WTF?!? Rush Limbaugh touts GM's green efforts, loves his Escalade and Suburban
File this under do as I say, not as I do.Crooks and Liars has a, shall we way, interesting clip of an ad by Rush Limbaugh promoting General Motors vehicles. In the spot, the paragon of right-wing bluster praises GM's latest environmentally-friendly vehicles and technologies (hybrids, hydrogen, etc.). He starts the ad by saying how GM's vehicles have never been better. Oh, and he loooooves his Escalade and Suburban SUVs. What?!? Who makes an ad praising greener driving and then name drops those two gas-suckers?
Oh. Right.
And why is GM using a figure who thinks global warming is bogus to sell green cars? It's hard to tell, but remember they're the people who brought you the Aztek. We have a lot of good things to say about GM's work on cars like the Volt, but I'm having a hard time seeing how the decision to release this particular commercial ends up gaining GM anything.
Listen for yourself.
[Source: Crooks and Liars]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 22)
mlhm5 11:54AM (7/30/2007)
Oh, please. GM has no intentions of marketing the VOLT. It will be in concept stage for a few years and then there will a press release like their one on hybrid technology i.e. we are dropping it because the future is hydrogen.
The future for GM, a company whose balance sheet is turned upside down, is more of the same, inefficient v-8 engines in light and heavy duty pickups, no small diesels, and no imagination.
By the end of 2010 after Nissan, Toyota and Honda have their new diesels in both passenger cars and light duty pickups, GM will be selling fewer cars and light duty pickups in the USA than they are now.
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nom de plume 10:16AM (7/30/2007)
We have never owned a GM car, but we had recently thought the Saab wagon might be a possible replacement for our aging Audi (we need a wagon for our business). This post has put me off that idea forever. I won't ever consider any GM product again. Wonders how many others feel the same way?
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beelzabush 10:38AM (7/30/2007)
I heard NPR this morning talking about the new 2 mode hybrids from GM. These are a real advance in engineering and as the reporter said will actually save more fuel than a hybrid small car will.
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AlexP 10:40AM (7/30/2007)
We have never owned a GM, uh?
Then what's this SAAB doing in your driveway?
Anything but Toyota/Lexbland.
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AlexP 10:41AM (7/30/2007)
Oh nevermind, I misread that.
By the way, bad marketing moves shouldn't throw you off GM products.
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Tim 10:57AM (7/30/2007)
I'm surprised at you Sebastian. Talk about Spin! Rush is simply saying that GMs quality has never been better. True! They cover the range of vehicles that the market wants. True. They are leading the world in green R&D. True. He says he likes the GM vehicles that he owns. We have to take his word for it. There is NOTHING in Rush’s statement that was the least bit hypocritical and this is in stark contrast to Al “Green” Gore who is a hypocrite to the MAX.
Pinheads like nom de plume above who have never owned a GM vehicle have right to even speak on the subject. All I can say is thank God we live in a relatively free country so anyone can buy the car they need and can afford while they laugh at posts like this. What do you drive? Have you ever owned a GM vehicle or are you just another leftist pulling a Jim Cary and talking out of you butt? I’m very disappointed in you. How about a little objectivity and READ you posts before you submit them.
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Dave 12:29PM (7/30/2007)
Why shouldn't everyone applaud this advertisement? What if he even encourages some of the right-winged nutballs to purchase GM's "green" vehicles? I can't see any bad from this--we all know Rush got paid for is endorsement anyhow.
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Golden Boy 11:35AM (7/30/2007)
"And why is GM using a figure who thinks global warming is bogus to sell green cars?"
There are actually quite a few of us who think global warming is bogus and yet still want green cars. The obvious answer is we don't like the fact that our petrodollars go to support the jihad and tyrants like Hugo Chavez. Why not ally with us rather than try to alienate us? We all want the same thing, albeit perhaps for different reasons.
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sheniferous 12:00PM (7/30/2007)
Lexbland? Wow... Worst. Pejorative. Ever.
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Brian Hague 12:30PM (7/30/2007)
I'm not a big rush fan, but I am a Glen Beck fan... he's got one about the same. Hypocritical? no...
I think Sebastian is trying to turn off the right wing anti hybrid pro deisel fans from reading this page... HAH! didn't work...
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Clarence 12:36PM (7/30/2007)
Well, the main reason GM is using Rush is because he is probably more believable to more people than Al Gore who simply has a larger carbon footprint than Limbaugh.
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Tim 12:46PM (7/30/2007)
I respect people like Rush and Glenn Beck who tell the WHOLE truth even when it's unpopular. I find most (not all) leftist politicians and Hollywood elitists talk the talk. They then expect everyone else to "walk the walk." How can anyone respect self-proclaimed "leaders" who refuse lead by example?
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Marcus 2:02PM (7/30/2007)
Gotta agree w/ Golden Boy on this one. (Are the two-mode hybrids even for sale yet?) Might be a good idea to lose the vitriol for conservatives and welcome them to the coalition, even if their motives (environment vs. national security) are different...
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Tony Belding 1:05PM (7/30/2007)
Major dittos to Golden Boy.
I don't consider myself an environmentalist, as such. I'm highly skeptical of the Global Warming Crisis, and if it does eventually turn out to be bogus, then it's going to cause huge damage to environmentalism in general.
I do think that Peak Oil and US dependence on foreign oil are more pressing concerns. I also like to go fast. I've been on the Tesla Roadster waiting list for more than six months.
I didn't see anything wrong with Rush's ad. GM's product quality has, in fact, increased dramatically over the last few years. They have every right to crow about that. GM is, in fact, working on a lot of alt-fuel technology. How serious they are about bringing that to market is something we can question, but of course they are going to crow about it in their ads. No surprise there. GM also makes some popular, large SUVs. Rush likes them, a lot of people do. No surprise there. I don't see anything here to get outraged over.
Anyhow, outrage and righteous indignation are supposed to be Rush's stock in trade, not ABG's. :)
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nom de plume 1:08PM (7/30/2007)
Rush Limbaugh is a hate monger, pure and simple. He is also a racist, a neo-facist, and a lier. Most of my family died fighting some other hate mongers. They were called Nazis.
Any corporation that would allow such an individual to represent them will never get a penny from us. I wonder if those who believe him ever read papers from Asia, Japan, or Europe to get a taste of reality, or do they simply mindlessly rely on the right-wing propaganda that passes for news in most US publications.
When a car company chooses a spokesman they must know that it reflects on them. And we should make GM's decision known on every blog so other Americans are aware of it. My post on dKos will be up tonight.
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Tim 1:25PM (7/30/2007)
nom de plume- That's right! Be a good American and send your money to Asia and Europe! By the way, Hitler was the propaganda boss for the National Socialist German Workers Party. So being Socialist actually means that Hitler was ideologically closer to Hillary Clinton than Rush. You need to study your history, buddy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism
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jeremie 2:19PM (7/30/2007)
I do feel the same..
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nom de plume 2:23PM (7/30/2007)
Tim,
Ha ha ha! So you think that National Socialist German Workers Party is the same as the modern definition of socialism? Aren't you just the perfect poster child for American education! You crack me up.
BTW, I'm no good American. Isn't a "good American" just another term for a tool of big corporations like GM? Or for someone who send their kids off to die in useless wars?
No thanks, I'll just keep vacationing in, investing in buying in and planning to retire in Europe. And I love the way the Euro is eating up the dollar. Nationalism is for fools.
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Owen 3:11PM (7/30/2007)
Nothing like a good 'ol government run Asian newspaper to tell the REAL truth through the eyes of the party leader *sarcasm of course*. Most media outlets in the US are nothing more than liberal propoganda so I take everything I read with a grain of salt.
That said, different people appeal to different folks. It's not like GM has made Limbaugh their ONLY spokesman, they just paid him to do an ad so that they could appeal to THAT market. It's called marketing, get over it. If Limbaugh gets some rich ass fat cat to trade in his E85 Tahoe for a Hybrid one when the time comes, then more power to him. I'm sure that there will be plenty of left wing yuppies in future marketing pushes that will please your demographic just fine.
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Chris 3:19PM (7/30/2007)
Did someone really just say Hitler was a socialist? Despite the name, communists and socialists were among the many people killed in concentration camps. I laugh at the concept that Hitler was a left-wing guy. He was as right-wing as they come. That's right! Don't try to shove history's greatest monster into our camp! Hitler was, ideologically, much closer to Rush than anyone from the Democratic party. Who hates Jews, gays, and communists? Who hates tax-payer money going to support social welfare, like those for disabled persons? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:EnthanasiePropaganda.jpg) Right-wingers! The man was a fascist, for God's sake!
That being said, I truly despise Rush Limbaugh, and am disappointed at GM. Won't make me not buy a GM vehicle, but it is something I will take into consideration.
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