GM Blunders onto Campus (Only losers ride a bike).

[MattSh]

UPDATE (10.12.11)
Clearly GM has heard from a lot of cycling folks, including BikePortland who first alerted GM through twitter that all hell was breaking lose about these ads. According to the LA Times and from the GM Twitter feed, hey have been very busy responding to all the messages they got via facebook and twitter – and have basically apologized and said they are going to change the campaign and drop the ads, which is good.

(10.11.11.)
If you are a student looking to add tens of thousands of dollars of long term debt, care little about the environment, and want to lump two tons of steel around campus while paying through the nose for insurance, gas, and parking…General Motors has got a perfect deal for you. Bonus: it’ll make you fat and unhealthy! All you have to do is give up that dorky bicycle that’s easy to use, practically free, gets you some exercise and is actually fun to ride.

In one of the more remarkably ill-conceived car ad campaigns of all time, good corporate citizen GM is heading to campus to actively stop you from riding a bike by trying to make it look like it sucks. Obviously it’s been a while since GM execs and their creative teams set foot on campus. Anyway, I’m sure the campus facilities people will love having to add thousands of extra car parking spaces on campus at $30,000 a pop (who needs more buildings to learn in anyway, lets fill campus with parking structures); and University Presidents will have a little bit of explaining to do when it comes to those end of year climate and greenhouse gas targets… Maybe it’ll generate more business in the gym where students can drive in to go and ride on stationary bikes. Hope there’s enough parking.

In case you were wondering, GM has a fine-sounding corporate responsibility statement – carefully crafted by the best in the business, I’m sure. One sample quote: “As a responsible corporate citizen, General Motors is dedicated to protecting human health, natural resources and the global environment.” http://www.gm.com/vision/our_vision.html

And if you wanted to send a quick note to Chevrolet or GMC, there are instructions on how to do that.

http://www.bikeleague.org/news/gm_blunders.php

[msongs]

1. that's our reward for bailing them out nt

[Capitalocracy]

5. yeah, who's the LOSER now, right? nt

[StandingInLeftField]

2. LOL@adagencies!!111

AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahahahahaha....heh.

[Gregorian]

3. Bikes rule. Cars are coffins.

Thanks to friends who prodded me to get out of my truck and commute by bike. My life changed forever. However, the rest of the people just don't get it. It's threatening. Rain, cold, dark. Home of the brave, my ass. I've been ill and still commuted by bike. It's healthy and fantastic for a community.

It's all changing. I just got an email from a life long friend who now lives in Taiwan designing bikes. He's doing well, but Taiwan is INSANE. Cars everywhere.

Ride a bike, or the planet dies.

[TBF]

6. Bikes are great but it's not enough to save the planet -

capitalism is going to have to go if we want to accomplish that.

[Gregorian]

7. Right. It isn't enough.

But capitalism isn't the problem. Population combined with modern lifestyle consumption is.

Rigged capitalism is what is wrong with this country. And the lack of a good combination of capitalism with socialism.

Capitalism gives the people power to compete. Anything else (including our bastardized form of it) puts the power in a central location.

Just look at cellphone prices and variety. That is the result of capitalism. 100 automobile companies at the turn of the last century. That is capitalism.

[TBF]

8. When we compete we're not complete -

I know it's corny, but it's true.

Not only must capitalism go, but our lives must change as well. No one needs that many phones and auto companies when people are starving, homeless, and dying from lack of health care. I also have no problem with controls on population. A lot of changes must occur - not just any one thing.

[Gregorian]

9. I really hate competition.

But in the economy I think it's important. Health care should have to compete. Otherwise we get what we have now. Big fat money grubbing monopolies that we can't control.

We probably don't need cell phones. I don't have one. But I also don't know what is supposed to happen on this planet, ultimately. My guess is we were supposed to be humble and take care of it. Not have billions of people. I don't think it's going to change in time unless we do put "draconian" limits on things like breeding habits. It's changing voluntarily in some places. But by the time the symptoms of the real problem start to show up, it's way too late. People don't get exponential unless they have had years of math. It's really dangerous.

All I know is you and I are really on the same page. I wish 90$ of people on earth got it. It looks like almost no one does.

[fascisthunter]

4. despicable...