Anti-bus ad at Pasadena Ford

Reader Mary Kathryn Campbell sent these photos to me last night. Apparently, Pasadena Ford's new ad slogan is "Don't Take the Bus."

Weird, annoying -- but also somewhat gratifying to see that  car dealers are starting to feel a bit threatened by public transportation! The dealership at least had the sense to put "can" in "You can always be on time." I suppose you can, theoretically, but you won't because you'll be sitting in traffic (see above photo).

The whole "Bad credit, no credit" thing makes me laugh these days, because I've seen "Saturday Night Live's" "Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford" clip.

Mary Kathryn is asking people to contact Pasadena Ford to protest, noting that "The buses that frequent this stop serve the neighborhood and the students at Pasadena City College across the street. The buses run on natural gas and hold up to 60 people."

I'm sort of of the opinion that this ad idea is so spectacularly bad it'll have anything but the desired effect. Then again, people do seem to have a habit of buying more and more crap they don't really want and can't afford.

Photos by Mary Kathryn Campbell

Comments

[cochon.name]

i love the part where it says "you don't have to wait" and "you can always be on time." the signs sould say "you can pay $4 a gallon for one of these stangs that get 17mpg", "instead of riding the bus, spend thousands on a super fast ford mustang that will spend it's life stuck in traffic", or "feed your road rage today!"

great blog!
makes me kinda want to move back to so cal.

[David Kantor]

I agree that the car dealer's campaign is poorly done, but the point that the submitter makes is important. As a big part of the community, it's important for the citizenry to define the public realm's social boundaries, and to let businesses know what is and what is not acceptable. For a business to flaunt those boundaries in the face of global warming at this point is an applicaiton of especially bad taste.

So, memo to car dealer: You don't have to be a good neighbor, though we'd really prefer that. In the minimum, you should at least PRETEND you're not an obnoxious neighbor.

[Kymberleigh Richards]

At least they didn't take the tactic one North Hollywood used car dealer did a couple of years ago, which was to put up a banner announcing (in Spanish) that it "wasn't a problem if you didn't have a license" (!).

I'm sure some marketing "genius" thought this would be a great idea, given all the public transportation going past their location (reading the Metro sign, I note one of the lines is 181, which goes to/from the Sierra Madre Villa Gold Line Station), but I hope he gets stuck in the additional traffic he will cause if this "campaign" is successful.

Wonder if the Bus Riders Union has seen this?

[david p.]

buying a ford is less reliable than taking the bus. ford's are horrible cars. when a car company feels threatened by public transit in CALIFORNIA, you know you have an inferior product.

[let's go riding in the car car]

with apologies to Woody Guthrie.
When I have taken the bus, it is because it gets me from here to there.
ie: Venice Blvd/Overland Blvd. to Pershing Square (Line 33 and 333)
without a transfer. I don't have to pay for parking; and the four block walk to the Jewelry District is a good exercise especially when you hear footsteps of a couple of people you wouldn't invite to your mom's for dinner.
Yes, they, too, were on the bus.
I would never ride the bus to make a social-environmental statement.
I drive my Chevy Van to do that (with wife's and my bicycles securely
locked inside). We ride our bicycles because it is hard to have a bad day while riding a bicycle; not so we can make a statement (though, I guess we are making a statement)

[Ewell Gibbons]

Do not buy a newspaper; save a tree.
Now, that's going green.

[hexodus]

A car is preferable to the bus if you can afford it. Why does everyone nowadays idolize the bus - and I even wonder how often these advocates actually ride the bus.

[Kymberleigh Richards]

I would like to reply to hexodus.

I do not own a car, by choice. I use public transportation, both bus and rail, for everything in my life. If I am not on public transportation, I am on foot (walking is good for you!) or sharing a ride with others because I am transporting materials to an event or conference.

I do not "idolize" the bus -- even though, as a long-time public transportation advocate, I was appointed almost five years ago to one of Metro's sector governance councils -- but I know how to use it effectively. And I don't have to deal with the "preference" of being stuck in traffic behind the wheel; if my bus is stuck in traffic, I can sit back and read until the traffic clears, knowing that all the car owners are stuck there with me but have to deal with driving in it.

And I appreciate having the money that I would be spending on the maintenance of a car available for other things.

I should also point out that I know at least two other prominent public transportation advocates who also use bus and rail exclusively, in lieu of a car. I hope that answers your question.

[Dan W.]

I'm another transit-only user who does not own a car and has no plans of acquiring one any time soon.

I lived in Los Angeles from 1989 to 1998 and was wedded to my car. For seven years I lived in New York and London and discovered there were other ways to live that I prefer.

- I don't have to spend hours looking at the back of the car in front of me. I can read a book, newspaper or magazine instead.

- The bus is actually more convenient than many people who have never ridden it think. Bus service has improved tremendously in L.A. over the last decade.

- I don't have to worry about parking, the price of gasoline, insurance, maintenance, car payments or registration. I can spend that money on other things I prefer, like a nicer apartment.

- If I really need a car or want one for a road trip, it is cheaper for me to rent one occasionally than own one throughout the year.

- Riding the bus/rail is better for the planet.

- The quality of single-occupancy motoring is declining, as anyone who has a car will verify. The best days of the car culture are behind us. Like every other metropolitan city, Los Angeles is getting and will continue to get more vertical as millions more relocate to Southern California over the next few decades. I am simply ahead of the curve of many in Southern California who will find that there are some neighborhoods where it will no longer be convenient or practical to drive and try to park a single-occupancy vehicle -- just like every other major metropolis on the planet.

- I prefer using the time I would have spent driving and commuting on public transit advocacy. The more rail lines we have, the more public transit use will grow exponentially.

If Hexodus or any one else prefers using a single-occupancy vehicle as their best transportation option, that is their perogative It is an option that will continue to decline in quality in Southern California as the years go by and there is nothing that Caltrans or any amount of road building can do to change that.

The Los Angeles that people have known after five decades of road building and social-engineering in favor of the car culture is slowly changing. Whether one likes that or not, change it will. The only real question on offer is how we individually and collective adapt to that change and do we plan adequately for it.

[Siel]

hexodus -- From your blog it appears that for your commute, you found driving more workable -- That is true for some places in LA where bus systems get patchy. That said, it seems you've had to do a lot of self-anger-management to get to the point where you could handle your 2-hour commute without going ballistic.

Of course many don't share your exact commute, and some can get places faster via bus than they can by car (esp. factoring for parking and such). Yet you're not shy 'bout making a generalized, all-encompassing statement about how cars're preferable to buses. Perhaps you're angry and spouting off after your long commute?

One of my friends has a theory that people lie about their commutes, saying "it's not that bad" or that "it doesn't take THAT long," etc., as a sort of survival tactic. Her point's that if these commuters really admitted to themselves the fact that they're losing multiple hours every day of their lives while fighting traffic behind a wheel, they prolly wouldn't feel much zest for life --

[cochon.name]

i'm sure that everyone who responds to you, hexodus has enough dough to own a car. i probably have enough money to own 2 cars - junky ones, lol. in fact, my bicycle cost me as much as a used car. it all boils down to choice. because one has enough money to do what is expected of them by someone else does not mean that one must? this is a tenent of your beloved free-market capitalism, no? tell me, do you live your life according to others' expectations, or do you make your own rules?

[Tony]

Commuting has become the second full time job which you don't get paid for. With public transportation, you don't "work" yourself going place to place (or commuting to/from work), you leave that the professionals at Metro/LADOT/muni agencies (who has to fight "amateur/me-first" drivers on the road everyday).

[Dan W.]

The quality of time spent commuting is important too. On public transit, I can read a book/newspaper/magazine. In a car, I have to look at the back end of the car in front of me.

I know which experience I find preferable.

[Siel]

I agree that for most people reading this blog, the choice to drive or take public transit has less to do with money issues than with lifestyle preferences :)

[just a mom]

hey...sometimes there are those whose schedule or child's schedule does not allow for the luxury of riding the rails or even the bus. if you don't have transportation when the school calls to tell you your child is sick come get them what is one to do then? Would love to get some answers to this dilemma.

[Siel]

just a mom -- ideally, Flexcar and other car sharing services would fill the gap. Unfortunately, Flexcar isn't everywhere yet. The longer-term, more difficult (at least to set up) solution is to live, work, and send your kids to school in the same 'hood so this isn't so much of a problem. I know this can be hard in our spread-out, car centric culture right now though. Just try to do the best you can. Not one solution is feasible for all people in all places and situations :)

[Mary Kathryn Campbell]

Hey Siel,

just an update. the ads are still up. I placed a call to ask Ford to reconsider the ad campaign and never got a call back.

in reply to hexodous, I am not a rabid bus rider by any means, in fact, I commute to and from my job in a Civic because the transit routes would take me add an hour more each way AND I've got a two year old to drop off and pick up at day care. this is an LA issue for me. (when I was livin’ single in DC, I didn't even need a car.) but for the people who benefit from a convenient public transit system, my point is, don't berate a system that works for them. and don't be disingenuous when you do it, either. if all the people who rode that bus line hopped into a Ford, do you think that would help them get to where they're going faster? how about you? would 60 more Fords on Colorado Boulevard help alleviate congestion?

and I don't think it's hypocritical to ask that local companies do their fair share when it comes to alleviating congestion and contributing to a cleaner environment. especially Ford, which has greenwashed to the point of being laughable.

http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2007/11/14/National/Ford-Says.He.Wants.EcoFriendly.Cars.But.Many.Are.Still.Skeptical-3099984.shtml

anyway, readers of Siel's fine blog, don't feel guilty about what you can or can't do, just take baby steps and they'll all add up in the end. now Kumbaya.

[Mary Kathryn Campbell]

happy to report that the signs are down (as of 11-18-2007)!

not sure if we had an impact, or if they're on a changing advertising cycle. either way, thanks, siel for shining a spotlight on this issue.

[Siel]

Thanks for the update, Mary :)