Quite OT: NYTimes.com Article: TV Ads Say S.U.V. Owners Support Terrorists

[juliemac57@hotmail.com (Julie Macfarlane)]

Actually I agree. Back in the 70's there was a push for more economical 
cars. With presidents allied to the gas companies has decreased that need it 
seems.
My 81 16v has better gas consumption than most of the newer cars! You'd 
think that after all these years, all the millions spent on development that 
our cars would run on the meer suggestion of fuel.



Julie Macfarlane
Menlo Park Research & Development
Internet Application Developer
Amsterdam NY





>From: Neal Tovsen <nealtovsen@yahoo.com>
>To: scirocco-l@scirocco.org
>Subject: Quite OT: NYTimes.com Article: TV Ads Say S.U.V. Owners Support 
>Terrorists Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 12:22:17 -0800 (PST)
>
>I thought I'd post this since it has been a hot issue
>in the past. Whether you agree with it or not, it sure
>does make you think, eh?
>
>Neal
>
> >
> > TV Ads Say S.U.V. Owners Support Terrorists
> >
> > January 8, 2003
> > By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 - Ratcheting up the debate over
> > sport
> > utility vehicles, new television commercials suggest
> > that
> > people who buy the vehicles are supporting
> > terrorists. The
> > commercials are so provocative that some television
> > stations are refusing to run them.
> >
> > Patterned after the commercials that try to
> > discourage drug
> > use by suggesting that profits from illegal drugs go
> > to
> > terrorists, the new commercials say that money for
> > gas
> > needed for S.U.V.'s goes to terrorists.
> >
> > "This is George," a girl's voice says of an
> > oblivious man
> > at a gas station. "This is the gas that George
> > bought for
> > his S.U.V." The screen then shows a map of the
> > Middle East.
> > "These are the countries where the executives bought
> > the
> > oil that made the gas that George bought for his
> > S.U.V."
> > The picture switches to a scene of armed terrorists
> > in a
> > desert. "And these are the terrorists who get money
> > from
> > those countries every time George fills up his
> > S.U.V."
> >
> > A second commercial depicts a series of ordinary
> > Americans
> > saying things like: "I helped hijack an airplane";
> > "I gave
> > money to a terrorist training camp in a foreign
> > country";
> > "What if I need to go off-road?"
> >
> > At the close, the screen is filled with the words:
> > "What is
> > your S.U.V. doing to our national security?"
> >
> > The two 30-second commercials are the brainchild of
> > the
> > author and columnist Arianna Huffington. Her target
> > audience, she said, is Detroit and Congress,
> > especially the
> > Republicans and Democrats who last year voted
> > against a
> > bill, sponsored by Senators John McCain, Republican
> > of
> > Arizona, and John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts,
> > that
> > would have raised fuel-efficiency standards.
> >
> > Spokesmen for the automakers dismissed the
> > commercials.
> >
> >
> > Eron Shosteck, a spokesman for the Alliance of
> > Automobile
> > Manufacturers, said of Ms. Huffington, "Her opinion
> > is
> > out-voted every year by Americans who buy S.U.V.'s
> > for
> > their safety, comfort and versatility." He said that
> > S.U.V.'s now account for 21 percent of the market.
> >
> > In an interview, Senator Kerry distanced himself
> > from the
> > commercials. He said that rather than oppose
> > S.U.V.'s
> > outright, he believed they should be more efficient.
> >
> >
> > "I haven't seen these commercials," he said, "but
> > anybody
> > can drive as large an S.U.V. as they want, though it
> > can be
> > more efficient than it is today."
> >
> > Ms. Huffington's group, which calls itself the
> > Detroit
> > Project, has bought almost $200,000 of air time for
> > the
> > commercials, to run from Sunday to Thursday. While
> > the
> > group may lose some viewers if stations refuse to
> > run the
> > advertisements, the message is attracting attention
> > through
> > news coverage.
> >
> > The advertisements are to be broadcast on "Meet The
> > Press,"
> > "Face the Nation" and "This Week With George
> > Stephanopoulos" in Detroit, Los Angeles, New York
> > and
> > Washington.
> >
> > But some local affiliates say they will not run
> > them. At
> > the ABC affiliate in New York, Art Moore, director
> > of
> > programming, said, "There were a lot of statements
> > being
> > made that were not backed up, and they're talking
> > about
> > hot-button issues."
> >
> > Ms. Huffington said she got the idea for the
> > commercials
> > while watching the antidrug commercials, sponsored
> > by the
> > Bush administration. In her syndicated column, she
> > asked
> > readers if they would be willing to pay for "a
> > people's ad
> > campaign to jolt our leaders into reality."
> >
> > She said she received 5,000 e-mail messages and
> > eventually
> > raised $50,000 from the public. Bigger contributors
> > included Steve Bing, the film producer; Larry David,
> > the
> > comedian and "Seinfeld" co-creator; and Norman Lear,
> > the
> > television producer.
> >
> >
>http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/08/business/media/08SUVS.html?ex=1043054359&ei=1&en=9c2426a0be9a21a2
> >
> >
> >
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> >
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> > help@nytimes.com.
> >
> > Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
>
>
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