In a week of bad jokes getting high profile people in trouble, Ford CEO Alan Mulally is no different. Several days ago Mulally was telling the media that he had saved President Bush’s life by redirecting the President to plug the electric cord into the power outlet of the Ford Edge with HySeries Drive instead of the hydrogen tank.
The Ford Edge with HySeries Drive is both a hydrogen vehicle and a hybrid electric vehicle with a compressed gas tank in the rear and a rechargeable battery outlet on the front driver’s side of the vehicle. Apparently, Mulally’s bad joke was in reference to a funnier bit on the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” talk show, which featured President Bush blowing himself up by plugging into the wrong outlet.
Another downside of Mulally’s bad joke is that it has unjustly raised fears for those concerned about hydrogen safety, who had believed Mulally when he said it was possible to blow up the vehicle and everyone around it by plugging the electric cord into the hydrogen gas outlet. Because of the design of the vehicle, this is not a possibility.
Mulally has since confessed that the President was in no danger whatsoever and has apologized for the misunderstanding.