're going to be back. The car industry is saying, 'I'll be back." Well at least he didn't mix up the lines and left aside the famous "Hasta la vista, baby!".

Arnie is a well-known supporter of the green technology and his speech was based on his state's initiative of building a hydrogen economy. This was actually the SAE 2009 World Congress theme: "Racing for green mobility" and they managed to choose the most apropriate spokesman.

The famous governor thinks that California should be used as a guide for the development of a nationwide greenhouse gas emissions standard, but the market should decide which would be best: hybrids, electrics or biofuels.

Schwarzenegger said Detroit is moving too slowly when it comes to building zero-emissions vehicles and if the automakers commit to green tech, they will become more competitive globally. "It's easy to stay with the status quo and not venture out too far and to be innovative."

He doesn't blame it all on the automakers though. "I think if the federal government starts setting standards and starts having tax incentives and saying here's the direction that we go, I think that the car manufacturers will move much faster," Schwarzenegger  added.

The former actor would be willing to go back to his first job and use his acting skills by taping a commercial in order to promote Detroit vehicles and manufacturers. "I want to help this industry to get back on its feet as soon as possible, and I want to do my share.", he said. After all, he is a big fan of the cars produced by General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.