New for '03: The Pontiac Armageddon GTO!

[Theophylact]

Or, perhaps, the Buick Rapture?

An excerpt from The New York Times (free but you have to register, yadda yadda):

G.M. Criticized for Backing Tour of Christian Music Performers
By STUART ELLIOTT

Leaders of two religious organizations are questioning Chevrolet's sponsorship of a concert and prayer tour aimed at evangelical Christians, complaining that big consumer marketers should not identify themselves so closely with one faith.

But Chevrolet said yesterday that it would stand by its decision.

Chevrolet, a division of General Motors, is title sponsor of the monthlong 16-city Come Together and Worship Tour, which begins on Nov. 1 in Atlanta. The tour will feature two acts in the fast-growing genre known as contemporary Christian music, W. Michael Smith and Third Day, along with a Texas pastor, the Rev. Max Lucado.

When Chevrolet announced its sponsorship, a news release described Mr. Lucado as a "world-renowned author." But, as The Detroit Free Press said in an article yesterday, Mr. Lucado will be preaching on stage between the musical acts of the show. The shows will also include the distribution of evangelical literature to audience members. As a result, some find Chevrolet's association with such a tour disturbing.

"They have the right to do it," Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League in New York, said, but "I'm a little uncomfortable with a major commercial venture going into propagating religion." In a phone interview from Jerusalem yesterday, he added, "Evangelical Christians believe they have the truth, so are they selling a product because it's God's product? I find it troubling."

Rabbi A. James Rudin, senior interreligious adviser for the American Jewish Committee in New York, said, "It's a tacit endorsement by an American icon of Christianity, and a specific brand of Christianity." The concerts, he added, seem to be in part "religious services, and that's crossing the line."

[Mntsnow]

ahh they are just pissed cause they didnt get a corporate company to sponsor their last gig and they are sad cause their bank accounts are so low now lol

[Theophylact]

[originel]

Ford to Sponsor Marilyn Manson Tour

hahahahahahahahahaha.
while i prolly wouldn't have done the same thing in this situation, (purely for the fact that it would have turned off some potential customers), i don't see any reason why it should matter to those it does not directly affect (ie Abraham H. Foxman). i don't feel the least uncomfortable with it (i just don't think it is the best business strategy)

[Brainchild]

Here's a pic of the proto for the 04 GTO,prolly will look much like this. looks pretty good to me

[Mntsnow]

now i could handle that '04 goat!

[Brainchild]

Sweet look huh?

[Theophylact]

A followup: from The New Republic (free, but you have to register) -- "Jesus Drove a Civic", by Michelle Cottle.

Some excerpts:

...What Would Jesus Drive?

Stop laughing. And don't roll your eyes until you hear the details. It seems that a religious activist group called the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) is up in arms about Chevrolet's decision to sponsor a Christian rock tour wending its way across the country this month. In a twist on the typical religious protest, in which the objection is to a corporation's support of morally offensive entertainment, EEN is crusading against morally upright entertainers for associating themselves with a godless corporation--in this case General Motors. "Through this gospel tour," explained the Reverend Jim Ball, executive director of EEN, "Chevrolet is promoting certain vehicles that get very low gas mileage and produce significant pollution, harming human health and the rest of God's creation."...

The group has also prepared an open letter to auto executives, as well as a nationwide ad campaign with the theme "What Would Jesus Drive?" ...

God-fearing, church-going suburbanites could stand to hear a few guilt-inducing lectures about precisely how bad their nasty little SUV habit is for all God's creatures. You--yeah, Mrs. Sunday School Teacher ferrying your two kids to choir practice in the Ford Expedition (lest Chevy feel unfairly targeted)--you are gratuitously destroying the miracle of nature for the sake of a little extra space, comfort, and status. (You are also lining the pockets of corrupt, oppressive, petrodollar-dependent regimes throughout the Middle East, but that's a sermon for another day.) With every mile you drive that monstrosity, you are thumbing your nose at God's glorious world...

[necromancer]

The 2004 looks sweet.

brainchild, thats not the same pic as the one at Pontiac. Must be a concept version of it.







http://www.pontiac.com/pontiacjsp/passion/news/main.jsp

The soul of the legendary GTO was easy to find — you had only to raise the hood. So it's fitting that under the hood of every new GTO will be an LS1 aluminum block 5.7-liter V8 engine. Add in the rear-wheel-drive chassis-an essential part of the GTO identity. Plus, add an available 6-speed manual transmission, and what do you have? A true driver's car, unleashing over 300 hp on command.

[Theophylact]

Then again, there's this viewpoint.