[Vwdiesel] Those anti-SUV ads

[Anthony Kimmell]

I'm confused here... when people say SUV's, are they only talking about
those useless things that look like overgrown S-10 Blazers and Suburbans, or
are they also talking about 4x4 pickups and full size Blazers, etc?

I own 3 vehicles: a 1976 Chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 with a 400 V8, a 1983 Chevy 1/2
ton 4x4 Suburban with a 350 V8, and a 1982 VW Rabbit diesel.

Now... the truck and the Suburban are both 4 wheel drive.  Does that make
them SUV's?  The truck gets 8 MPG on a good day, and the Burb gets about
12-13.  Am I funding Terrorism by driving these well made American vehicles?

Personally, I think the people who thought up this gas guzzler/terror
concept are a bunch of loons... if buying gasoline funds terror, then 99% of
Americans are responsible.  Never mind the fact that the oil companies gouge
the prices on a daily baisis.  As long as you drive a vehicle that's not an
econobox, you're funding terror?

I wonder why they don't attack the trucking industry?  Semi trucks burn
millions of gallons of diesel fuel annually.

Oh well... best I can do is sit back and laugh at these morons and their
commercials.

--
Tony Kimmell
Bloomington, IL


-----Original Message-----
From: vwdiesel-admin at vwfans.com [mailto:vwdiesel-admin at vwfans.com]On
Behalf Of Forrest L King
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2003 11:04 AM
To: scott3491 at insightbb.com
Cc: Audi-VW-Diesels at yahoogroups.com; vwdiesel at audifans.com
Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] Those anti-SUV ads


I don't undestand scott,   are you against SUVs, like me, or are you
upset by these ads?

On a diferent and related note, I think it is amusing how everybody
latched on to the "drugs support the killing of innocent families" ads.
This link is a LONG reach, especially if you are
grwing/cooking/distilling/mixing your own.  I think the SUV ads have just
as much merit - not much, however I do hate SUVs and therefore I am
willing to support the ad campaign.



On Sun, 12 Jan 2003 07:10:12 -0600 "Scott Kair" <scott3491 at insightbb.com>
writes:
>     For those who have seen the ads linking SUVs to funding for
> terrorism,
> the source of the mischief has revealed herself.  Gotta love it.
>     They're scheduled to be on a couple of the Sunday morning Liars'
> Operas.
>     Cheers,
>     Scott Kair
> ----- Original Message -----
> Subject: Arianna's Latest Column
>
>
> > Dear Friends,
> >
> > The anti-SUV ad campaign you helped create, which we have named
> > The Detroit Project, is unveiling our two 30-second ads (entirely
> > funded by your contributions) at a press conference in Los
> > Angeles at 10am this morning. The ads are available at
> > www.detroitproject.com. Also on our website will be a letter you
> > can send to Detroit's automakers, a form to fill out for those
> > dumping their SUVs, and a paypal link so that we can raise more
> > money and buy additional air time. The ads will start running on
> > the political talk shows this Sunday in major markets around the
> > country.
> >
> > All the best,
> > Arianna
> >
> > Road Outrage: How Corporate Greed And Political Corruption Paved
> > The Way For The SUV Explosion
> >
> > By Arianna Huffington
> >
> > America's automakers have finally sputtered into first gear.
> >
> > Responding to the growing public outcry over its reckless
> > gas-guzzling ways, the auto industry used the Detroit Auto Show
> > this week to unveil a line-up of "coming soon to a showroom near
> > you" hybrid vehicles -- including a number of hybrid SUVs.
> >
> > The question -- though I'm willing to bet no one at the car show
> > asked it -- is: What took them so long? After all, cars powered
> > by a combination of gas and electricity have been around since
> > 1905, when the Woods Motor Vehicle Co. offered a dual-powered
> > model.
> >
> > And while Detroit's sudden interest in hybrids after a
> > near-century of neglect is certainly a step in the right
> > direction, given the fact that many of the prototypes on display
> > in the Motor City won't be on showroom floors for years -- if
> > ever -- it's fair to wonder just how decisive a step it is.
> >
> > It's one thing to make a big show of rolling out glittering
> > "concept models" intended for future production -- or to promise,
> > as GM did, to have a million hybrid vehicles for sale by 2007 "if
> > demand is high" -- and quite another to commit the marketing
> > resources necessary to create the high demand. Time will tell if
> > the industry has really fallen in love with this new/old kid on
> > the block or if the industry's embrace of hybrid technology is
> > just a one night stand, a here-today-gone-tomorrow defensive
> > gambit for the PR cameras.
> >
> > We have ample reason to question the sincerity of the industry's
> > stated intentions. Anyone remember the Supercar, that 80 mpg
> > marvel that was supposed to hit the road by 2004 but instead
> > managed to eat up $1.5 billion in taxpayer money before being
> > abandoned on the side of the highway? Or the FreedomCAR, the Bush
> > administration's equally lame "responsible vehicle" partnership
> > with Detroit? Both highly touted programs allowed automakers to
> > look like they were sweating blood to improve fuel efficiency
> > while doing everything in their power to convince consumers to
> > buy more and more fuel-inefficient -- and hugely profitable --
> > SUVs.
> >
> > For a good indication of Detroit's real plans, we need look no
> > further than this week's L.A. Auto Show. (Yes, I'm a regular on
> > the auto show circuit.) There were as many hybrid cars on display
> > as there were rickshaws. And in full page newspaper ads headlined
> > "What's Up At GM?" the auto giant bragged about having "once
> > again shattered the record for SUV sales, topping the million
> > mark for the second consecutive year -- propelled by breakout
> > vehicles like the one-of-a-kind Hummer H2."
> >
> > The sales deck is clearly stacked in favor of Detroit's beloved
> > behemoths, with billions being spent on SUV advertising and
> > ever-more tempting marketing come-ons, like GM's "Zero, Zero,
> > Zero" program which was introduced in December and offered
> > no-interest financing on 13 of its SUVs for up to 60 months --
> > very tempting in these tough times.
> >
> > Of course, Washington continues to do its part by holding SUVs to
> > lower fuel efficiency and air pollution standards than passenger
> > cars. Our politicians have even refused to close a deeply
> > misguided tax loophole that rewards buyers of extra large -- and
> > extra wasteful -- SUVs with extra large tax breaks.
> >
> > Think of that: at a time when our leaders should be touting the
> > importance of reducing our dependence on foreign oil, the people
> > being given a financial incentive to purchase a new vehicle are
> > those buying fuel-chugging SUVs.
> >
> > "I was surprised," said Karl Wizinsky, a health care consultant
> > from Michigan who just bought a giant Ford Excursion even though
> > he admits he doesn't really need it, "that a $32,000 credit on a
> > $47,000 purchase was available in the first year. I mean, it is a
> > substantial credit." Yes, it is. And it's created a substantial
> > -- and artificial -- demand.
> >
> > It's the kind of lunatic public policy that makes you want to
> > slam on your brakes and scream out your car window: How can this
> > kind of thing happen?
> >
> > The answer is as simple as it is distressing: special interest
> > money has once again trumped the public interest. That's why the
> > auto industry was able to turn its back on hybrid technology for
> > so long, and why our politicians refuse to this day to demand
> > that the auto industry change its hydrocarbon-loving ways.
> >
> > The numbers tell the story: the auto industry spent close to $37
> > million on lobbying in 2000. And you can bet that money wasn't
> > spent trying to convince Congress to designate a "Windshield
> > Wiper Appreciation Week." Although I'm sure Congress would have
> > been glad to oblige if its deep-pocket pals in Detroit had only
> > asked. After all, the industry has donated over $77 million to
> > federal candidates and the political parties since the 1990
> > election -- with $12.5 million doled out during the 2002 election
> > cycle.
> >
> > It also doesn't hurt to have very good friends in very high
> > places. Before becoming White House chief of staff, Andy Card was
> > an executive at GM, and before that, the chief lobbyist for the
> > Big Three auto makers. And you wondered why the administration
> > has thrown its considerable weight behind GM's efforts to
> > overturn a California law requiring carmakers to put more
> > energy-efficient models on the road?
> >
> > Because of the corporate takeover of our democracy, Washington
> > has remained firmly stuck in the Dark Ages of energy policy. Bill
> > Clinton came charging into office promising to raise fuel
> > efficiency standards to 45 miles per gallon but left without
> > having increased it one inch per gallon. And why George W. Bush
> > can try and score points by proposing to raise the ludicrously
> > low SUV mileage standard by an equally ludicrous 1.5 mpg over the
> > next four years.
> >
> > It's also why the Big Three, once again, have to play catch up
> > with Toyota and Honda, which have been putting out hybrid cars
> > since 1997. How ironic that if American car buyers want to do
> > something truly patriotic, they have to buy Japanese to do it.
> >
> > So Detroit has sensed -- belatedly but still ahead of the
> > slowcoaches in Washington -- that public opinion is shifting --
> > and has taken some baby steps toward meeting the rising demand
> > for more socially responsible cars.
> >
> > Now it's up to all of us to make sure that the pressure and the
> > demand continue to grow. Otherwise, the auto industry will gladly
> > underfund and under-advertise its hybrid models, allowing them to
> > crash and burn -- yet more "proof" that American consumers don't
> > really care about anything other than their precious SUVs.
> >
> > And that would suit those gas-guzzlers in Detroit -- and those
> > cash-nuzzlers in Washington - just fine.
> >
> > ----
> >
> > If you have questions or comments, please contact me at
> > arianna at ariannaonline.com.
> >
> > To subscribe/unsubscribe, please visit
> > www.ariannaonline.com/columns/maillist.html.
> >
>
>
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