Car News Articles

A grand jury investigating a “charity” run by Revered Al Sharpton– the National Action Network (NAN)– has uncovered an extortion racket that set its sights on the U.S. auto industry. “A General Motors spokesman told The [New York] Post that NAN had repeatedly - and unsuccessfully - asked for contributions for six years, beginning in August 2000. Then, in December 2006, Sharpton threatened to call a boycott of the carmaker over the closing of an African-American-owned GM dealership in The Bronx, and he picketed outside GM headquarters on Fifth Avenue. Last year, General Motors gave NAN a $5,000 donation. It gave $5,000 more this year, a spokesman said, calling NAN a ‘worthy’ organization.” The General wasn’t the only automaker wetting Big Al’s beak. “In November 2003, Sharpton picketed DaimlerChrysler’s Chicago car show and threatened a boycott over alleged racial bias in car loans. ‘This is institutional racism,’ he bellowed. In May 2004, Chrysler began supporting NAN’s conferences, which include panels on corporate responsibility and civil rights and a black-tie awards dinner to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Last year, Sharpton gave Chrysler an award for corporate excellence.” Honda? “In 2003, Sharpton targeted American Honda for not hiring enough African-Americans in management. ‘We support those that support us,’ wrote Sharpton… Two months after American Honda execs met with Sharpton, the carmaker began to sponsor NAN’s events - and continues to pay “a modest amount” each year, a spokesman said.”

New York Post »

17 Responses to “
Rev. Al Shakes Down GM, Chrysler, Honda ”

Pages: [1] 2 » Show All Reverse Order

• 50merc :
  
  
  June 15th, 2008 at
  6:11 pm

  “Last year, Sharpton gave Chrysler an award for corporate excellence.”

  You know, I’m beginning to have some faint doubts about that guy’s judgment.

• dastanley :
  
  
  June 15th, 2008 at
  8:03 pm

  Don’t get me started on this guy. “The Reverend” is a professional bully that goes around crying wolf, screaming “racism” every time someone steps on his toes, disagrees, disrespects him in any way, or just looks at him cross-eyed.

  And why would GM and other car companies cave in to his extortion, giving 5 grand a year to NAN to stay on Sharpton’s good side? Are they concerned that Sharpton has enough credibility in the African-American community to start a nationwide boycott of their vehicles? Are they terrified of being called racists? Apparently so.

  Hell, let me start the Northern New Mexico Air Ambulance Pilot’s Association (NNMAAPA) or some other such nonsense and extort money from organizations and threaten them with a boycott from all of my collegues and associates just because I can.

  Sharpton’s tantrums are getting old. Grow up Sharpton!

• Airhen :
  
  
  June 15th, 2008 at
  8:05 pm

  Sharpton is truly a shakedown artist. According to the Post, almost 50 companies have handed over boycott bucks (I’ll call it extortion money) to the NAN conferences.

  http://www.nypost.com/seven/06152008/news/regionalnews/rev__al_soaks_up_boycott_bucks_115554.htm

  It’s amazing that he gets away with it, but then no one wants threats of being charged with racism. Although it would be great to have someone stand up to him. I guess it’s another price of doing business these days…

• motownr :
  
  
  June 15th, 2008 at
  8:09 pm

  Sharpton’s a hack; the better story is who Jesse got ’support’ from.

• Steven Lang :
  
  
  June 15th, 2008 at
  8:33 pm

  What motownr said is dead on. Jesse is to Al, what Ralph Nader is to Joan Claybrook.

  Personally, having met both in my travels, my only question is which one has the bigger head. Actually that’s not a question. Jesse’s head is bigger than most football helmets… and no I’m not kidding.

• LALoser :
  
  
  June 15th, 2008 at
  9:40 pm

  Maybe the “Rev” Al could employ Tawala Brawly as his spokesperson to the evil carmakers.

• motownr :
  
  
  June 15th, 2008 at
  9:50 pm

  Steven:

  Great point!

  I had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting Rev. Jesse once, and my lasting impression is of that massive noggin. Almost a human owl, with incredibly wide-set eyes….

  GM did, to my knowledge, avoid Jesse’s best efforts to score a number of GM points as the silent investor in conjunction with another prominent car dealer. Apparently, there are limits to being PC even at the Tubes.

• 50merc :
  
  
  June 15th, 2008 at
  10:15 pm

  Why would a company shell out to Al or Jesse? It’s called “go away money.” As long as the media provide professional grievants a podium, it’s cheaper to pay them to go away.

  dastanley, the scheme can work for the NNMAAPA too, but only if you can get it on the list of officially accredited victim groups.

• Landcrusher :
  
  
  June 16th, 2008 at
  1:39 am

  I know a company that managed to run Jesse off. I wish I knew what they did. I guess they had pictures or something.

• Sherman Lin :
  
  
  June 16th, 2008 at
  4:14 am

  They both do a disservice to the causes they purport to represent. There are unfortunately all too often real cases of discrimination etc but these two clowns in many cases cause many people to assume that most claims of discrimination or bias are simply a shakedown.

Pages: [1] 2 » Show All Reverse Order

Leave a Reply Back to Top

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Submitted by Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame

Back in January 2005, to celebrate an upcoming promotion at work (about five months early, as it turns out), I wanted to replace my 1990 Toyota Corolla with a nicer vehicle. Unfortunately, at heart I am a skinflint. I love Hondas and like Toyotas, but the $18k starting price for an Accord made me choke, and a Camry was out of the question. I knew I could get a Civic or Corolla for about $14k, but that would still be a base model with few options. I checked out a Ford Focus but was unimpressed with its small size, road noise, and bumpy ride.

The salesman asked, “Have you thought about a Suzuki?” I sneered at first, but he seemed insistent, so I shrugged and agreed to do a test drive in a 2005 Suzuki Forenza. It was very nice, and cost just over $14k. It seemed fairly peppy, but not enough to satisfy me. I tested a standard-transmission Forenza and it had more of the driving feel I wanted, but the fuel efficiency on an automatic was 21/28, and the efficiency on a standard was … 21/28. I couldn’t understand it then, and I don’t understand it now.

Then I tried a 2005 Suzuki Reno, which was basically a chopped-off Forenza, basically. I was seeking a “hot hatch” feel, and the Reno just didn’t have it. On the other hand, it had an MP3-capable disc player. Moreover, it offered slightly better driving feel and fuel efficiency over the Forenza. I almost got it, but the only one they had on the lot had a tendency to stall when you hit the throttle. Uh-uh. I wasn’t going to buy a malfunctioning new car.

The salesman listened to my complaints, and offered me a test drive in an Aerio. It had a better engine with more pep and better fuel efficiency than even the Reno. Ugly as sin, but a better engine inside, and about the same price. But before I even got it off the lot, I knew I hated its driving sensation. Ugh! The Forenza had the look, feel, and price I wanted. The Reno had the price and the MP3 player. The Aerio had the engine I wanted. Put ‘em together, and I would have been pleased as punch.

On a whim, the salesman said they had some leftover Veronas from 2004 for about the same price. It would be a step up for a discount. I was hesitant, but on the test drive–woah. It was the smoothest car I’ve ever driven. It had speed-sensitive steering that gave me precise control at any speed. It seemed to accelerate well; not sports-car level, but not bad. The salesman seemed 10 feet away in the passenger seat. The dials were nicely back-lit with a soft blue glow. The leather-wrapped steering wheel felt very nice. The car itself looked like the previous-generation Camry, which I preferred to the 2005 model. The only problem was the fuel efficiency with just 20/27.

I went home and researched the car. Edmunds.com editors gave it a 6.1 rating, but owners gave it an 8.1, which isn’t bad. And every car I’ve driven has gotten better than the listed mileage. The Edmunds “True Cost to Own” estimate seemed to indicate it would be inexpensive to keep. And it had a 7-year, 100,000-mile warranty!

It had a 2.4 liter inline six-cylinder engine. That’s about the size of its competitors 4-cylinder engines. Its strength was its smoothness. Its weakness was, well … A snarky slogan for the Verona’s engine would be: “All the power of a 4-cylinder! All the economy of a 6-cylinder!” But it was just $14,200. I would get a Camry/Accord-level car for a Civic-level price! The $4,000 price difference could buy quite a bit of gas. So I bought it.

It cruised very nicely. It got about 25 miles to the gallon in mixed driving for the daily commute. I took a long road trip in it. I was going to drive from Spokane over to Montana, then down to see some friends in Denver. We had an event planned for Saturday night, but I had to be back in Spokane for work Monday morning. So I would get up around 9 am and drive straight through to Spokane in one day. That’s 1,092 miles, if you don’t want to take the time to look it up yourself.

All went according to plan. I had plenty of music for the (non-MP3) CD player. I left Denver Sunday morning, and filled up once in Buffalo, Wyoming, where I stopped for lunch; once in Livingston, Montana, where I ate dinner with my sister, and the next morning after arriving in Spokane. I spent 15 hours in the car that day, and from 9 am Sunday to 1 am Monday, with two half-hour breaks. I did not feel any discomfort until the last 90 minutes. I cannot imagine spending even eight hours driving any other car without more frequent breaks, and without killing my back, neck, legs, etc.

Even better, that car did great in the mountain passes of western Montana. It was raining slightly, visibility was fair to poor, but the car was willing to take all the switchbacks at a continual 70 mph without protest or overworked effort. There were some times when I felt the car was riding right on the edge of traction as we went around a curve at 70 mph … so I would just cut the turn a little tighter, and the car would just settle right into the track. It was almost as if following the normal track for a car wasn’t taking advantage of its full adhesion capability, so going wider increased the lateral g-force. The car was capable of going tighter without rolling, and when I used that capability, we were more stable.

That car performed better at 70 mph than any other car I’ve ever driven. It felt more nimble, more stable, more responsive at 70 mph than the many smaller cars I’ve driven, including Civics and Corollas, do at 40-50 mph. The car truly was worth the money.

But then I moved to Hawaii, and all of its problems surfaced. Its turning radius was slightly below average. Its wide body was slightly wider than average. Space is at a premium on Oahu, which has 85 percent of Hawaii’s population on one of the smallest islands, so parking is always tight. The car did not fit well into the parking spaces.

Most driving on Oahu is stop-and-go. For the 14 months I drove the Suzuki on the island, I never averaged higher than 19 mpg, and I usually got just 16. Most of the time I had to fill up the car after traveling just 215 miles. That was expensive and frustrating.

A minor problem caused by an oil change highlighted something I didn’t realize: Suzuki never sold the Forenza, Reno, or Verona in Hawaii. That meant Suzuki didn’t train their dealer mechanics on those models. Which, in turn, meant that the excellent warranty that helped convince me to buy the car was pretty much worthless until I moved back to the mainland. Sure, any repairs were covered, but I had to pay for parts and labor myself until Suzuki reimbursed me. Even worse, there was an electronic glitch in the steering wheel stereo controls, which could only be repaired by Suzuki techs; there would be no chance to repair that glitch until I left Hawaii.

The most important thing about retaining a car is your internal dialog. If you are constantly frustrated, constantly irritated, constantly reminded of your dissatisfaction, you won’t keep the car. Every time I looked at the elapsed mileage, I knew I would need to fill up soon–just looking at the odometer was a slap in the face of how bad the car was on gas. Every time I tried to change the volume on the CD and it skipped 3-4 tracks, I was reminded of the warranty problem. Every time I tried to park the car, or had to squeeze out of the door with 6 inches of room because the car filled the entire space, I was reminded the car just didn’t fit in Hawaii. The Verona was made for the ultimate in comfortable and enjoyable freeway driving, and I didn’t get to experience it in Hawaii.

I finally sold it for $10,000, just 18 months after purchasing it for $14200 (plus tax). I know it was the right decision. I can’t imagine driving the car in Hawaii over the last year with $3+/gallon gas. And now that I drive a 2002 Ford Explorer in a daily commute (until my 1998 Mazda 626 arrives) in Texas with that same gas price, I’m stunned that the larger, heavier, supposedly more wasteful SUV still gets better city mileage (18 on last fill-up, better than the advertised 16) than my old Verona (averaged 17; far, far worse than the advertised 21).

Still, at times I miss that car. I see on Edmunds that the base dealer retail price for a 2004 Suzuki Verona S is less than $8k. You should be able to find an individual selling a low-mileage and/or excellent condition Verona for far less. And I’m tempted, because recently I’ve seen other Suzuki car products (specifically, the late-90s, early 00’s Esteem station wagon), lasting longer and looking better than their more-appreciated Toyota and Honda rivals. I don’t see many Veronas; maybe they aren’t lasting at all. But if they are, they might just be a Camry-clone steal.

–Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame