Originally Posted by
chipcom
No, that is not a simple fact, unless you define 'cyclist' as only the uber-enthusiasts, as many in here like to do. Consider this:
Think about that for a minute...while many of us, the uber-enthusiasts, may buy new bikes each year (I've been slipping, I haven't bought a new one in two years), most people buy a new bike that lasts them for many years. So at a rate of say 11 million new "adult" bikes a year, with an average life of 10 years, one could make the case that a good 1/3 of the population own and ride bikes...hardly a number that you'd want to discount lightly. Indeed, compare that to the 4.5 million new firearms sold each year....does anyone think gun owners are irrelevant and fair game to offend in their ad campaigns?
Owning a bike doesn't make a cyclist... Riding one does. The numbers (Census, ACS, NHTS, etc) indicate most of those bikes spend their time in the garage, before they get sold in a yard sale to someone who will then put them in a new garage. And all of the information indicates that occasional riders number between 5 and 10% of the population. It is unlikely many of those occasional riders would be offended by the GM campaign, since they too likely only view bikes as "recreation". Now those who get offended are likely only those who view bicycles as a means of transportation--in the US that is roughly 0.5%... And a half percent that also show a strong correlation to being lower income... hence not much of the market for new cars...
Oh, and gun owners are routinely the but of jokes/ads much like the GM one... All one has to do is turn on the TV... Don't you know that those that own guns are macho, paranoid rednecks?