| Automakers' Contributions to 9/11 Relief | |||
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| Netlore Archive | |||
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Email text contributed by John Kerr, 01/06/02:
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CNN Headline News did a short news listing regarding Ford and GM`s contributions to the relief and recovery efforts in New York and Washington. The findings are as follows...... 1. Ford- $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee contributions of the same number plus 10 Excursions to NY Fire Dept. The company also offered ER resonse team services and office space to displaced goverment employees. 2. GM- $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee contributions of the same number and a fleet of vans, suv`s, and trucks. 3. Daimler Chrysler- $10 million to support of the children and victims of the Sept. 11 attack. 4. Harley Davidson motorcycles- $1 million and 30 new motorcycles to the New York Police Dept. 5. Volkswagen- Employees and management created a Sept. 11 Foundation, funded initial with $2 million, for the assistance of the children and victims of the WTC 6. Hyundai- $300,000 to the American Red Cross. 7. Audi- Nothing. 8. BMW- Nothing. 9. Daewoo- Nothing. 10. Fiat- Nothing. 11. Honda- Nothing despite boasting of second best sales month ever in August 2001 12. Isuzu- Nothing. 13. Mitsubishi- Nothing. 14. Nissan- Nothing. 15. Porsche- Nothing. Press release with condolences via the Porsche website. 16. Subaru- Nothing. 17. Suzuki- Nothing. 18. Toyota- Nothing despite claims of high sales in July and August 2001. Condolences posted on the website I can only express hope that this infuriates and sickens each of you like it did me. Whenever the time may be for you to purchase or lease a new vehicle, keep this information in mind. I ask that you choose a product made by an American-owned and based company. Apart from Hyundai and Volkswagen, the foreign car companies contributed nothing at all to the citizens of the United States. It`s OK for these companies to take money out of this country, but not acceptable to return some in a time of crisis. |
Email text contributed by Dan Seaman, 09/26/01:
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Makes you proud to drive a Chrysler Product!
This is very interesting. It's no wonder why Michigan is so loyal to the Big 3. After seeing a short news listing on "CNN Headline News" regarding Ford and GM's contributions to the relief and recovery efforts in New York City and Washington D.C., I was prompted to see what the other automotive companies were contributing. I have never worked for an automotive company -- nor has anyone in my family. It is, however, the prominent industry here in Michigan. I also feel it is important to know which companies are there for us in a crisis. I went to (the news, press release and philanthropic areas of) each of the companies web sites. If the company had several sites, I tried to visit them all. Additionally, I visited the leading news and automotive sites. As of today, one week since the attacks, this is what I have found: Aston Martin - Nothing. Audi - Nothing. Audi's web site states "Audi News: Always up to the minute." BMW - Nothing despite other press releases/postings since 09/11/01. BMW's web site states "The news service from the BMW Group: Fast, informative and comprehensive." Last updated 09/13/01. Daewoo International - Nothing. Daimler Chrysler (includes Dodge, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz and Plymouth) -$10 million to support the children and victims in addition to other donations from their employees, dealers and suppliers. Fiat - Nothing. Ford Motor Company (includes Jaguar, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo)- $1 million to the American Red Cross, matching employee contributions to the American Red Cross and 10 Excursions to the New York Fire Department. The company has also offered emergency response team services and office space to displaced government employees. General Motors (includes Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Pontiac,Saab and Saturn) - $1 million to the American Red Cross, matching employee contributions and a fleet of vans, trucks and SUVs. Honda (includes Acura) - Nothing. Honda's site states "If you're looking for the latest developments taking place at Honda, you've come to the right place" and "Informative. Timely. Credible. The latest news on Honda can always be found right here?" No press releases/postings since 09/04/01 when the release boasted "American Honda Motor Co., Inc. recorded its second best sales month ever in August ?" My search included: hondamotorcycle.com (other press releases posted on this site since 09/11/01), honda.com, honda2001.com, world.honda.com, acura.com and honda.co.jp. Hyundai Motors Group (includes Kia) - $300,000 to the American Red Cross. Isuzu - Nothing. Mitsubishi Motors - Nothing. Mitsubishi-motors.co.jp site states "The latest news about Mitsubishi Motors." I also searched mitsubishimotors.com. Nissan - Nothing despite other press releases/postings since 09/11/01. Porsche - Press release with condolences posted on the Porsche web site on 09/12/01, but no contribution. Subaru - Nothing despite other press releases/postings since 09/11/01. Suzuki - Nothing. Toyota (includes Lexus) - Press release with condolences posted on the Toyota web site on 09/14/01, but no contribution despite earlier press releases boasting that Toyota had high sales in July and August. Volkswagen - The employees and management created a Foundation, funded initially with $2 million, to assist the children and victims with humanitarian help including medical and psychological assistance, rehabilitation and scholarships. I can only hope that it is an oversight by the companies that have not made a contribution and that they will join the relief efforts. We have the freedom to choose which companies we make purchases from and I, for one, will make my purchases from and give my money to the companies that are giving their money to America at this time of need. I hope that you will, too. Please forward this e-mail -- especially to anyone you know who is thinking of purchasing a vehicle. |
Comments: First off, these charges are almost entirely false. Most of the companies accused of making no contributions to September 11 relief efforts did, in fact, contribute money and/or resources. In some cases, the non-U.S. companies mentioned are owned by or partnered with American companies who gave generously. Directly or indirectly, every one of these auto manufacturers supported the cause.
Secondly, an important bit of information was lost between the early version of the message (immediately above) and the later one (top of page): the roster of supposed contributors and non-contributors did not originate on CNN, but rather was the result of a Web search by the anonymous author of the email, who stated: "I went to (the news, press release and philanthropic areas of) each of the companies [sic] Websites. If the company had several sites, I tried to visit them all. Additionally, I visited the leading news and automotive sites. As of today, one week since the attacks, this is what I have found..."
The flaw in that methodology is obvious. Just because reports of donations couldn't be found online doesn't mean none were made. The author jumped to unjustified conclusions.
For a detailed rebuttal, I bow to the excellent research of Bob Storck, Sandra Kinsler and Mark Maynard, who published their findings in Woman Motorist magazine.
Further reading:
Automakers Do Support 9/11 Disaster Relief
Point-by-point refutation of the emailTerrorism Rumors & Hoaxes
Full index of post-September 11 folklore
Current Internet Hoaxes
The Urban Legends Top 25
Recent Features
