Advocacy & Safety - Bike Advocacy is Bolder than Ford.

--- Ford Motor Company is making a commercial gesture at acknowledging our oil dependence with a big "Ford Bold Moves" public relations campaign:
http://www.fordboldmoves.com/Episode.aspx?episode=6
I think the sight of real people choosing to drive a bicycle is a bolder statement.

Speaking of commercials with a message... have you seen the new Hummer ads... the ads where someone gets dissed in some way, so in order to "get back" at society in general, they go out and buy a Hummer.

Pretty much puts a stamp of "I wanna be an ahole too... so I drive a Hummer" right on the product.

Truth in advertising, eh?

Commercials? Darn pvr

i like that, i hope it turns out

Pretty much puts a stamp of "I wanna be an ahole too... so I drive a Hummer" right on the product.

Truth in advertising, eh?

That's funny... the premise I gathered was "I have a small penis... so I drive a Hummer"

Speaking of commercials with a message... have you seen the new Hummer ads... the ads where someone gets dissed in some way, so in order to "get back" at society in general, they go out and buy a Hummer...

I was appalled when I saw those ads. I would have loved to have seen the boardroom process in choosing this absurd campaign. Either those involved had just been released from the cryogenic chambers in which they'd been sealed for 25 years, or all of them simply said "Look, our target consumer is a selfish moron. He or she doesn't care about the environment or about dwindling resources, and since, Hey!, we don't either!, let's not bother to massage this message. Let's just say what we really think and care about: **** everybody else, I want mine. Hey, sales are down, so what's to lose?".

The lack of humility is stunning.

The guy with the alternative fuels only gas station should also open up a bike shop .. that way, he can make money off of everyone, not just cars... sheesh.... what kind of business man is he?

The guy with the alternative fuels only gas station should also open up a bike shop .. that way, he can make money off of everyone, not just cars... sheesh.... what kind of business man is he?
Doesn't this thread (and the other similar rants) belong in the I hate cars forum , I hate automobile drivers forum, and/or I hate people with different lifestyles than me forum? Certainly has nothing to do with a forum about bicycling.

Nah. 'Cause I don't read those.

Certainly has nothing to do with a forum about bicycling.

Yeh you wouldn't think it had any thing to do with cycling would you?

But fact is if hummer sales go up we will see more on the road. These things are gas guzzling junk heaps. That means we will have more people driving these junkers in a hurry to get to the gas station work store or what have you. So fearful they will run out of gas or we will costs them a few cents that they go off on us.

Its obvious that suv owners are more apt to freak out and scream at us than the guy driving the little honda civic.

Yeh you wouldn't think it had any thing to do with cycling would you?

But fact is if hummer sales go up we will see more on the road...That means we will have more people driving these junkers in a hurry to get to the gas station work store or what have you.

I gather then that wind conditions should be considered as something pertinent to cycling as well...That means that we will have more cyclists fighting headwinds or what have you.

If someone wishes to drive a Hummer, you can't stop them, any more then you can tell the wind to blow in another direction, if you get my drift (pardon the pun).

-Kurt

Doesn't this thread (and the other similar rants) belong in the I hate cars forum , I hate automobile drivers forum, and/or I hate people with different lifestyles than me forum? Certainly has nothing to do with a forum about bicycling.--- Responding as the Original Poster of this thread, my point was that the sight of an adult actually using a bicycle as transportation is a powerful statement of bicycling advocacy and an exemplary model of how to reduce petroleum consumption. In contrast, the slick contrived PR efforts of Ford (and others) are struggling to convince us that the automobile will still be the default vehicle of the future.

I gather then that wind conditions should be considered as something pertinent to cycling as well...That means that we will have more cyclists fighting headwinds or what have you.

If someone wishes to drive a Hummer, you can't stop them, any more then you can tell the wind to blow in another direction, if you get my drift (pardon the pun).

-Kurt


Bah i can stop them from driving their hummer real fast. With a nice .22 rifle round through the tire. 1000 bucks a freaking tire for those damn things in some cases. But its always over 500 bucks per tire. Damage the rim and your talking a solid couple grand.

Seriously any one who drives a hummer don't know what they are getting in to. Sky high insurance high repair bills for minor stuff. High costs for tires etc. This isn't even counting fuel costs. Whats funny is the purchase price is coming down fast but repair costs remain the same. It wont belong before even relitivly minor damage results in a totaled hummer.

Its obvious that suv owners are more apt to freak out and scream at us than the guy driving the little honda civic.

You mean the same Honda Civic that is affordable enough that many are owned by very young drivers who seem to want me dead. Oh yea, those.

But fact is if hummer sales go up we will see more on the road.

Wow, going out on a ledge there, aren't you? Talk about your bold moves....

--- Responding as the Original Poster of this thread, my point was that the sight of an adult actually using a bicycle as transportation is a powerful statement of bicycling advocacy and an exemplary model of how to reduce petroleum consumption. In contrast, the slick contrived PR efforts of Ford (and others) are struggling to convince us that the automobile will still be the default vehicle of the future.

Right on.

While cycling advocacy can't even seem to get the message across that cyclists have the same rights to the road as motorists... Madison Ave has been quite busy painting a picture that has bicycles vastly removed from the road... except in a few rare instances... such as the case of movies like the "40 Year Old Virgin," which shows bicycles are only ridden by the wackos of society.

ILTB brought up many months ago the issue of the lack of cycling ads featuring normally clothes people riding bikes... which is again part of the over all missing picture. Bikes for everyday people.

So the image in the minds of most Americans is that bikes are toys and autos are transportation... and there doesn't seem to be much dispelling this imagary.

On topic: WOOT! yes, I agree, cycling is bolder than putting ethanol in your tank or any other such technical innovation by ford.

Off topic: Those Hummer commercials personally insult me. In one of them a frikkin vegetarian buys a hummer to get even with an omnivore!!! Not one vegetarian I know would do that, myself included.

So between GM owning hummer and doing that commercial and the dodge sedan my fiance drives being a lemon, I'm goading her to consider ford for her next car. (If she knew how to ride a bike, i'd goad her to go kona or trek or something...but getting her to learn is tough enough.)

^^Get a Toyota instead.

I'll spare y'all the long version of my rant on car and truck advertising. The short version is that if the products Ford, GM and Chrysler were that great in the first place, would they need the incessant advertising they find necessary to sell their products? Do you have any idea what percentage of the cost of a new vehicle can be chalked up to advertising costs?

:eek:

my fiance drives being a lemon, I'm goading her to consider ford for her next car. (If she knew how to ride a bike, i'd goad her to go kona or trek or something...but getting her to learn is tough enough.)

Whoa dude! careful what you say or you might be looking for a new fiance! :(

We have an SUV in our family and if we had a choice, we would choose a hybrid SUV instead. But we don't have a choice, or at least we didn't when it was purchased. I really don't know if they have hybrid SUVs that get good mileage or not.

The point is, give people more credit. Many would choose better if they felt they had more choices and if they had good information for making those choices.

By the way, if you have not seen Who Killed the Electric Car you should. It would help put those ads like the one in the OP into perspective.

Cars are great. When it's too hot to ride or my girlfriend and I want to go on a nice date, it's wonderful to have a car. It's also great to have when we go hiking, so we don't have to worry about having energy for a ride back from the trail. I would be saddened to see cars go completely away. It'd be great if a car company could find a way to get us off of oil, starting with the fuel used.

The Hummer commercials are absurd. That's about all I can say about that.

Don't jump on me for this, because I'm not trying to insult, but did you guys consider a Hybrid Accord, Prius, Hybrid Civic, or Hybrid Camry at all?


We have an SUV in our family and if we had a choice, we would choose a hybrid SUV instead. But we don't have a choice, or at least we didn't when it was purchased. I really don't know if they have hybrid SUVs that get good mileage or not.

The point is, give people more credit. Many would choose better if they felt they had more choices and if they had good information for making those choices.

By the way, if you have not seen Who Killed the Electric Car you should. It would help put those ads like the one in the OP into perspective.

^^Get a Toyota instead.

afaik, toyota won't use unions to build their cars, even the ones built in the states, which kinda bugs me. That said they are my 2nd choice (my dad's worked with ford for most of my life, and I think I can still get some kind of discount on one)

I don't really have problems with others owning vehicles.
It just becomes a problem when they try to "push their religion" on me, so to speak.
I might've mentioned it earlier, but there's this one guy I know that seems to despise my riding of a bike.
He's always constantly going, "So when are you going to grow balls and own your own car again?"
I tell him the same thing and he keeps giving me crap about how I'm being worn down by working it everyday on the pedals.
I shrug it off and just say I don't need a car to be alive.

Besides, if anyone offers me a ride home or something, I never turn it down.
I always looked at riding shotgun as being superior to the driver.
Kind of like how O-6 and above, military officers are driven around by mid-grade, enlisted personnel.
Now that's what I call an elite feeling and enjoy it every chance I get.

I work for Ford and I commute to work everyday by bicycle. Our assembly plant is the only plant that builds the Hybrid Escape and Hybrid Mariner,and people are actually on waiting list to buy these SUV's.

I work for Ford and I commute to work everyday by bicycle. Our assembly plant is the only plant that builds the Hybrid Escape and Hybrid Mariner,and people are actually on waiting list to buy these SUV's.
People were on waiting lists to buy the electric EV1 from GM, too. That didn't seem to mean much to GM. Do the Ford Hybrids mean anything more to Ford than some way of bringing down their CAFE mileage or making the company appear that it is doing something good for the environment? Somehow I doubt it.

Speaking of commercials with a message... have you seen the new Hummer ads... the ads where someone gets dissed in some way, so in order to "get back" at society in general, they go out and buy a Hummer.

Pretty much puts a stamp of "I wanna be an ahole too... so I drive a Hummer" right on the product.

Truth in advertising, eh?

I read this a couple of years ago (2002) @
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0212.mencimer.html

Bumper Mentality-A review of Keith Bradsher's High and Mighty: SUVs

“SUV buyers tend to be insecure and vain. They are frequently nervous about
their marriages and uncomfortable about parenthood. They often lack
confidence in their driving skills. Above all, they are apt to be
self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors and
communities. They are more restless, more sybaritic, and less social than
most Americans are. They tend to like fine restaurants a lot more than
off-road driving, seldom go to church and have limited interest in doing
volunteer work to help others. SUV drivers generally don't care about anyone
else's kids but their own, are very concerned with how other people see them
rather than with what's practical, and they tend to want to control or have
control over the people around them."

The research was done by the manufactures own marketing departments.

“SUV buyers tend to be insecure and vain. They are frequently nervous about
their marriages and uncomfortable about parenthood. They often lack
confidence in their driving skills. Above all, they are apt to be
self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors and
communities. They are more restless, more sybaritic, and less social than
most Americans are. They tend to like fine restaurants a lot more than
off-road driving, seldom go to church and have limited interest in doing
volunteer work to help others. SUV drivers generally don't care about anyone
else's kids but their own, are very concerned with how other people see them
rather than with what's practical, and they tend to want to control or have
control over the people around them."

The research was done by the manufactures own marketing departments.

Who says that the marketing department isn't biased either? Companies have spent millions on the development and production of their latest hybrid and fuel-saving automobiles, and they have to draw customers in one way or another. In this example, a negative stereotype is used to convince current SUV owners to look into other vehicles other then SUVs to improve their image. Natrually, the automobile that states "Good, Kind, Eco-Friendly People," the hybrid, will be the first automobiles they look into.

Curiously, I'd like to see just how their "research" was conducted, including who conducted it and how many people in what areas were surveyed. Heck, they could have simply surveyed every SUV driver outside their office who flipped the bird to other motorists.

Read the article slowly, and carefully. Don't you believe they overdid it a bit? The article sounds as if they cherry-picked every vice in the book and tacked them onto SUV drivers. The only thing they missed in that article was that SUV drivers have a lower sex drive then other drivers. :rolleyes:

And for that matter, SUV owners don't go to fine restaurants (this was probably inserted for the "snob" effect only) - most of us Bike Forum folk will tell you that they go to McDonalds...


...for Hummer toys. ;)

-Kurt

It always makes me smile to see the reaction that page gets. :)

Responding to the Ford Ads: I have hatred for these ads, I find myself wondering why Ford itself dosn't make a bold move and start selling an electric car, or a hybrid in something other than an SUV, or they could be real bold and start owning up to some of the safety problems in their SUV's and pickup trucks.

Responding to the Hummer Ads: These ads are well truthful.

Regarding all car ads: Have you noticed that they've started mentioning the MPG at the end of every add. The Hummer ones are funny, they say something like "And a great highway 20 mpg!!!"; First if GM execs were paying attention they'd know 20 mpg isn't great, and second even though the H3 is lighter I doubt they got it up to 20 mpg unless they were pushing it for 5 of the 20.

Toyota and Honda seem to be the only companies with a clue as to what the new world looks like.

The real question: When will Trek, Specialized, and Giant start running some advertising? How high will gas have to get before they feel there will be a return on their invesment?

Slightly off topic, check out this link about hybrid cars.... Wish I could get one with an manual tranny...

http://www.hybridcars.com/cars.html

Get an Insight, should come with an M/T.

My understanding was that the continuously variable transmissions in many hybrids provides a significant fuel economy savings. Probably the reason a manual is hard to find.

The short version is that if the products Ford, GM and Chrysler were that great in the first place, would they need the incessant advertising they find necessary to sell their products?

Yes, but for some reason the monopolistic power company around me seems to spend a ton of money advertising its product too....

Responding to the Ford Ads: I have hatred for these ads, I find myself wondering why Ford itself dosn't make a bold move and start selling an electric car, or a hybrid in something other than an SUV, or they could be real bold and start owning up to some of the safety problems in their SUV's and pickup trucks.

Where is Ford's market? Trucks and SUVs. Where has the US market been over the past decade? Trucks and SUVs. If Ford wants to break into the hybrid market, they need to start somewhere where people are thinking of their product....Escape is a hot selling Ford SUV. If they can generate demand for them, that's where they can break into the market.

Also, I'd ask which makes more of a difference...increasing the mileage of a tiny car from 35 - 45 mpg (saving .6 gallons/100 miles) or increasing the mileage on an SUV from 15 mpg to 20 mpg (saving 1.7 gallons/100 miles)? Now look at the marketplace. If you could choose to improve mileage of all cars by 10 mpg or if you could improve the mileage of all trucks/SUVs by 5 mpg....which do you think would save more gas?

People in the US want large vehicles. Therefore, it seems to me that the focus of how to reduce fuel consumption should be pointed at large vehicles. Frankly, you are NOT going to convice someone with enough money to purchase a $35k SUV that they should get into a tiny hybrid car to save money on gas. If they had another engine option making the SUV a $40k SUV though...many people would do it.