Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

President Barack Obama sits inside a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 during his visit to the Washington Auto Show on Jan. 31.

Slideshow: Obama's third year in the White House

Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images

From the debt ceiling debacle to the death of Osama bin Laden, it was an eventful year in office for the nation's 44th president.

Launch slideshow

President Barack Obama hailed the rebound of the U.S. auto industry on Tuesday as he sat inside a classic American muscle car, plug-in electric hybrids and burly trucks during a tour of the Washington Auto Show.

He declared "The U.S. auto industry is back."

Obama emphasized his administration's rescue of General Motors and Chrysler from the brink of collapse as Romney was surging in Florida's GOP primary, a contest that could bring him a step closer to winning the Republican nomination.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this blog post

Related links:

• Obama plays up auto industry success story
  
• PhotoBlog: The Florida Republican primary

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Chaiwat Subprasom / Reuters

Thai Air Force officials excavate the wreckage of a U.S. World War II combat aircraft, a P-51D Mustang, in Pathum Thani province on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand on June 9.

Reuters reports:

The plane was shot down during World War II as it was dropping bombs at a military camp in Don Muang in then Japanese-allied Thailand. The owner of the land recently discovered the wreckage and alerted officials who plan to display the remains in the Thai Air Force museum in Bangkok.